When wood isn’t wood
Indistinguishable from natural woodgrain to the eye and the touch Ian Cocken, director of sales and marketing at Aluplast, explains that innovation in PVCU foiling technologies is delivering more than colour choice.
Wood’s appeal is in its grain. It’s more than simply an aesthetic quality, it’s about touch and natural warmth, things that the PVCU industry has to date had mixed success in trying to emulate. Until now.
Woodec from Aluplast is a new generation foil, which is almost indistinguishable from a natural wood finish, not only in the way that it looks but just as importantly, in the way that it feels. I’m not over-selling it to say that if you were holding Woodec in your hand, you’d think that it was wood, the finish is exceptional.
That’s an important point of differentiation, not only compared to standard PVCU but also because the market for coloured product is increasingly competitive, and genuine points of differentiation are difficult to come by.
Colours have been a significant driver within the second time replacement market but the net result is that opportunities to distinguish your offer from that of your competitors’ at point of retail has become increasingly difficult.
We aren’t at a point of saturation yet. That point may not, however, be very far off and if you can offer something genuinely different, which taps into the warmth of natural timber, but without the associated maintenance headaches, it’s a very strong consumer proposition.
This is reflected in market research, which demonstrates the importance of colour and finish in driving the market for second time window and door replacements, but also an increasingly congested market.
This is because, according to Palmer, at the latest count, 167 million window frames in the home improvement sector had been replaced at least once – ie, 92.1% of the total stock. Palmer’s forecast is that this will rise so that by next year 95% of windows in owner occupied dwellings will have already been replaced.
If this makes the case for colour as a point of differentiation between first and second-generation replacement window installations, Palmer also highlights 45% growth in demand for foils since 2013.
There are positives here; there is massive end user demand for foils but there is also more of it being supplied and very little to distinguish one colour or woodgrain foil from the other.
Woodec is the exception. There is no comparison to a ‘standard’ or ‘traditional’ woodgrain foil.
Aluplast has invested heavily in its colour and finish offer. Non-standard foil colours, for example, are supplied within 15 working days or less. Aluplast also doesn’t place restrictions on foil combinations or substrate options.
This flexibility is built around the investment that Aluplast has made in CNC foiling technology. This eliminates the time lost in traditional foiling in manual set-up and switch over, cutting it from hours to just minutes.
It is, however, Woodec, our new generation PVCU foil that has the potential to transform the PVCU window and door market.
It’s currently available in three ultra-life-like woodgrains: Turner Oak Malt, a subtle light oak finish; Sheffield Oak Alpine, a silvered oak finish; and slightly darker, Sheffield Oak Concrete.
It’s available across our core Ideal 70 and contemporary Ideal 4000 system, plus our new Smart-Slide inline sliding door and Flush Casement Sash and Lift-and-Slide Patio.
As a finish, Woodec works across a range of applications, bringing increased authenticity to flush sash casements but also complementing architectural and far more contemporary installations, for example the Aluplast Lift-and-Slide.
Capable of spanning openings of 6.5m x 2.8m with just two sashes, the Aluplast Lift-and-Slide door delivers design flexibility providing competition to bifold options. This includes uninterrupted sightlines as standard and an ultra-low a new low-sightline option on the fixed sash of just 32mm, maximising the glazed area of the door.
It exploits proven technology in its opening and closing system. Sashes are mounted on an easy-lift mechanism that elevates when opened and lowers on to the track when closed. So, a fully closed door, rests over lower weather seals improving the door’s weather tightness, thermal and acoustic insulation.
Separately, the Smart-Slide inline sliding door is a new mid-market PVCU inline sliding door capable of spanning larger openings. The 70mm system has also been developed to deliver significant efficiencies in fabrication.
The appeal of Woodec in applications the end-user actually touches and engages with, for example, a sliding door is immense.
It has premium appeal, while emulating a natural material with also indistinguishable accuracy, works exceptionally well as a finish on products connecting inside and more natural spaces outside the home. It sets the benchmark for next generation foils.
