New Product Submission Form

Ian Longbottom, chairman, Sliders UK

Sliders UK has formed a new senior management team as part of a management buy-out.

The new structure sees Alex Murphy, previously operations director, step up to a new role as chief executive officer. Ian Longbottom and Steve Mines remain in their respective roles, as chairman and sales director, joined by finance director, Jonathan Foxcroft. Richard Harris and Russell Pryor also join the business as retained consultants.

Ian Longbottom, chairman, Sliders UK, said: “We have ambitions for significant long term growth and are already 18-months along the road towards it. This includes not only the creation of our new management structure as announced today but also the major investment which has already been delivered in our manufacturing capability.

“With increased capacity, even better quality and service and with some very exciting product developments on the horizon, we believe that the market offers considerable opportunity for sustained growth– our own but most importantly, that of our customers.”

The restructure, completed in April, sees Mike Spain, who co-founded Sliders UK, leave the business.

Sliders UK reported that year-on-year, sales were up 16% on the same time last year at the end of 2016. It said this had been underpinned by new products, including the Ultimate Evolution and Sliders UK’s new Duraflex bi-folding doors, plus growth in composite door sales.

Sales of composite doors were also boosted by the specialist manufacturer’s investment in its new line. This means that Sliders UK can offer composite doors in five-days or less.

Product development has also formed a key part of Sliders UK’s growth strategy. This includes the launch of the Ultimate Evolution aluminium bi-fold door in late summer last year.

Longbottom concluded: “The product innovation that we have delivered so far delivers incredible opportunity to our customers.

“We believe that the range, the service levels and the quality that we’re able to offer from a single specialist supplier, delivers a real advantage and that that and the team and strategy which we now have in place, represent a strong foundation for our future growth and that of our customers.”

www.sliders-uk.com

The post Sliders UK undertakes MBO appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Picture above: Steve Davis and Karen Lund presented the awards.

Industry-leading installer support organisation, Network VEKA, has hosted another fantastic Members’ Weekend and glittering awards ceremony.

The ever-popular event, this year held in Warwick, attracted more than 240 attendees in the organisation’s 21st year.

The day kicked off with a specially built Business Centre, where members could chat to various supporting companies and affiliate partners about how they could work together for even greater success. As a national organisation, Network VEKA’s partnerships with affiliate companies mean that small, independent member companies can access a host of benefits, such as favourable rates and unique services that they might otherwise be unable to secure.

The afternoon’s speeches began with MD of The VEKA UK Group Dave Jones, who discussed the many ways the Network has grown in recent years, and continues to grow. Finance Director Graham Fitton took the audience through Network VEKA’s accounts over the past year, before Marketing Director Dawn Stockell unveiled some major changes being launched for Network VEKA’s branding going forward.*More to be announced*

Dave Jones rounded off proceedings, describing Network VEKA as the pinnacle of VEKA’s support offering and praising the membership for all their hard work: “Network VEKA is the jewel in the crown of the VEKA brand portfolio – the brand that stands for trust, not only to us all but also to our consumers… The futures of VEKA and Network VEKA are more entwined than ever before, neither will succeed as fully as we expect without the other. For all the work and investment we have coming through, what remains unchanged is that the most important assets Network VEKA has, are sat in this room.

“Our membership remains the platform for everything we have and can achieve and, once again, I thank you for your support and your efforts in growing this genuinely unique organisation.”

Dave also took this opportunity to congratulate founder member Goliath Homeworld on celebrating 30 years in business and to thank MD Steve Hancox as he retires from the Network VEKA Advisory Panel, after 20 years of sharing his knowledge and expertise.

A b-oompah evening celebration

This year’s Gala Dinner and Awards was a black-tie event, with a twist. The celebrations kicked off with a Champagne reception, and a Bavarian theme ensured that the atmosphere was fun and the beer was flowing.

This year’s Awards were recategorised for the first time, now being judged on company size rather than region. This meant that members were competing against comparable companies up and down the country, not only those in their own area.

Trophies were presented by VEKA’s Head of Partner Programmes Karen Lund and Six-Times World Snooker Champion Steve Davis, who steps down as Brand Ambassador this year, after 11 years proudly representing Network VEKA.

Category winners based on customer satisfaction scores:

£1.5M +: Thistle Windows & Conservatories

£1 – 1.5M : Goliath HomeWorld

£750K – 1M : Shane Howells Ltd

£500K – 750K : MG Windows

£250K – 500K : Ffenestri Kevin Thomas

< £250K : Gordon Euman Double Glazing & Joinery Ltd

Overall National Winner was Thistle Windows and Conservatories

Aberdeen-based Thistle is no stranger to these prestigious awards, having won ‘Best in Scotland’ an amazing 14 times over the years! This year’s achievement represents the team’s 15th and 16th Awards win, having scooped the prize for their business category and claimed overall ‘Member of the Year’.

Presenting the award on behalf of Network VEKA, Karen Lund VEKA’s Head of Partner Programmes said: “Congratulations to Thistle; a worthy champion. The ‘new look’ categories this year mean that not only has Thistle bagged its 15^th trophy, it is also the first to ever win the award for this particular division. This is a fantastic accolade as judging has been made on like-for-like businesses rather than on a regional basis. As all Network VEKA companies undergo constant auditing and review as part of their membership, the overall standard of customer service is exceptionally high, and that has always been at the very core of the Network.”

In with the new

In a year of big changes for the Network, two new members in particular stood out from the competition.

This year’s ‘Best New Member’ Award was jointly won by D&I Window Solutions and North Lakes (NLG) Window Systems; two companies that have each proven their absolute commitment to quality through the many customer satisfaction questionnaires submitted by their customers.

The gift of giving

After the Awards, members enjoyed a delicious dinner and had chance to take part in the Charity Raffle and Auction, as well as donating via envelopes on the tables. The funds raised from these proceedings will be sent to Pendleside Hospice; The VEKA UK Group’s chosen charity for the first half of 2017. A fantastic £3850 was raised on the night.

Lace up your lederhosen and dust off your dancing shoes!
Alternative oompah band ‘The Jäger Maestros’ played live before a disco took revellers through to the early hours.

Karen Lund had this to say about the weekend: “The Members’ Weekend was a roaring success once again, and this year’s event gave us the opportunity to say a fond farewell to Steve Davis, and thank him for his many years professionally representing the brand.

“This annual celebration is an important one on the Network’s calendar; it’s a great chance for companies to learn from each other and share ideas and experiences, as well as speak directly to the team and make any suggestions that can help with the continuous evolution of the organisation.

“The new branding unveiled by our Marketing Director was very well received and I, for one, am very much looking forward to seeing it roll out in the coming weeks.”

www.networkveka.co.uk

Apeer has invested heavily in its production facility to support growth in its composite doors and Lumi range of windows and doors

Apeer has always been a company committed to investment and innovation. In the early days as PVC door panel producer the company was always ahead of the game which saw it become one of the leading producers in the UK. Apeer soon realised the door market was changing and further invested in innovation which saw the launch of its own composite door in the early 2000s. Still a market leader today in composite doors, Apeer has constantly redefined its product offering and added new styles and designs which result today in it additionally offering composite fire doors, the contemporary ‘Modo’ range and the cost-effective ‘Diamond’ door range. Composite doors are very much at the heart of Apeer’s business, but the management team are all too aware that constant evolution of the products offered is paramount to the company’s continued success. Apeer Managing Director Asa McGillian says innovative thinking has always been central to the company’s strategy and plays an important role in supporting customers.

The recently launched Lumi range of customisable, edge-to-edge glazing, matching frameless windows and doors are another fine example of a product developed to create further opportunities for installers and retailers. With their completely flat, uninterrupted profile, these radically styled windows and doors have caught the imagination of the market. With more product variants being launched at the FIT Show in May, it is clear the Lumi range is gaining in popularity. To support the success of the Lumi range and the composite door range, Apeer has announced the completion of a major expansion programme at the company’s 6-acre Ballymena, Northern Ireland site that includes showroom, training and production facilities in response to significant expansion across each of the company’s product ranges. The work has been completed after 12 months and an investment of almost half a million pounds.

An extension to the main factory of almost 10,000 ft2 has expanded the Lumi production area to deal with the expanding sales of this award-winning window and door system. Since the trade launch of Lumi at the 2016 FIT Show, sales are forecast in the current year of £2.6 million with ambitious growth predicted ahead. A showroom and dedicated training facility have also been completed for the purpose of inducting new customers and their staff. This impressive area includes a Lumi ‘house’ that allows the installation of Lumi windows and doors at ground and first floor levels, with a showroom set with typical interior scenes installed with Lumi windows and doors. Apeer Doors sales, in the meantime, have been growing exponentially and consistently over a number of years, with a forecast 35% increase in the current year alone being the key factor behind an expansion of the production facilties for the company’s composite doors. A number of new products will be launched at the FIT Show in May, to further stimulate sales.

The existing production area has been expanded by 9,000 ft2 with an increase in both equipment and jobs, with Apeer continuing as one of the leading employers in the area. It is believed that this expansion now qualifies Apeer as the largest producer of British manufactured composite residential doors, including the production of its own slabs. The extension brings the Apeer factory to 140,000 ft2, with plans to build a further 80,000 ft2 factory and world-class showroom within the next two years, in line with further anticipated growth of the Lumi line.

Apeer Managing Director Asa McGillian says that the development has become necessary based upon both achieved and predicted growth: “Sales of Apeer composite doors have been growing steadily over a number of years now with sales in the current period actually ahead of the 35% predicted growth that we budgeted for 2017. And then we have Lumi, our window and door system…sales for Lumi are now growing rapidly since our launch to the trade last April. This year with a total of fourteen trade but mostly consumer shows we will be driving sales even harder and we need to be prepared for that.” It’s exciting times for Apeer and its growing numbers of installer and retailer customers. The production facility is very impressive and perfectly supports the expanding product range. Large numbers of composite doors and Lumi windows and doors are rolling off the production line, and with more new products soon to be launched this year, the investment in the factory expansion is essential in order for Apeer to fulfil its strategy for long-term success and growth.

Tel: 084 56 729 333

E: sales@apeer.co.uk

The post Expansion and innovation at Apeer appeared first on Windows Active Magazine.

First job: Milk round along with morning and evening paper rounds – I’ve never been afraid of hard work or early starts!

When did you join or set up your current company: Morley Glass and Glazing was set up in 1998.

Most useful/favourite gadget: This has to be the smart phone – especially the XE currency app which keeps me up-to-date on currency rates in real time.

Favourite/most useful website: Notonthehighstreet.com – not because this is where I buy gifts necessarily but because I really admire the ethos behind this site. It allows thousands of small businesses to sell their products on a trusted platform to a huge market. I am very pro-small business and am always willing to place orders where appropriate with smaller companies in an effort to sustain and nurture entrepreneurs at start-up level.

Business person you admire: Baroness Michelle Mone, founder of Ultimo. Her motto is ‘You fail to plan – you plan to fail.

Recommended hotel for business: When I’m in London I always use the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel – the staff value returning guests and go above and beyond to anticipate your requirements.

Favourite UK restaurant: We are really lucky in Leeds to have a huge range of quality restaurants locally but if I had to choose a favourite it would probably be Sous Le Nez on Quebec Street in Leeds centre. An amazing French bistro-type restaurant with a fabulous wine list.

Best business decision: Undoubtedly the decision to invest huge amounts of both time and resources into developing the manufacture and marketing of integral blinds in the UK. Without this niche product, I honestly doubt our company would have survived the last economic downturn.

Other interests: Honestly I have very little spare time but my wife is an active member of our local Rotary Club and I support many of their fundraising events. It’s great to be hands on, making a difference. We also love to travel and are hoping to spend more time travelling as Matthew begins to take a more active role in our business.

Working Day: The move to new premises totally consumed me and I was spending around 18 hours a day at work in the latter stages. Thankfully that’s all over now. Most days, I arrive at work at 6am. I enjoy having time in the office before anyone else arrives to catch up on paperwork, respond to enquiries and plan my day.  I’m a very hands-on type of person so I spend time each day on the shop floor and in the office supporting my team. I have absolute faith in my General Manager, Kevin Murphy, who takes much of the day-to-day stress off my shoulders. This means I am free to concentrate on other matters such as frequent communication with our suppliers as well as regular trips to Italy to discuss new product developments. I’m constantly on the go but I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Working Location: I’m based at our fabulous new premises in Leeds, West Yorkshire. We have a 15-year lease on the 40,000ft2 factory, showroom and office space and there’s lots of room for continued growth and expansion. I sit in the open plan offices and like to feel the buzz of activity – plus I’m close to the coffee machine for my regular hit of caffeine in the form of strong expressos!

It’s been a landmark year for us here at Morley Glass & Glazing. As a result of consistent 30% year-on-year growth – and to accommodate future planned growth of our integral blinds business – we moved to larger premises. We’ve invested more than £1m moving to a 40,000 ft2 factory and office space in Leeds, West Yorkshire, creating the world’s largest dedicated factory for manufacturing ScreenLine® integral blinds into insulating glass units.

The design of ScreenLine® integral blinds ensures our Uni-Blinds® sealed units represent the most stylish, contemporary addition to any window or door and the continued growth of this sector of our industry warrants our investment in quality machinery and in our workforce to ensure that the pride we take in our manufacturing process is reflected in the quality of our products. The new premises have enabled us to double our production capacity, triple our footprint and create at least five new jobs on top of the 54 people we already employ. The new premises have allowed us to work more efficiently, invest in new machinery, improve our showroom, and install a new customer training facility. We’re committed to supporting installers and will provide training and technical advice through our team of dedicated customer support engineers, and the new premises give us the space and facility to do this.

We’ve designed the space in exactly the way that we need it to be. It is a bespoke integral blinds manufacturing facility. We’ve invested in the latest automated technology with our new Best Makina fully automatic 58-metre-long sealed unit assembly line, which is less labour intensive, improves the efficiency of our production line and enhances the quality of the finished product. It’s capable of producing 3m x 2.5m sealed units and the automation means that there is less handling of the glass – and therefore less potential for damage.

Arriving in Leeds with a vehicle escort from Turkey, the new machine was packaged in three huge containers and installed by six engineers in just one week. It is a very robust machine and the first of its kind to be installed in the UK. It has an automated gas press and robot gun that utilises three different types of sealants: hot melt for traditional sealed units, silicone sealed for structural glazing and Kömmerling GD115 polysulphide for fire-glass as well as being used as our primary sealant for sealed units. One of our primary reasons for using Best Makina is that they have a philosophy that one size doesn’t fit all, and they have made the complete line tailored to suit our needs. The machinery also comes with a two-year warranty. The three-tonne washing machine even recycles its final rinse water, which is used to clean the brushes in a pre-wash cycle, helping to maintain the machine’s components, keeping it clean and free of debris, and ensuring the quality of the finished products.

The new premises also give us the space to increase our product range – many of which are exclusive to Morley Glass. We’ll soon be launching fire-rated Uni-Blinds® as well as a home automation interface that enables window and door installers to easily incorporate motorised integral blinds within home automation systems. Our exclusive S159 (equivalent to RAL7016) anthracite grey coloured slats for integral blinds have delivered excellent growth. Our next exclusive product is the SL16 system which is ideal for use in composite doors and vertical sliding windows due to its slimline 10mm slats, making it the first integrated blind system that is suitable for use in a 16mm cavity. The new range includes the slider controlled SL16S Venetian, as well as the SL16C Venetian with cord control. These new product developments show how we are continually striving to satisfy the market demands for integral blind systems.

The key to our success has been our ability to offer the industry’s shortest lead-time of 10 working days from orders placed by 10am any Friday. We have a close partnership with Pellini in Italy and currently command around 90% of the UK market for manual, slider, solar and motorised controlled ScreenLine® blinds. We also stock the largest range of ScreenLine® system spare parts in Europe with the enlarged factory enabling us to stock £750,000 of Screenline® components with most parts supplied within 24 hours. We understand that installers need parts quickly and we’re set up to meet this demand.

As a successful business we strongly believe in giving something back to the local community. We support a wide range of sports and community projects where a small contribution can make a huge difference. We’re also closely involved with the Rotary Club of Roundhay which works to solve some of our communities’ toughest challenges.

My wife has always worked alongside me in the company, managing the financial side of the business and has played a huge part in its success. I’m delighted that our son Matthew has chosen to join us, so we’re becoming a real family business. He needs to understand all aspects of the business so is starting on the shop floor and working his way up, with no favouritism on my part. The quality of our products and our investment in staff training and customer service, plus our 10-day delivery commitment, is resulting in record growth, which is set to continue as more and more fabricators and installers recognise the profit potential of selling integral blinds.

The post Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass & Glazing appeared first on Windows Active Magazine.

Following on from my recent posts where I have asked my readers what they would charge for certain products, I continue that series with something a little larger. This time I am asking what you think a home owner should be charged for one of these:

This is our newest addition to our outdoor showsite, and has replaced a tired looking White PVCu gable fronted conservatory that very much represented products of the past. This what it looked like before:

We all know how home owner demand has changed in recent years. Solid roofs, brick walls, aluminium frames, dedicated columns, internal pelmets have all combined to change our conservatories into a much more relevant, modern, comfortable product to work with. It’s why I refuse to call them conservatories, as the image above looks far more like a proper extension than a plastic white box.

But before we move on to the poll, here are the specs of the glazed extension above that you need to know before you place your votes. The roof is a WARMroof solid roof product by the good people at Prefix Systems. It went up in no time. We used Smarts aluminium products too. There is a four section bi-fold to the front, with a fully glazed return each side. There is a single fully glazed aluminium door to the right hand side, and a small aluminium window on the left hand wall. All are Anthracite Grey internally and externally. The aluminium products also came from Prefix Systems.

The size of the extension is just a little over 3.5m both ways.

We were very happy with the transformation, and has certainly grabbed the attention of visitors as they come into the showsite.

For clarity, the question I am asking here is what you believe a home owner should be charged for the above glazed extension by an installations company. Your chosen cost on the poll below should include all base work and building work, the window and door products, the solid roof, plastering, electrics, flooring etc. Basically everything that needs to go into building one of these things, without the paint and furnishings. Take into account the size of the one above too.

Here are your options:

I have included quite a lot of price options as I am expecting quite a varied selection of choices on this one. I also welcome your comments on this subject matter too.

As I plan to do with my other posts of this kind, I shall reveal what we would charge at our place for this product in a later post. But it will be interesting to see the extremes of what people think home owners should be paying for what is a much higher end version of a conservatory.

I maintain that products like these should be being sold with good margins. These are all high end products that go into the making of a glazed extension like this, so you would expect to see higher prices being commanded by such a structure.

As always, comments on this and any other post on DGB are welcome via the section below. Happy voting!

Rapierstar says it is celebrating 25 years as the UK’s market leading designer, importer and distributor of specialist fastener and fixings at this year’s FIT Show, revealing latest product developments for PVC-U, aluminium and timber manufacturers, ‘underpinned by its refreshed brand identity’.

Demonstrating its longevity in high-performing products and service, Rapierstar says it will highlight some of its new fixings and explain why they ‘give you the edge’ in ‘quality, performance, expertise and delivery’ on stand M1.

StarPIN and StarNail have been designed to offer a stainless steel product with a versatile low-profile polymer head that has maximum pull-out resistance. Readily available for the trade, the pins and nails are suitable for all plastic systems, with 10 brand new colour options including white, black, browns and greys.

Rapierstar’s latest product introduction is specified for the rapidly-growing aluminium sector. StarAlu is designed to improve fabricator experience across all aluminium door and window products. Tested to extremes at Rapierstar’s unique research and development centre, StarAlu screws deliver guaranteed performance. The screws are manufactured from Austenitic stainless steel, providing an impressive lifecycle, low maintenance, strength and durability as well as exceeding European standards.

Speaking about this year’s show attendance, Rapierstar’s group managing director, David Furness, said: “This year’s FIT Show provides an ideal platform to showcase some of our recent product developments that will benefit our customers across all their installation projects.”

He added: “FIT is also an exciting opportunity to celebrate the success to date and ongoing ambition of Rapierstar as the industry’s most reliable fixings and screws supplier. With our unrivalled stock holding of the highest quality products, supported by expert technical service, our presence at FIT will demonstrate why we are the go-to partner for any project big or small.”

StarPin and StarAlu are parts of a range of award-winning family products: StarPVCU, StarTurn, StarFix, StarPin & StarNail and StarDeck, which make up Rapierstar’s continuous stock of one billion screws and fixings ready to serve the majority of UK windows and doors manufacturers throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe.

http://www.rapierstar.com/

The post Rapierstar fixed for FIT Show appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).