The Dutemänn difference
We talk to Dutemänn’s MD, Martin James, about the exclusive advantages of the company’s suite of leading aluminium products, including the Elän bi-fold, Evorä lift & slide and Schärpe tilt and turn.
In the run up to the Future Homes Standard consultation in December last year, the expectation from the industry at the time was that a significant uplift in energy efficiency performance for windows and doors was going to be required.
And while the FHS consultation at the end of 2023 ultimately did not meet those expectations, it meant that most forward-thinking companies had worked hard to upgrade their portfolios to include more advanced products that would be ahead of the regulations.
That included Dutemänn, a company that has always prided itself on a product range designed to offer best in class performance and aesthetics, backed up by rigorous in-house testing.
As a result, the leading aluminium fabricator worked closely with Deceuninck Aluminium to introduce a full suite of FHS compliant windows, including a flush casement, total reversible and tilt & turn options built around a 90mm system that could offer U values as low as 0.8.
And it has since extended that product range to include the suited Elän bi-fold and Evorä lift & slide door options, as Martin James, Dutemann’s managing director, explains:
“Our Elän bi-fold is based on the Decalu system, which comes with a number of standout features as standard.
“That includes one of the main selling points of Decalu, which of course is the U values – it’s Part L compliant with double glazing – so our customers can confidently sell Elan because they know that it exceeds regulatory requirements.
“It’s a high-quality system, the hardware is excellent – it’s also sourced from the UK which underlines our made in Britain ethos – and it can support large, 200kg leafs,” continues Martin.
“It’s also very fitter friendly. That’s because it has adjustable jams (unlike some bi-fold systems that can’t be adjusted easily for out of square installations) and it also has a pre-gasketed, knock-in bead. That’s a big win for installers because it makes their life so much easier on site.
“And crucially, because of our close working relationship with Deceuninck Aluminium, we are able to offer a number of additional features that are exclusive to Dutemänn,” explains Martin. “We have enhanced the aesthetics with a 108mm mullion, giving end users more attractive, slimmer sightlines, and we’ve also developed our own track infill option. That’s designed to give a much neater, easier to clean finish and it’s a key differentiator for our customers.”
Dutemann’s Evorä lift & slide door is also proving to be a big hit with customers, according to Martin, thanks again to its slim sightlines, energy efficiency performance, quality of hardware and finish, as well as for its ease of installation with knock-in beads.
“Another key feature of Evora is the low, 20mm thresholds,” he adds. “That ensures an attractive, flush finish and it’s one that consumers really like.
“Evora is actually proving to be one of our most popular doors at the moment, but we’re also seeing a lot of traction with the Schärpe tilt and turn door, which we can offer with an integrated Juliet balcony. It’s a fantastic option, especially for loft conversions because it brings light and air into the room while remaining highly secure.
“Ultimately, the Evorä, Elän – and our Schärpe range – have been developed to take advantage of the premium end of the market,” says Martin. “We are not competing with suppliers who are offering bi-folds for a few hundred pounds a panel, but we are able to offer a competitively priced suite of market leading aluminium products – combined with our unique Dutemänn service and exclusive design features – that will allow our customers to win sales and grown their business.”
