Visit FIT Show For A Low-Cost Entry To The Aluminium Timber Window Market

Tap into the increasing growth in popularity of aluminium timber composite windows with AluWood Windows’ easy-to-manufacture, flexible window system. Fabricators looking to add the proven, low-cost entry-level system to their range, have the opportunity to do so at FIT Show by visiting AluWood’s stand, H1 in Hall 7.

“AluWood is a comprehensive flush sash aluminium timber window system that requires a limited number of components,” says Callum Grant, Commercial Director, AluWood Windows. “It’s easy for fabricators to manufacture our full suite of windows including casement and fully reversible, the AluWood system only needs one sash, one mullion and one outer frame.

“This saves fabricators money, by reducing investment needed in tooling, and also saves them time, by limiting the number of tooling changes required. It’s a proven low-cost system, that adds real value to fabricators’ businesses. Visitors to the show can come to see it for themselves.”

The AluWood system provides fabricators and joinery companies with lots of design choices, allowing them to win more projects. The aluminium on the outside comes in any RAL colour and the timber frame on the inside can be made from a wide range of hard and soft woods including Accoya.

AluWood manufactures its system in the UK, holding a substantial stockholding in a number of places. This provides fabricators with lower set-up costs and speeds up deliveries. Certified to PAS 24 standard, the system has also been rigorously tested in harsh weather conditions, so it’s proven to withstand the British climate.

“Visitors to FIT Show will be able to speak to our team about how the system can provide real benefits to their business,” adds Callum.

AluWood is looking for forward thinking fabricators to join its network across the UK. For more information call AluWood on 01955 641303.

www.aluwoodwindows.co.uk

Installers looking for a different approach to getting high quality sales leads, can find exactly what they’re looking for at this year’s FIT Show at the NEC.

Visitors to Comparemywindows.com’s stand A41 in Hall 6, can see its revolutionary new comparison website for windows and doors. Demos of the website on the stand will show installers how they can change the way they sell windows, and attract more customers in their local area. Installers can pre-register their products, services and prices on the site now. The new site will be live before FIT Show.

“Comparemywindows.com is all about giving installers hot qualified leads by changing the way we sell windows,” explains Chris Dickman of Comparemywindows.com. “To do this, we need to provide homeowners with a better experience for buying windows.

“We know from our research that homeowners want the industry to be more open when it comes to window prices and information. We need to provide them with more knowledge about the windows they are buying so they have more trust in the company they’re buying from.

“We have developed Comparemywindows.com because we want to make the way people buy windows the same as other products. Comparison websites already work so well for holidays and insurance, and we believe it will work exactly the same way for windows.”

Comparemywindows.com takes its lead from other successful comparison websites. It gives people looking for windows and doors information about installers in their area and it allows installers to promote themselves directly to serious buyers.

Chris adds, “At FIT Show, we will be looking to talk to forward thinking installers, who want a 21st century method of generating quality sales enquiries. We’re excited about how our new way of selling windows can help installers grow their businesses.”

www.comparemywindows.com 

The world’s first life cycle assessments calculated through the new BRE LINA tool will be unveiled at Ecobuild next week (Tuesday 7 March 2017, 2pm at Stand E109).

The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) is the first customer worldwide for BRE LINA. This allows the BWF to produce life cycle assessment results for its members’ products which are then uploaded into the BRE Hub so that a third party verified BRE Global Environmental Performance Declaration (EPD) can be produced.

The results can also inform assessments for ISO 14001, EN 15804 (the European standard for the sustainability of construction products) and other environmental management systems, and can feed into BIM (Building Information Modelling).

Consequently, two timber windows made by BWF member companies – the Stormsure Timber Casement Window by JELD-WEN and the Conservation Casement Window by Mumford and Wood – will become the first products to receive LINA assessments.

Iain McIlwee, chief executive of the BWF, said:

“This is timber leading the debate once again. LINA is proving to be a powerful calculator which now allows us at the BWF to build on the early work of Wood for Good and the Wood Window Alliance to produce bespoke life cycle assessments for our members’ products.

“This is a major breakthrough in proving categorically timber’s superior environmental sustainability credentials. The simple approach and science behind this environmental tool unravels many of the complexity excuses made by competing materials about why embodied carbon cannot be taken into consideration. It revolutionises the way EPDs can be produced and takes us one step closer to these declarations hitting the mainstream.”

Beatrix Richards, head of corporate stewardship (sustainable commodities) at WWF-UK is speaking at the launch at Ecobuild. She says:

“Government figures suggest we may need to build a million new houses by 2020.  As we seek to ensure that this construction, and indeed the on-going repair and restoration of the existing housing stock, has the lowest possible environmental impact, it is critical that we understand the full life time costs of all the products we use.  This applies to everything – cement, bricks, doors, windows etc.

“Tools exist to help architects, builders, suppliers and consumers to understand the true, full costs, from sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, life time use and disposal, so that decisions can be made on the best possible information. Life cycle assessments are one such way of capturing this information and WWF welcomes the British Woodworking Federation’s lead in adopting this approach.”

Dr Shamir Ghumra, director at the BRE Centre for Sustainable Products, will also be involved in the launch, and says:

“The BWF has shown tremendous leadership and vision by becoming the first organisation in the world to adopt LINA. There is a growing need for better product data through verified EPDs.  LINA makes the verification process quicker for BWF members.”

The launch will take place on the joint Confederation of Timber Industries and Wood for Good stand (E109) at 2-3pm on Tuesday 7 March. Tickets are available free of charge. Presentations will last no more than 10 minutes and attendees will be welcome to continue discussions with coffee and refreshments on the stand.

Further information can be found at: www.bwf.org.uk/toolkit/environmental-waste-management/what-is-a-life-cycle-assessment

Distinction Doors has just announced it has increased its standard range of pre-pigmented colours across all of its door ranges which includes perennial favourites Anthracite Grey and Distinction Chartwell Green. For consistency, the doors are complemented by pre-pigmented through-colour cassettes to match too.   Chantel Roach, Distinction’s Sales and Marketing Director, said: “Anthracite Grey and Chartwell Green are both very on-trend shades and two of our most popular colours. By making them a pre-pigmented colour product rather than a special paint order we can cut lead times and make the colours even easier for customers to choose because they’re an off-the-shelf stock item.”

Chantel commented: “Homeowners care about the practicalities such as thermal efficiency and security but we know that what really excites them is the elements of their door that they can personalise – the colour, the glass, the design. By increasing our range of pre-pigmented colours we’re normalising the idea of choosing what are usually regarded as non-standard colours. In other words, we’re helping Distinction Doors’ installers to make the sales process even more inspirational for homeowners.”

Distinction Doors has its finger on the pulse when it comes to trends in the sector. In extending its range of pre-pigmented colours it is recognising the importance that homeowners place on the aesthetics of their choice.

www.distinctiondoors.co.uk

Supplying premium quality architectural aluminium windows, doors and curtain walling for decades, High Wycombe-based Hazlemere Commercial has won respect throughout the industry for its impressive track record of successfully completed projects for schools, colleges, universities and local authorities – but it also excels at renovating residential buildings too.

Late last year, in line with the requirements of CDM 2015, the firm carried out a thorough-going £925,000 + VAT rejuvenation of the Hyde Park Towers property development – a 1970s-built medium-rise residential block on London’s busy Bayswater Road overlooking Hyde Park, now home to 60 high-end apartments and a luxurious penthouse in what has now become one of the capital’s most desirable areas.

The extensive renovation project involved the removal of the building’s existing steel windows, and replacing them with Sapa Dualframe 75 Si white polyester-coated aluminium alternatives. The firm also replaced several external doors with Sapa Crown aluminium double glazed residential doors, and fitted two sets of new Sapa Crown aluminium sliding patio doors to the penthouse. In addition, Hazlemere Commercial carried out associated works including scaffolding, redecoration, and the installation of a new fire detection system, all in accordance with the latest building regulations.

Hazlemere’s Commercial Division won praise from Levy, the property management firm who hired it for the project: “We have found that Hazlemere were refreshingly co-operative and attentive to our needs and to our residents,” commented Gary Barlow, Associate with Levy’s Building Consultancy team. “The firm was conscientious and thorough in their work with excellent attention to detail.

Hazlemere’s methodology of phasing work into four stages worked very well, ensuring that scaffolding wasn’t in place for the whole duration of the project. Their handling of the whole process was exemplary and the service at each stage was outstanding.”

Hazlemere Sales Director Tony Beale commented: “It was fantastic collaborating with Levy on this project, and both they and the residents of Hyde Park Towers were a joy to work with. We look forward to doing so again in the future.”

For more information visit www.hazlemerecommercial.co.uk or call 0808 231 6594

Image Above: Mark Austin, Marketing Director, Hazlemere Window Company Ltd.

Over decades of expert installation work, Hazlemere Commercial has established itself as one of the UK’s leading architectural glazing specialists – but now the thriving firm’s profile has been raised even further, as Marketing Director Mark Austin becomes Chairman of the GGF’s Windows and Doors Group.

Providing a voice for the fenestration industry at the highest levels, the GGF exists to advise policy makers, protect consumers, and represent the interests of the glass and glazing sector on a national scale.

Members of the body’s Window and Door Group have met regularly since 1977 – and today, representatives from 225 of the UK’s most respected manufacturers and installers gather four times a year to discuss mutual interests, concerns and the state of the industry more broadly.

Mark’s new role will see him chair two of these annual meets, while Phil Goult, Chair of the GGF’s Conservatories Association, will oversee the remaining two.

Mark comments: “I was absolutely delighted to be elected Chairman of the Windows and Doors Group. It’s a huge honour, and a fantastic platform to help further the interests of a sector I’m extremely passionate about.

There’s been a revolution in fenestration over the last ten years. It constantly amazes me how much technology goes into manufacturing modern windows, doors, conservatories and curtain walling, and how exceptionally the final products are. It’s a massively exciting time to be involved in glass and glazing – and I can’t wait to see how the sector will develop in the years ahead.”

Mark joined Hazlemere Commercial in 2008, following senior roles at an office design firm and Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers Football Clubs. He was appointed to the firm’s Board of Directors in February 2015.

Mark continued: “We’ve completed hundreds of developments in the time I’ve been at Hazlemere, involving work on dozens of different types of properties – but its local authority premises, and schools, colleges and universities that we know the best.

We’ve built our business by taking on challenging, specialist projects that require a thorough understanding of the buildings and institutions we work with – their cultures, routines, and the unique challenges they present. It’s that level of commitment and the depth of that understanding that sets us apart from our competitors.”

For more information call 01494 897600 or visit www.hazlemerecommercial.co.uk

Coventry-based Aztec Windows has announced that it can offer the innovative autoLock AV3 from Winkhaus across its range of high-end designer composite doors.

The AV3 lock is now available as standard on all its Solidor Italia doors, while the AV3 Heritage version can be specified as an upgrade on the Traditional range.

Michael Hagan, Aztec Windows Director commented: “The AV3 fits perfectly with our range of top-quality designer composite doors and it’s already proving popular with our customers. As soon as they see it, they say ‘we’ll have that’. They think it’s fantastic!

“Homeowners are invariably looking for the best for their home and with the AV3 that is what they get; smooth operation, Daytime Mode and the ability to add home automation. It’s the perfect 21st century solution for a smart composite entrance door and helps us to differentiate our business, setting us apart from the rest,” he continued.

Launched last year, the AV3 multipoint autoLock features a ‘daytime latch’ function that delivers added practicality for the end-user by allowing the door to be opened from the outside without a key when activated. This facility is useful when instant access is needed over a short period of time, for example when carrying in shopping bags.

Michael added: “Homeowners have the additional reassurance of pulling the door behind them knowing their property is fully locked, safe and secure when they leave. Or at the flick of a small switch, the Daytime Mode offers extra convenience for tasks just outside of the home.”

Mike Rushen, Winkhaus National Sales Manager commented: “Since the launch of our state-of-the-art AV3 autoLock, our customers are discovering how it can increase the versatility of their door ranges, in turn further enhancing their product portfolios and their offer to homeowners.”

For more information, visit www.winkhaus.co.uk, contact Winkhaus on 01536 316091 or email marketing@winkhaus.co.uk.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has launched the Governments Digital Strategy, which includes a focus on skills and infrastructure to support the digital economy. Mike Cherry, National Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said:

“As the Government takes forward its digital plan announced today, it should now focus on the small business community, who will be key to driving digital transformation and productivity.

“The ‘digital gap’ for small businesses hinders productivity and growth. For the UK to be the best place in the world to do business, we need fit for purpose digital infrastructure and help for small businesses to develop their businesses online.70 per cent of small businesses report that their mobile phone is critical to their business, so while delivering 5G is important, too many FSB members tell us that basic mobile coverage is lacking. Action is needed to tackle these ‘not-spots’ and to achieve the Government’s promised broadband Universal Service Obligation for all businesses across the country. FSB will play its part, as part of a business-led ‘Do It Digital’ campaign to get more small businesses confident when operating online, and we will shortly roll out basic cyber insurance for all our members.

“The commitment within the Digital Strategy to boost digital skills and confidence to go online is vital, with two in five small businesses believing digital skills are crucial to their future growth. Tackling the skills gap across all of those in the workforce needs to begin early, and we welcome the pledge to teach new skills such as coding, to more young people.  This however cannot be a one-off; free basic digital skills training throughout everyone’s working lives will be just as important for UK business to remain competitive in the global economy.”

www.fsb.org.uk

Donations for a Gloucestershire-based special-needs charity have been flooding in after a fundraising auction at the recent Atlas Installation of the Year awards.

The awards, which were held on 20 January to honour the industry’s finest orangery, conservatory or rooflight installations, spurred guests to dig deep in to their pockets to raise £3,500 for the Spring Centre in Gloucester. The funds will be used to buy much-needed specialised toys which will boost the toy library at the Centre.

The Spring Centre needs to raise £10,000 a month to support the families of more than 100 youngsters with disabilities and special needs throughout Gloucestershire. This donation from Atlas rounds off two years of fundraising by Atlas’ parent company the Customade Group which has raised a total of £48,000.

Nick Gibbons, Customade Group Operations Director, explains: “This fantastic charity is very close to our hearts. My 13-year old daughter Niamh, who suffers from a genetic condition and needs 24 hour care, regularly visits The Spring Centre for essential respite care. We are delighted to have raised such a terrific amount of money for the Centre over the last two years and to give something back to show our appreciation of everything they do for local families.

“The Atlas Installation of the Year awards was a brilliant evening of celebration, topped off with a  mighty fundraising result from some big-hearted guests as well as people who couldn’t attend on the night. Thanks to everyone who donated.”

Jayne Fisher, Centre Manager at the Spring Centre, added: “We are thrilled to receive such a generous donation and to have the continued support of a local company. Niamh has been coming to the Centre for many years and donations like this are vital to provide essential care and equipment for her and her family and other families with children with complex needs.”

Find out more about the awards evening by visiting: www.atlasroofsolutions.co.uk/installation/installation-of-the-year-winners

To help its customers with the product selection process, Doorfit Products has launched a dedicated sliding and folding door hardware display area within its recently refurbished showroom in Birmingham.

The new space is a place where Doorfit customers and end users can experience full size working models of various systems in-situ. The showroom is designed to aid specifiers, joiners and installers to quickly and easily identify suitable products for their projects, helping streamline processes and improve efficiency.

The new display area utilises the most popular and ‘renowned’ products from manufacturer P C Henderson including: double top, pocket door, Rustic 80, Soltaire 120, straight sliding 290, Husky folding, Husky sliding and Securefold systems.

The range was specifically chosen to provide customers with an expansive selection of sliding and folding door hardware to suit various applications, from residential through to industrial. The selection caters for different styles and tastes – such as the ‘unique and traditional’ look of Rustic 80 – as well as accommodating a wide variety of door materials and weights.

David Close, general manager at Doorfit Products, commented: “Before the development of our new showroom we relied heavily on miniature display models of our most popular sliding door hardware from P C Henderson. This worked OK but it didn’t allow the customer to gain a true understanding of how an installed sliding door system can look in situ or how it operates and feels.

“Providing our customers with a dedicated sliding and folding door hardware showroom with full size working models allows them to physically manoeuvre the various systems and gain a better understanding of which will be most suitable for their project before specification.”

To assist customers further, high quality graphics have been added into to the alcoves of the doors to give customers an added visualisation of the look that can be achieved, as well as display panels providing specification and technical information.

Philip Jones, UK business development manager at P C Henderson, commented: “We’ve worked with Doorfit for over 60 years now and so it’s great to see our products showcased in their entirety in the newly refurbished showroom. The new space will allow joiners, installers and end users to see the high quality nature and expertly designed aesthetics of the hardware components up close. In addition, these customers can now assess the movement and feel of how a fully installed sliding or folding door would work in their space.”

Alongside the sliding and folding door hardware showroom, Doorfit has also upgraded its garage door section to include an array of new and existing systems. Its central England location makes it ideal for customers wishing to view products in action before purchasing.

Doorfit has been a supplier of sliding door hardware, garage doors and architectural ironmongery since 1953. Its supports a wide range of clients, ranging from private homeowners to architects and housing developers.

www.doorfit.co.uk

Tweet

The post Sliding and folding hardware on show at Doorfit appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).