Tony Hair Promoted to President of Masonite’s Global Residential Business

Caitlin Whalley (left) and Kayleigh Pritchard of Universal Arches

Shaped frame and arching specialist, Universal Arches, says it is putting its ‘females to the fore’ when it comes to customer service, sales support and FIT Show planning.

With an increasing number of women involved in the fenestration industry, Universal Arches says it is giving Kayleigh Pritchard and Caitlin Whalley ‘more wide-ranging responsibilities’. Both of them came straight from college with Kayleigh now in her ninth year and Caitlin in her third with the specialist frame manufacturer.

Leon Day, managing director of Universal Arches commented: “Both Kayleigh and Caitlin now have more proactive roles in the business and their experience and skillsets fully justify this. I would expect that more women will come to the fore in this industry given the statistics and opportunities. We are starting to see more women such as Clare O’Hara at the Epwin Group now also taking major roles in what has been a male dominated environment for so many years and it is a welcome change in dynamics for modern society, as it is at Universal Arches.”

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Dear Sophie,

Since President Trump started labelling people, news organisations and news he didn’t like as ‘fake news’ the phrase has been in the media. It’s one of the internet’s favourite memes.

But made-up news, distortions and lies used to deceive, dissemble and confuse are common, and as old as the hills. It’s also more common than we’d like in our own industry.

In composite doors, some brands claim to have Secured by Design when the slabs they use don’t pass the PAS24:2016 cut test, or meet the current Document Q. Some claim to injection-mould their cassettes when they don’t, and haven’t done for over a year; or claim to extrude their profiles when they contract out. Or their door slabs don’t achieve the 1.8 ‘U’ value they must have to achieve the CE mark and sell them legally.

What do we think about that? Does it matter? Who cares? Turn a blind eye?

You could argue that ‘overclaiming’ is morally questionable, and isn’t a problem until someone gets caught. But it’s usually the innocent who carry the can.

When a burglar breaks in – quickly, easily and near silently – and gets away with your customers’ valuables, who’s to blame? Not the homeowner who bought a composite door the installer recommended as ‘very secure’. Not the installer or fabricator who believed it was very secure, because that’s what the manufacturer claimed. But whoever’s to blame, installers and fabricators stand to lose their reputation. The manufacturer who fudged or faked it, or failed to say the door’s security was good for 30 seconds protection at best, tends to hide behind the small print in their terms and conditions and escape the flak.

I believe installers and fabricators want manufacturers to be straight with them, so the products they buy match the specifications they’re sold, and perform exactly as promised.

It’s what homeowners and installers want. Is it too much to ask?

Sincerely,
Gareth Mobley
CEO, Solidor & Residor

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Exlabesa launched its ECW50 curtain walling system last year and it has taken the market by storm since then. Paul Benn, Exlabesa’s National Sales Manager, said: “We are pleased the ECW50 is proving so popular but we are not surprised. It’s one of the easiest curtain walling systems on the market to manufacture and it’s also extremely competitively priced, which is a winning combination.”

The ECW50 curtain walling system has 50mm profile widths so it has the stunningly slim sightlines of a classic aluminium system. It’s suitable for use on a wide variety of commercial building projects and can be integrated with Exlabesa’s KWS window systems and KSF and KTS commercial door systems.

The ECW50 is a thermally broken system so it meets and exceeds current building regulations for thermal efficiency. It has 28mm glazing as standard but can accommodate glazing of up to 46mm for projects where thermal efficiency is paramount. The system is fabricated using high quality European components and is tested to UNE EN 13830:2016 for weather resistance, safety in use, energy efficiency and heat retention and also to the more onerous CWCT standard in the UK.

Other features include a choice of depths for structural members, mullion sizes of up to 220mm and transom sizes of up to 195mm. Internal reinforcing bars are available where bigger spans are needed, plus a range of structural add-ons, while a range of external caps give different finishing options. The system is easy to install, thanks to the unique gasket design that makes glazing simple, a feature that will cut installation time and make installers’ lives easier.

Paul reports that sales of the ECW50 show no signs of slowing down, but that’s not surprising either. Exlabesa is one of the country’s most experienced and reliable aluminium systems companies and the ECW50 is the perfect example of a company with its finger on the pulse of market needs.

www.exlabesa.co.uk

Sternfenster has supplied its one millionth double glazed unit manufactured on its Forel IGU line.

The third of three Forel lines purchased by Sternfenster, it’s managing director, Mike Parczuk, said that the capability the line delivered had been integral to its supply strategy, driving increased product quality and service.

“We have always focused on owning and controlling as much of the supply chain as possible. Manufacture of our own IGU’s made a lot of sense both in terms of product quality but also wider service,” he said.

Manufacturing windows and doors in PVC-U systems from Deceuninck Residence 9 and Spectus plus aluminium systems from Smart, running its own IGU line has given Sternfenster additional flexibility something it argues translates directly into the service and support, it offers to its customers.

“We can guarantee IGU quality, something which you can’t always do with third-party supliers but it also means we can be more responsive to customers”, explained Mike. “If there’s a mis-measures or breakage, for example, we can turn around replacement product very quickly. It also means that we’re not waiting on our own supply chain. This is a key driver of our strategy across our product offering.”

Installed in 2009, Sternfenster’s IGU line features a VW Vertical Washer and Water Treatment plant, plus its patented CR coating remover. This delivers a number of advantages over competitor systems, working shaped glass without tool changes, while the cup grinding tool gives the abrasive surface a higher yield.

It also features the highly innovative SQD01 Automatic Quality Control Scanner. This captures an image of the glass at a rate of 2000 times per second. Images are then combined with the onboard software, automatically detecting surface defects on both sides of the sheet.

www.sternfenster.com

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Modplan has just announced it will be adding VEKA’s mechanically jointed vertical slider to its range. Heidi Sachs, Modplan’s Managing Director, said: “The mechanically jointed VS extends our VS range. It has been specifically designed for conservation areas and opens up even more opportunities for our customers.”

VEKA’s mechanically jointed VS was developed in conjunction with local planning departments to ensure its aesthetics met design requirements for conservation areas. The key joints have a mortice and tenon appearance and other features include sculptured sashes, a period Georgian bar, traditional travel stops and run through horn details and heritage hardware design. The period feel of the mechanically jointed VS is complemented by the modern day technical advantages because the window achieves a U value as low as 1.4 W/m2K.

The mechanically jointed VS’s features build on VEKA’s standard VS, which is a popular choice of social and commercial specifiers in Britain and Ireland thanks to features such as traditional front to back profile dimensions that match existing timber box sash window arrangements, a deep bottom rail option, weights and pulleys that are replaced with spring and spiral balances plus sashes that tilt inwards for easy cleaning.

Standard colours on the mechanically jointed VS are White, Rosewood, Rosewood on White, Golden Oak, Golden Oak on White, Anthracite Grey on White and Black on White. Other variation colours are available on request, but have a longer lead time.The new mechanically jointed VS will be manufactured in Modplan’s dedicated factory near Newport, Gwent and will be available to customers from 1 April 2017.

The mechanically jointed VS is the latest in a line of new products being introduced by Modplan over the next few months. Other additions include VEKA’s FlushSash window and the M70 system. Heidi says, “We keep our finger on the pulse when it comes to product design and the mechanically jointed VS is just one example of our ability to do this.”

www.modplan.co.uk

Universal Arches will bring the first ever Motion Capture (MoCap) technology to the FIT Show, which will transform a hidden, live human performance into a pure, interactive and digital experience on stand C63 in Hall 6.

Archie and Sasha will be the two life like digital assistants on the Universal Arches stand, which will dazzle visitors in terms of interactive technology and also product finish in a unique colourway, this year with a distinctly metallic theme. In addition, there will be a set of arched Solidor composite French doors and with every visitor to the show given a lanyard with a unique key, there will be the opportunity to try and open the doorset to claim an Apple iPad.

The virtual characters of Archie and Sasha have full mobility and have all the expressions and features that you would associate with an animated video character in the movies, except this one interacts and talks back to the audience live on stage. It’s very much like bringing interactive technology to life, out of the latest Disney Pixar movies, as can be seen at www.activ8hologramevents.com/motion-capture.

Leon Day, managing director of Universal Arches commented: ‘It will be our staff that will drive our FIT Show exhibition this year with the likes of Caitlin and Kayleigh on hand each day and supported by our virtual assistants of Archie and Sasha. With our sponsorship again of the lanyards, we’re also looking to break the record breaking footfall of 3,217 from last years’ show.

He continues: ‘Come and experience this ground breaking interactive technology for yourself and make sure you share your experience through social media channels. We really hoping to bring some genuinely exciting technology to the FIT Show with a true sense of fun.’

Share your experiences using #archieandsasha with #fitshow on stand C63 in Hall 6. For further information on Universal Arches visit www.universalarches.com, call the sales office on 01744 612844 or follow them on Twitter @universalarches.

Quick to launch new products for the composite door sector, Endurance® Doors, are now offering the recently announced and perfectly engineered Fab&Fix heritage door handle, as part of their extended hardware range, through their partners ERA.

This new Lever Lever and Lever Pad handle range is offered in antique black, along with hardex chrome, gold and graphite and is designed within a suite of perfectly matching products including letterplate and bull ring knocker. The operation of this new handle has been tested to in excess of 200,000 cycles and the finish across the range meets the requirements of BS EN 1670:2007 Grade 5 Corrosion Resistance (480 hours).

Many consumers like the traditional appearance of some of the period inspired designs within the Endurance® Doors collection and the availability of a new heritage hardware range that’s designed to last is a major plus, at a time when some antique hardware options have high failure rates and a short operational lifespan. These new finishes will also be featured on the Door Designer, that has become so popular with consumers and trade partners alike.

Stephen Nadin, managing director of Endurance® Doors commented: ‘The new heritage handle and hardware range is an important addition to our expanding portfolio and we’re one of the first companies in the UK to make the investment. Product performance, security and aesthetics are some of the key ingredients as to why our solid and secure Endurance® Doors are gaining such popularity and rave reviews.

For further information on Endurance® Doors, including complete door sets or slab only manufacturing, please visit www.endurancedoors.co.uk, e-mail sales@endurancedoors.co.uk or call the sales office on 01652 462042. You can also follow them on Twitter @EnduranceDoors.