Why the time for aluminium is now
With recent research reflecting the demand for aluminium as well as growing requests from customers, it’s pretty evident that aluminium is on the rise. While PVC-U products are Framexpress’ bread and butter, its principal product manager, Jonny Green, talks about why the time was right to introduce its new range of high-quality aluminium windows and doors.
It’s safe to say that this year has brought with it its own set of challenges. From a change in government, soaring interest rates and a slowing economy – everyone from the one-man-band installers to the large-scale suppliers have had obstacles to face.
Navigating uncertainty is hard – we know that from our own experiences – and making the wrong move can leave a lasting impact. But, with regular communication with customers and staying tuned in to industry research and trends, we can be much more reactive to movement and market predictions.
For over two and a half decades, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing, and it’s worked. We’ve dedicated the last 26 years to developing the highest quality products, delivering on exceptional lead times, and nurturing our relationships with our strong customer base – all of which has been done with the aim of delivering them with nothing but the best.
From initially recognising the value and need for higher spec as standard PVC-U windows and doors back in 1998, we then expanded our offering to composite doors, conservatories, and fire doors. Now, we’re introducing Ali by Framexpress, our new range of aluminium windows and doors.
We often see investments happen in the most prosperous periods, not necessarily when there are dips in the market, but when it came to introducing aluminium to our product offering, we knew that now was the right time.
We’ve seen the increasing demand for aluminium from our own customers for a while now, but the statistics that came out of the latest Window & Door Market Trends Report 2024, by WindowBASE and Tommy Trinder, have solidified this for Framexpress.
The research into aluminium showed that over 63.5% of installers fitted aluminium products in 2023 – an increase of 17.6% in the last 10 years. It’s a figure that’s only set to grow too, as more and more homeowners look to achieve the on trend ‘steel look’ profiles and superior energy efficiency performance. Our decision to introduce a bi-folding door option to the range is backed up here too, as aluminium bi-fold doors currently outweigh the sale of sliding doors by 52%.
PVC-U is still, evidently, the most popular choice for homeowners, and will remain our core offering, but we can’t deny the research, so we want to make sure we’re equipping installers with the right products they need to supply this growing demand for aluminium.
Fabrication is our bread and butter. It’s what we’ve been doing for the past 26 years with our PVC-U offering, so we’re more than prepared for our new venture into aluminium fabrication. We have a team of dedicated, trained experts who are more than equipped to deal with the challenges and demand for high-quality windows and doors, but we’ve also welcomed a dedicated assistant production manager to oversee the entire aluminium fabrication operation.
Plus, to help deliver on demand for the new product range, we have also acquired a second manufacturing unit in Tweedale – a 12,000ft2 factory that sits adjacent to our 15,000ft2 dedicated fire door facility.
This investment means that we now operate out of a 77,000ft2 manufacturing facility, with a team of more than 140, who are on hand to help deliver our higher spec as standard products on time, in full and accurate every time.