Mark Frain, the new national sales manager for WarmCore, explains that hybrid platforms are a better and warmer way to aluminium. With WarmCore 70 and 76 there’s a clear strategy for better performing products for the long-term, as he outlines.

The renaissance in aluminium continues, yet at the same time the pressure on energy efficient materials is only going to increase.

While many were disappointed in the diluted revisions to Building Regulations, the fact is all windows and doors will have to improve their respective U-value performances in the years to come.

We know how good PVC-U is in terms of energy efficiency as we have 76mm and 88mm platforms that can achieve Passive House levels of performance. But for aluminium there’s a greater challenge, either go considerably deeper and/or increase glass specifications and both have notable implications on cost.

Going deeper may solve one problem, but if you’re priced out of the market it creates another and furthermore, with deeper sections comes the issue of cutting back plaster lines and the installation process as a whole. WarmCore satisfies the visual appeal of aluminium with the energy efficiency and sound reduction credentials of PVC-U all in a proven, industry-standard 70mm platform.

WarmCore now has the resources, commitment and vision behind it, and it is my role to help ignite this impressive platform back to and even surpassing the considerable sales traction it had at launch. It’s now a complete product platform with casement, flush and tilt and turn windows, along with residential, French, balcony, bi-fold and patio doors.

In addition to the 70mm platform there’s also WarmCore 76 which is based on a 100% recycled core and in the coming months the entire WarmCore platform will move to 100% recycled materials. This is a big statement to the industry, commercial specifiers and to the consumer and underpins our business motto ‘Today for Tomorrow’, where decisions are made with sustainability in mind across the group.

All the windows achieve a U-value of 1.3 W/(m²K) with a standard double-glazed unit and with 44mm triple glazed units, the U-value comes down to an impressive standard of 0.80 W/(m²K) on a single opener with a dedicated triple glazing bead.

Doors too perform very well with residential, French, balcony and bi-fold doors all achieving 1.3 W/(m²K) double glazed and 0.90 W/(m²K) with a dedicated triple glazing bead. The patio door variant provides a U-value of 1.4 W/(m²K) double glazed and 1.0 W/(m²K) with triple glazing. All these U-values have been achieved with standard glass specifications too.

We’ve also added a new range of foiled finishes across the WarmCore range alongside the powder coated RAL options and other design possibilities include chamfered and square sashes, cills, low thresholds and a range of super-premium handles and well-engineered hinges.

WarmCore carries Secured by Design across the range, along with PAS 24 and we believe security is a fundamental selling feature of this unique product platform. It’s also part of the reason why it is a perfect product solution for the commercial sector with high profile manufacturing partners such as Unique Window Systems thriving having completed many projects in recent years with WarmCore.

There’s never been a better time than now to look at WarmCore given the investment we’re making in the product and brand, which is being pushed out globally both in bar length and as finished goods. We’ve a new website in the pipeline, a dedicated marketing communications programme, a new range of brochures and other point of sale and support materials to make it a standout brand for the years to come.

My job and that of the team at Profine is to build considerable interest in the brand and to showcase what it means to have WarmCore aligned with the core values of Kömmerling. This will mean greater sales opportunities at the consumer level and also opening up the commercial sector further, thanks to the technological features that this hybrid platform offers. It’s my view that WarmCore is a better and warmer way to aluminium.