Glass Times talks to TWR Group’s MD, Terry Richardson, who explains how the company has stayed ahead of the competition for over two decades.

TWR Group has been supplying installers across the UK since 2001. The company started life as a PVC-U fabricator before teaming up with Smarts in 2012 and introducing aluminium bi-folding doors to its product offering, producing 100 doors per week in a matter of months.

Over the last two decades, TWR has invested a huge amount of money in new production lines, a powder coating facility, an automated lift and storage system – said to be the first UK based glass and glazing company to do so – its workforce, and two factories, in Sunderland and Peterlee.

But according to managing director, Terry Richardson, it was the introduction of aluminium and the bi-fold market that saw the North East-based company ‘cement its reputation’ at the top of the industry, a move supported by the firm’s customer support service.

Terry explains: “We recognised early on that a large percentage of our target market were more accustomed to fitting PVC-U windows doors, which is why we decided to offer comprehensive installation and technical support to installers to help those unfamiliar with the product.

“It’s that combination of high performing, specialist products and second-to-none support that helped our customers capitalise on the lucrative bi-fold market and helped us grow our customer base.”

TWR’s marketing activity at the time was built around its bi-fold customer support service, with Terry branding himself as the ‘Bi-fold Doctor’ in the trade press and on the TWR website.

“We were receiving lots of similar questions from installers, and we thought it would make sense to share our knowledge with the wider industry,” says Terry.

“The high level of technical support on offer for installers from TWR hasn’t changed and when customers choose TWR Group, they choose experience, quality, and outstanding customer service and support.”

Family matters

Terry explains that such a comprehensive support package stems from the company’s roots as a family-run business. His daughters, Laura and Helen, have progressed through the business and continue to bring fresh ideas to the table.

Laura’s partner, James, is also the operations manager on the aluminium side of the business.

“My daughters have grown up around the business and they really know it inside out, from operations through to finance, technical and customer account management,” says Terry.

“I will be relying on Laura and Helen even more as we aim to take the business to the next level while still retaining the excellent level of personal service our customers have come to expect.

“It’s so important for customers to know the business is going to be in the best hands moving forward and being a proper family-run business has helped us provide a more personal approach. Our focus has always been looking after our customers rather than on price,” he adds.

An experienced team is another reason why TWR Group has grown over the last 21 years, and why the company now has almost 600 aluminium customers and more than 300 on the PVC-U side.

“Many of our team have been with us for 17-18 years so we have the quality when it comes to fabrication and we have got the backing from our suppliers too so we can deliver a quality product for a competitive price,” says Terry.

Looking forward

With a new, third site in the pipeline, TWR Group has exciting plans from an operational and product perspective moving forward.

“We’ve recently invested in an IGU line to start making our own insulated glass units, giving us far greater control over our supply chain, and we have some exciting new products in the pipeline, including the Alitherm 400 system from Smarts,” explains Terry.

“This product range has been designed to comply with the updated thermal requirements of Part L of the building regulations and features a pre-extruded gasket, which will save our customers a significant amount of time when out on site.

“It’s all part of our plans to continue our high levels of service to help installers remain competitive in the ever-changing bi-fold market.”