Colour is the battleground upon which orders are won are lost, according to Deceuninck’s managing director, Rob McGlennon.

The average order value for home improvements is higher in 2022 than it was in 2021 and 2020, easily offsetting the fall in demand, according to the trends in consumer behaviour revealed by the Business Pilot Barometer over the course of this year.

And as we progress through the final quarter of this year, the signs are that demand is going to dip further.

This is to be expected. Households are being squeezed at levels not seen for a generation, with rising energy costs reducing disposable income and driving up inflation. This is forcing the Bank of England to ratchet up interest rates, which in turn makes mortgages more expensive, leaving less money in the pot for home improvements.

“At best, these could be described as ‘headwinds’,” Deceuninck’s MD, Rob McGlennon says. “But like we’ve seen before in the home improvement sector, people who have the resources will buy windows and doors regardless of what’s happening in the economy – we’ve just got to be prepared to meet those specific demands.”

The higher order values reported by Business Pilot can be attributed to either whole house renovations, or a move away from standard products toward higher value niche offerings.

“Or, more likely, a combination of the two,” Rob says. “Following on from the pandemic, homeowners certainly turned towards improving the look and the feel of their homes, and replacing the windows and doors was a quick win.

“And while we’ve seen orders for flush windows increase, homeowners are also keen to factor in energy efficiency, sustainability and a wide colour choice – all key areas where Deceuninck has invested in.”

Deceuninck was arguably well ahead of the curve with its colour offer in the UK, and today runs six foiling lines at its base in Calne, Wiltshire. This drives the operation that fulfils the promise of 30+ colourways from stock, with a further 20 colours on a 15-day turnaround.

“A comprehensive foiling operation, and the warehouse space needed to hold all that colour in stock, isn’t achieved overnight,” Rob says. “We’ve always known that the demand for colour was growing, and we invested in our capacity to future-proof ourselves and our customers.

“Now, the ability to offer those good-looking windows and doors – such as our Heritage flush window and Heritage flush door – in a wide choice of colour, is the defining point upon which jobs are won or lost.”

Deceuninck’s strength in the supply of coloured profile has grown over several years, so that the systems company is not only responsive, it is also an expert in this field.

For example, the unit in which the foiling lines are housed are kept at a constant 23ºC, the perfect temperature for lamination.

Every roll of foil is bar-coded and scanned, which means Deceuninck has a record of each batch. The company has full traceability on all consumables used within the process, so if there is a defect the production manager can track it throughout the production schedule, right back to the individual batch from the supplier.

Each member of the highly skilled team has a minimum 18 months in post under their belt, and staff turnover in the foiling department is very low, which helps maintain a high quality of finished product.

Deceuninck runs six foiling lines, each geared to a specific product type: small profiles; main frames; a quick-change line; a double-sided line; a line dedicated to single lengths; and a fully automatic line.

The latter is a state-of-the-art Luna R machine, representing the latest in a series of six figure investments on manufacturing capacity by Deceuninck. Capable of processing highly complex profiles, the Luna R is at the cutting edge of lamination technology.

Deceuninck also led the industry in understanding the trends which define the influence that finishes have on consumer purchasing decisions. This has included a study, which it commissioned last year from YouGov.

“We supplied more than 160 different colourways last year, so we do a lot of different finishes to order but the ones that are delivering the greatest growth are the solid colours, greys and increasingly black, which are available from stock,” Rob says.

“Significantly, though, we are not simply supplying our products in a wide colour choice, we are investing in the processes to make the finish as good as it possibly can be. And we are keeping our finger on the pulse regarding trends, so we’ve always got the right colours in stock.