LaCantina Doors Offers the Perfect Match

Belfast’s UCS Design Group is celebrating 10 years of partnership with Spectus Systems. UCS’s Managing Director Mark Scullion was presented with an award to mark the anniversary at the FIT Show by Epwin Windows Systems’ Managing Director Clare O’Hara and Sales Director Paul Lindsay. Mark said: “We are delighted to have reached such a milestone. We simply love working with Spectus and their product quality and support is superb.” Paul commented: “We are thrilled to be marking a ten year partnership with UCS, they are a wonderful example of how a company can grow and develop in their market for more than ten years. They have always strived to be customer focused, continually looking for ways to improve their service levels and backup support to customers, and we are very lucky to have them as a Spectus customer.”

When asked what has made the partnership so enduring, Mark highlights two factors.

The first is the quality and integrity of the Spectus brand and product range. “The Spectus name is trusted by our customers and the products sell themselves.” he says.

The second factor is the quality of the back up and marketing support offered by the systems house. “We have a strong customer service ethic at UCS which is matched by Spectus’,” comments Mark. “We get excellent support from the Spectus team and their strong marketing support has helped us secure many sales over the years.”

Established over ten years ago, UCS operates from a 25,000 sq ft factory with a conservatory village, showroom and trade counter on a three acre site in Belfast. It also has a depot and showroom in Dublin. It is a trade supplier and works with window companies, trade window and conservatory installers, builders, local councils, education and health authorities and housing associations. The company’s core business was originally conservatories, but soon found that the Spectus brand offered more for their customers. It has now become their flagship product, accounting for 80% of the business. The company manufactures around 500 frames a week using Spectus’ Elite 63, Elite 70 and Flush Tilt and Turn systems.

Spectus places an emphasis on making its trade partners’ lives easier. From the flexibility of its systems and ancillaries to its manufacturing standards, efficient, on-time, in-full deliveries, marketing and training support and back up engineering support, it’s a company that knows what fabricators need. And as UCS Design Group’s ten year partnership shows, it’s an approach that helps businesses to grow and inspires long term trust and loyalty too.

www.spectus.co.uk

Prefix has announced that it came away from this year’s FIT Show with a ‘large number’ of qualified leads and ‘considerable interest’ in its new products, which include developments for the outdoor living market and residential glazing systems, and the formal launch of its hybrid Warmroof.

According to Prefix, which invested in its largest ever stand for the FIT Show this year, the introduction of its outdoor living range in 2016 has been a ‘major plus’ and there was considerable interest shown in both its Verandah solution and new Kommerling Pergola at the exhibition. The company said that the FIT Show was also the perfect platform to launch its Warmroof, which was previewed at Telford last year, and which has undergone extensive ‘in the field’ testing over the last 12 months.

Opus aluminium and timber composite full height glazing also formed part of the hybrid Warmroof that was showcased at the exhibition, along with bi-folding doors from the same suite. Other glazing systems included the Alitherm 47 heritage window and the VS600 vertical sliding window from Smart Systems, which formed part of a traditional orangery, harnessing the iX250 orangery deck. This was glazed with two Ultrasky lanterns with two different finishes internally, one in contemporary aluminium, the other in the Opus luxurious hardwood.

The trend towards aluminium was also highlighted with the launch of Urbanroom, said to be a contemporary twist on the traditional conservatory, using a dedicated deep section gutter shroud, Ultrasky lantern roof, internal pelmet and full height glazing panels, all in sky blue from the Smart Systems Sensations range. Prefix Systems said that this part of the stand focused heavily on its ‘full kit’ solution, with an extensive range of Smart aluminium products coupled with glazed roofing solutions.

Chris Baron and Chris Cooke, co-directors of Prefix Systems, commented: “The FIT Show has once again proved that customers have a thirst for new products and we’ve certainly satisfied that with developments spanning a number of market segments. We’re now firmly cemented as a business that specialises in the extended living space and aluminium residential sectors, with a number of exclusive products to our name.”

www.prefixsystems.co.uk

The post Prefix reports successful FIT Show appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Leading sustainable building envelope specialist, Schueco UK, has announced that as a system supplier two more of its popular sliding door systems – the Schueco ASS 70.HI lift/slide door and the Schueco ASS 70 FD folding/sliding door – have been awarded Q Mark Product Certification by Exova BM Trada.

The Q Mark Product Certification Scheme covers not just product quality – in areas such as weather performance, mechanical strength, operating forces, corrosion resistance of fittings and PAS 24 security – but also the integrity of the fabricator’s manufacturing process.

One particular benefit of Q Mark Certification is that in addition to providing customers with a valuable assurance of quality, it allows Q-Marked firms to bid for work on Secured by Design projects, opening up a whole new market for Schueco’s fabricator partners.

The police’s Secured by Design initiative, in operation now for over ten years, has been credited with helping to substantially reduce break-ins and burglaries. Thus, windows and doors complying with SBD specifications form part of the front line against unlawful entry and can help home-owners to reduce household insurance premiums.

For more information on the whole range of sliding and folding doors from Schueco UK, please email mkinfobox@schueco.com

www.schueco.co.uk

The small matter of a long overdue high-speed broadband installation may be seen by some as the conclusion of a year-long transformation of the former City Beads Halo fabricator into part of The Glazerite UK Group but in many ways, it was more like the beginning.

“Up to then, everything had been paper-based for the 32 years of our existence,” Mark Smith, former MD of the Peterborough company and now director designate of the new division, Glazerite East, explained: “Only when that changed could we really begin to move forward. It was an immensely frustrating time for all but the progress since then has been massive.”

Of course, Glazerite was progressing the transformation on many other fronts during the wait, not least in machinery upgrades, and over £125,000 was spent on new quad and crucifix welders from Winmac as soon as the ink was dry on the acquisition deal. Beyond that, another £50,000 went on bringing the IT in line with the existing Glazerite systems and more was spent on signage, vehicle livery and new windows and doors to bring the site inline with the new group brand.

Group Director Jason Thompson said the lack of broadband strength, and the delay in the provider remedying the problem were a major setback: “This meant we were not able to introduce our Evonet management and other systems for the better part of a year. However, we made the best use of that time, not only implementing the ‘hard’ changes like upgrading the building and machinery, but also introducing the Glazerite culture among the workforce.

“We began with familiarising all the staff with Glazerite and assuring them of our long-term commitment to the business as well as outlining our short and medium term plans. We have also been able to improve both their working conditions and terms of employment. The other side of the equation is of course the existing customer base and, even before the IT issue was solved, the feedback from them was very encouraging and has gone on getting better since then.”

Now, just as at Glazerite’s other production sites, everything is bar-coded across the whole of production and dispatch so that, along with Evonet, there is full transparency and accountability throughout.

Mark Smith continued: “Now that all the systems are in place, we and our customers are beginning to see the real benefits of the acquisition. Lead times have been brought down in line with the rest of the group, full online quoting and ordering is available to all customers and, most importantly, they all have full access to one of the most comprehensive product ranges in the industry, all via this one single point of contact.  Not to mention the great marketing support that is now available to our installers, being part of the group really does open up so many opportunities to our installers ”

This means the former City Beads customers can now not only offer the full range of mainstream VEKA systems but also its sliding sash and Imagine bi-fold, patio and flush doors, Warmcore windows and bi-folds and all Residence9 and Solidor products. By the same token the rest of the group now has access to the Halo range from Glazerite East’s ongoing operation. Another benefit for Peterboroughcustomers however is that, whether they are working with mainstream VEKA or Halo systems, they can apply to become part of the Independent Network (formerly known as Network VEKA) via Glazerite’s long-standing relationship with the organisation.

Mark Smith concluded: “We see a great future as part of the Glazerite UK Group. The company has already shown that it is prepared to invest time, money and commitment into bringing this new division into line with the standards set by the rest of the group, and we can see that what has happened so far is only the beginning.”

The Glazerite UK Group is VEKA’s largest trade fabricator in the UK and a long-standing Network VEKA member. It offers a fully nationwide service based on manufacturing units in Northants, Peterborough and Greater Manchester as well as its South West distribution hub in Bristol serving South Wales and The West of England.

Roseview celebrated its 40^th anniversary in style in Birmingham, with a second consecutive FIT Show appearance that drew twice as many leads and visitors than the first.

On a stand that stood out from the crowd with its open, airy English garden feel, the firm was perfectly placed to showcase its wares to professionals from right across the industry.

As ever, the company’s incomparably authentic Ultimate Rose was the biggest draw. First introduced in 2013, it features slim timber-like profiles, meeting rail, and period features as painstakingly detailed as full mechanical joints, run-through-sash horns and traditional sash furniture. This year the product has been upgraded with a both a slimmer meeting rail – which at just 35mm is the slimmest on the market – and Secured by Design accreditation.

However, their slim mullion combination window and products from sister company and secondary glazing specialists Incarnation Windows also proved popular.

Sales Director Richard Burrells commented: “I thought the FIT show was extremely well organised, very professional, and just as busy as last year, which – given the much bigger venue – is impressive.

“It was an action-packed few days – we all went to the Gala dinner, we hosted an ITN interview with ex-Bond girl Caroline Munro on our stand, and we spent the evening of Big Tuesday with the Georgian Bar Company, with whom we’ve collaborated on the most recent upgrades to the Ultimate Rose, and the GGF.

“All in all, it was a fantastic event that built on the success of last year’s show. We thought it would be difficult to top last year, and yet we doubled the number of leads and visitors to our stand. As a result, we’ve already booked a space for the 2019 show!”

For more information visit www.roseview.co.uk or call 01234 712657

Halo fabricator Aztec Windows (Coventry Ltd.) is boosting awareness of its ‘timber alternative’ Prestige Collection® of windows and composite doors with an impressive new brochure, designed entirely in-house and delivered in its own wax-sealed envelope!

The Coventry-based company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary using Halo profile from The VEKA UK Group, was one of the first to fabricate the brand’s FlushSash window; a product whose understated design makes it particularly suitable for heritage and ‘character’ properties as well as more recent builds.

Michael Hagan, Director at Aztec Windows explains: “More and more homeowners are looking to maintain the authentic style of timber windows and doors while benefiting from the superior all-round performance of PVC-U. Equally, there are those who have existing PVC-U or aluminium systems but wish to update and upgrade with a more pared-back looking system. Our Prestige Collection® is tailored to these markets, offering comprehensive choice in terms of finish, hardware, period detailing, and security options.”

Besides the Prestige Collection®’s standard colours and woodgrains, homeowners have the option to choose any RAL shade, or even a colour from the on-trend Farrow and Ball range. Additionally, they can specify a colour option for the outer face of the sash, offset with a different one for the interior.

“Heritage colours are just one ingredient of our Prestige package”, Michael continues. “We offer wrought iron handles in period-correct styles such as monkey tails and bulb ends, and contemporary designs including the Ventiss range of designer handles. Working peg stays are available too, in monkey tail and bulb end designs.

“You might assume that our dedication to authenticity would compromise our windows and doors in other areas, but in terms of safety, maintenance, security and energy efficiency, the Prestige Collection® is thoroughly modern.

“Our windows use high quality egress / easy-clean friction stays on all side-opening sashes, which open to 90° and slide across, allowing the outside to be cleaned from inside. Our high-security twin-cam locking system uses customised security strikers and security claws to the hinge side, maintaining the windows’ elegant looks while providing excellent safeguards against intruders.”

Neil Evans, Sales Director for The VEKA UK Group commented: “Aztec is nearing thirty years in the home improvement industry; the last 20 of which it has been a proud Halo fabricator and installer. The Prestige Collection® has helped them create a niche with homeowners who crave that timeless timber-inspired style. This beautiful brochure is testament to their hard work, the quality of their offering, and using Halo products to the fullest. It certainly gets our seal of approval!”

For more info on Aztec Windows, and to request your copy of the new Prestige Collection brochure, call 02476 621 316 or visit www.justlikewood.co.uk. And for more on Halo FlushSash window systems, please call 01282 716611 or visit www.vekauk.com/products/halo-flushsash.

Dynamic Dekko Window Systems enjoyed a hugely successful FIT Show debut, that saw it unveil a number of new additions to its well-known product ranges.

The firm’s Räum collection of sleek, contemporary aluminium sliding doors has now been expanded with stylish aluminium windows, and two varieties of high-end garage door.

Also prominently displayed on the fabricator’s stand were examples of its innovative, seamlessly-welded Infinity uPVC window and doors, as well as a number of timber-alternative products from the celebrated Residence Collection.

“After being enthusiastic visitors to the last few FIT Shows, it was fantastic to finally be exhibitors ourselves”, commented Sales Director Kurt Greatrex. “In recent years, we’ve invested extensively in developing some of the most respected brands in the industry, designed to help installers secure more leads, make more sales and grow their businesses. We were delighted to showcase those products to professionals from right across our industry – and we look forward to building relationships with a number of potential new customers we met back in Birmingham.”

Dekko also used the show as an opportunity to launch its Make It Yours campaign – an initiative that will see the firm offer customers an extensive range of sales material that can be personalised with their own logos and branding.

Dekko Windows Systems was founded in 2008 by Gary Torr and Kurt Greatrex, and is one of the leading fabricators of high-end PVCu and aluminium windows and doors. Based in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, Dekko Window Systems was listed in the 2016 edition of the London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain. The report celebrates the fastest growing small and medium-sized businesses in the UK.

For more information contact Dekko on 01614060055 or visit www.dekkowindows.com