The versatility to thrive

While some companies are welcoming a resurgence in the popularity of aluminium, in the commercial market it never went away, according to Bristol’s West-End Windows.

Over the last ten years, aluminium has had a massive resurgence as a retail window and door material, the company said. In part, this has been driven by technological change.

“Once, aluminium’s biggest weakness was its thermal performance but the development of the polyamide thermal break changed all that,” it said. “Today’s aluminium products can offer thermal efficiency on a par with PVCU.”

West End director Laura Young said: “In retail glazing, choice is everything. As an installer, you need to be offering the widest possible choice of quality products if you want your business to thrive – and that’s why we provide the entire Alitherm profile range from Smarts Systems.

“To arm our customers with products suitable for older, more traditional properties, we also offer the Alitherm Heritage system, which has been specifically designed for use on more historically sensitive projects.

“We also now supply high-end door products like the Visofold 6000, the best-in-class bifold with the slimmest sightlines of any Smarts product – the Visoglide and Ultraglide patio door systems, and thermally-efficient lantern roof products.

“What’s more, we fabricate shaped windows, can supply fixed circular and horizontal pivot windows, and have been offering quality secondary glazing since 1975.”