Therma-Tru Promotes Brian Iott to Chief Financial Officer

PatioMaster’s appeal is continuing to grow amongst fabricators, installers and homeowners and for Carmen Velilla, PatioMaster’s Brand Manager, there are several good reasons for this. “We’re the market leaders because by specialising in manufacturing patio doors we’re recognised as the experts. Then there’s our business model. We offer the reassurance and power of a nationwide brand but with our network of local fabricators and installers, both businesses and homeowners can support their local economy. It’s the best of both worlds.”

PatioMaster says its inline sliding doors offer some of the best features in the business and the company’s expertise is evident in every detail. The doors are claimed to be perfect for design-conscious homeowners because of their elegant aesthetics and superb quality. They have low profile frames and are available in a wide range of configurations, colours and finishes. They are complemented with impressive security features such as a six point locking system and a wide range of accessories.

The doors are are easy to fit and get right first time and come with easy-to-use fitting kits for exteriors, porch and room divider sliding doors. The slimline profiles mean less damage to the plaster on fitting and free technical support is available from national and regional teams.

And there are advantages for fabricators choosing to buy-in sliding doors rather than manufacture in-house. Perhaps the most compelling of these is the rise in profit margins because the unexpected overheads, hidden costs and disruption of producing doors in-house are removed.

Each door is manufactured by the customer’s nearest PatioMaster regional manufacturer and is typically delivered within five working days, helping to speed up installation and invoicing schedules for both fabricators and installers. Every regional manufacturer operates to the same high standards and offers a friendly, efficient and personalised service.

www.patiomaster.co.uk

Fabricators and installers can improve profitability and grow their businesses by visiting the Origin stand at this year’s FiT Show. The British manufacturer of bi-fold and residential doors, windows and blinds will be presenting its entire Origin Home Range and sharing details of how it supports its partners to assist in business growth.

Visitors will be able to learn more about Origin’s revolutionary online ordering system, Sale Safe, which has been designed to drastically streamline the process of quoting and ordering. Rather than quoting on individual products, live demonstrations will show how its clever functionality allows customer projects to be built, saving considerable time on administration and allowing for more proactive lead follow up.

In addition to this, those in attendance will find out more about the gold standard of service that Origin offers, including comprehensive marketing support, ‘Fitter Fitter’ installation training to encourage best practice, sales training, technical support and more.

Visitors will also be given a sneak peek of a secret new Origin product that will be available to partners later in the year.

Ben Brocklesby, Origin’s Sales and Marketing Director, comments: “Origin always produces a show-stopping stand, and this year is definitely no exception. We will be detailing the extensive range of services that we offer to our partners, which includes everything from marketing support through to installation training for our products. Our partners are part of the Origin family and we are constantly evolving to try to help them grow their businesses. Our unrivalled lead times, high quality products and exceptional service are all part of the ‘Origin package’, helping our partners to grow alongside us. The show also acts as the perfect platform for us to educate other installers about the benefits of working with us.”

Origin will use the FiT Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC on 23-25 May 2017, to debut the Residential Door to the FiT Show audience for the first time. Originally unveiled to partners in September 2016, it can either be used as a front or garage door, combining security and aesthetics for an integrated front of house look.

Sharing similar style profile to the bi-fold and window, the addition of the Origin Residential Door ensures a harmonious look between products, creating complete front of house unity.

With over 35 panel choices to choose from, ranging from the ultra-modern through to traditional options, it ensures that partners can cater for all property types effortlessly. Expertly engineered for optimum energy efficiency, both the frame and sash feature have an advanced polyamide break to limit heat transfer. The panel is also made with a highly efficient Thermimax core.

Designed with heightened security in mind, from the locks and barrels, to the hinge design and aluminium composition, all combine to make for an ultra-secure system. Two different locking systems are available: a 5-point multipoint lock or Origin’s industry-leading 8-point multipoint locking system, with an offset spindle function for complete security performance. Additionally, Origin offers two barrel choices, both of which are three Star British Kite Marked, proven to protect against snapping, picking, drilling and bumping, offering homeowners a proven defense that is second to none.

In addition to showcasing the Residential Door, Origin’s stand will also have its renowned window system – the only window in the industry to feature a stunning internal and external flush casement. Designed so the sash sits perfectly in line with the frame, and with no overlapping profile, it ensures a smart and elegant appearance.

The Origin Window is the only window in the UK that can be upgraded to the revolutionary Aerogel, which boasts the lowest thermal conductivity of any solid material, claim the company. Using just 10mm of it in the thermal break of the window can boost thermal efficiency by up to 67%. When combined with the Origin Window, it delivers an A++ energy rating and certified 0.9 U-Value.

Visitors will also be able to see Origin’s range of made-to-measure blinds, catering for any requirement, with each blind offering a different effect, look and feel. Plus, Origin’s Bi-Fold Door will also be on show. These expertly engineered, high quality products make up the Origin Home range, coming together in a show-stopping stand.

Brocklesby concludes: “We will also be using FiT Show 2017 to unveil a brand new product, which we are confident is going to be a gamechanger within the marketplace. It allows us to offer even more to our partners, a one-stop-shop if you will, and we are really excited about it. I am not allowed to say anything more than that for now, but visitors will want to make sure they have the Origin stand on their FiT Show planner.”

For further information about Origin, please visit www.origin-global.com.

Tradesmith has achieved certification with Bluesky for the manufacture of windows and doorsets to BS7412 and PAS 24, to meet Secured by Design requirements.

Mark Hutchinson, Managing Director of Tradesmith said: “Bluesky Certification clearly care about providing a quality service to its customers. This is demonstrated throughout the process of achieving certification, from the way the initial enquiry is taken through to the presentation of the certificate.

“The audit process is thorough, with a focus on the aspects of production that really matter. I was particularly impressed with the appearance of our certificate and logos, which have been professionally designed to reflect the achievement of meeting the certification requirements. I’m proud to be associated with Bluesky Certification as we both share the same ethos of high quality, professional service and understanding of our customer’s needs and expectations.”

Mark went on to say: “I believe the best way to build a good relationship between customers and suppliers is to make the whole process of working together, simple and straightforward which is exactly what I found working with Bluesky.”

Simon Beer, Managing Director of Bluesky Certification says: “As a newly accredited body, we are aware of the sense of achievement that obtaining recognition by a third party can bring. We believe that the quality of the certificate, logos and listing on the website should reflect this.

“When designing our certificates, we wanted to produce something that reflected the high standard that we seek to achieve in every aspect of our business, as well as looking the part in the showroom of a professional manufacturer such as Tradesmith.  Feedback from our customers has clearly shown that this is something that is highly appreciated.”

www.blueskycert.com

Image Above: Brigitte Dero, VinylPlus General Manager

The recycling of PVC has reached a new high with 568,696 tonnes recycled in 2016 through the framework of VinylPlus, the European PVC industry sustainable development programme. The latest results were announced at PVC 2017 by Brigitte Dero, VinylPlus General Manager, who opened the conference in Brighton on April 25^th.

The triennial event is the world’s largest PVC forum providing information, education, debate and discussion on key topics for the industry.

Speaking on the first day, Brigitte highlighted how the achievements of the VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment to sustainable development over the past two decades had helped to turn PVC from ‘the black sheep in the plastic family to a pioneer’ and a material of choice.

She stated: “VinylPlus is now recognised by external stakeholders and is considered by many as a frontrunner for the circular economy. We reached this position by achieving significant and concrete results and have consistently demonstrated our commitment through action.”

A cumulative total of more than 3.5 million tonnes of PVC has been recycled since 2000 thanks to the efforts of VinylPlus. The largest volumes are from window profiles, followed by cables and flexible applications, pipes and fittings. The target is to recycle 800,000 tonnes per year by 2020.

VinylPlus places ‘paramount importance’ on the safety and quality of recycled PVC, which is supported by traceability and certification schemes for recyclates. With recycling increasing year-on-year, work is underway to include schemes like EuCertPlast as standard criteria for secondary raw materials. This would stimulate demand and help to prevent the loss of these valuable materials from a circular economy.

“Having recycled nearly 600,000 tonnes of PVC last year, we have demonstrated through the VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment that we can divert from landfill significant volumes of PVC waste, thereby contributing to resource efficiency,” continued Brigitte.

Other recent achievements include the development of an Additives Sustainability Framework – a new science-based system for assessing the sustainable use of additives in PVC products. The first ASF is almost complete for window profiles.

Brigitte explained how VinylPlus provides solutions to a ‘number of issues’ highlighted in the EU discussion on Plastics Strategy and the vision that ‘all plastics should be designed, manufactured and used in a sustainable manner, while increasing their durability’.

Concluding, Brigitte Dero said: “VinylPlus has made successful progress across all challenges identified in the Voluntary Commitment increasing the sustainability performance of PVC. This is thanks to the efforts of many companies delivering quality products (virgin and recyclates) safely.

“Our journey continues to address all concerns and engage the PVC industry towards sustainability as a whole through dialogue and practical partnerships. The united PVC industry shows the way!”

For more information, contact: Sylvie Famelart,  sylvie.famelart@plasticseurope.org

Architectural aluminium specialist Hueck UK has added to its commercial offering with the launch of a new product set to revolutionise façade technology.

Trigon GSP is a glass-sandwich system that allows architects to create complex office and store facades quickly and cost-efficiently.

Opaque glass-sandwich panels and concealed mounting offers seamless glass looks without visible structural elements.

Each surface can then be individually printed with colours images and lettering, making complex office and store facades easily achieved.

The system offers continuous glass lengths of up to 16 metres and can achieve U-values of up to 0.13 W/m²K in opaque areas.

Trigon GSP is one of four new products recently launched by Hueck to help architects unlock new opportunities in the domestic and commercial markets.

Leon Friend, Director at Hueck comments: “Trigon GSP has been launched as part of our commitment to the research and development of products that will give architects a complete solution to all project types and requirements.

“We believe that we have pushed the boundaries with Trigon GSP and are delighted to bring a product to market that will make the design and process of complex façade projects quicker and simpler.”

For more information please visit www.hueck.com