A year for conservatory colour

Chris Baron, director of Prefix Systems, looks at the opportunities for coloured conservatories, lanterns and glazed extensions in 2018; colour ranges are predicted to expand to satisfy consumer demand.

The market for PVCU replacement windows and doors has exploded into contemporary colours and rich woodgrains over the last few years, with many of the leading systems companies suggesting that it now accounts for 35%-40% of sales in volume terms. White will always have a place in the home improvement market for near maintenance-free external building products, but colour is where the sales opportunities lie for the immediate future with good growth predicted for 2018.

With colour one of the most important trends in the industry, we’ve been quick to introduce a new colouring facility at our head office in Blackburn to support our customers in this sector of the market. Additionally, through our branch network, we can access all parts of the UK, while ensuring lead times and quality are as you would expect from us as an award-winning business.

Our facility includes a mix on demand paint system from which we can offer any RAL colour. A fully enclosed spray enclosure and a SchuBox infrared, catalytic drying system provides superior finishing, resulting in a robust surface that will stand the rigours of installation and long into the future. We also have a team of dedicated paint applicators who have undergone considerable training and development.

All sprayed roofs are guaranteed for all external and internal applications, and we can offer all covers and caps in a single, uniform finish. As a result of this investment, we are now holding stock of certain popular finishes including black and anthracite grey, and can ensure a better product consistency.

Furthermore, we can speed up lead times for these colour finishes meaning they can be supplied on the same turnaround as standard white.

The market for colours also opens up opportunities for dual or contrasting colours. At Prefix, we believe that the opportunities colour presents for conservatories and glazed extensions are near limitless with a cutting-edge colouring facility at hand.

We can also colour match to any material using a scanning facility, with additional paint options for different sheens: 20% semi-matt; 50% semi-gloss; 60% satin; plus textured and metallic finishes. These finishes can even mimic the types of coatings used for aluminium windows and doors, therefore Prefix can supply a roof to match your existing aluminium frames or we can supply the aluminium conservatory or glazed extension in full kit form as detailed in our Urbanroom brochure.

Having greater control of our product supply chain has always been a fundamentally important part of the Prefix way, and the response from existing customers has been nothing short of overwhelming. Capital investment and product innovation are two intrinsic factors that sets Prefix apart, while our renowned levels of customer service is something that’s cherished by our customers.

Without question colour will be high on the agenda for the fenestration and home improvement markets in 2018 and beyond, with companies in the supply chain requiring the ability to be able to support this demand. With a considerable investment at our head office in the new paint facility, we believe that Prefix will once again lead on colour as we did over a decade ago, when we were the first company to offer an expanded range of foiled finishes for conservatory roofs.