Opening up new oportunities

By Russell Yates, managing director of Aluk.

The most recent Palmer Report predicted a 20% rise in the number of aluminium windows being installed in the UK between 2017 and 2021. Alongside that, it forecast a 20% rise in the installed value of those windows, and we are already seeing clear evidence of aluminium’s ability to resist the downward price pressure which continues to affect many of the mainstream window and door choices in PVCU.

Fabricators who were initially drawn into the aluminium market via bifold doors are increasingly adding aluminium windows and entrance doors to their product offering, and tapping into the demand that undoubtedly exists for these products, not just in the commercial market but increasingly in the retail sector as well.

Of course, in commercial applications, aluminium windows and doors have long been the choice of specifiers and developers, alongside curtain walling, sliders and bifolds, because of their performance and desirability.

In the retail market, new opportunities are emerging all the time though. Customers tell us that it is now much easier to sell higher margin, higher value aluminium windows and doors alongside a bifold being fitted in a conservatory or orangery extension, and even to revisit previous bifold installs and replace first generation PVCU windows with more contemporary aluminium versions.

Fabricators who want to maximise these types of opportunities obviously need to choose a versatile system that allows them to be as flexible as possible, and that’s where Aluk’s 58 system comes in.

The 58 window and door system can be used to fabricate windows and doors suitable for commercial, multi-residential and retail settings. It is equally at home in a contemporary or a traditional building and can be configured in virtual any style – from casement to tilt and turn and even fully reversible windows, and both single and double doors.

At Aluk we understand that what our fabricators want is a system that enables them to minimise stockholding and complexity, while offering customers in all their target markets the widest possible choice, and that’s exactly what the 58BW delivers.

Using the same outerframe, it comes with a choice of chamfered, ovolo, square or putty line options to create very distinct internal and external looks. It even has a choice of internal or external glazing and different leg options to suit applications in new build and refurbishment applications. Gaskets and cleats are common across the whole range and ancillaries such as sills and baypoles are interchangeable as required, which is a huge benefit.

Our core 58BW casement window comes in 58mm or 70mm frame depths to accommodate different applications and can be fitted with 24mm-40mm glazing. Sightlines are 75mm frame to vent and just 43mm in a fixed light.

Alongside this, we offer the 58BW ST – the first A rated aluminium window. This has frame to vent sightlines of just 66mm, making it an ideal replacement for steel windows with improved thermal performance and security, and there are also tilt before turn and top swing fully reversible options creating a fully integrated system.

And, because windows and doors are fully integrated within the 58 system, we also offer a 58BD door which matches perfectly with the windows enabling Aluk customers to offer an entrance door or French door whenever required.

The 58 system has much in common with our hugely popular BSF70 bifold door. It has set the standard in the industry for many years and is the system that other manufacturers benchmark their windows against.

In 2019 we will be launching a new window and door system that has many of the same core benefits but with some very clever technical surprises. We’re keeping it firmly under wraps for now, but visitors can expect to get a first glimpse at next year’s FIT Show.