Interested In Adding Value To Composite Doors? Visit FIT Stand E33 For The Latest Innovations

Renowned for offering value added solutions to the glass and door industries, RegaLead is back at FIT this year with a host of exciting new products and services. As a reflection of the changing trends in home improvements, the company will be focusing on new product ranges that are helping customers make money from some of the most exciting on-trend markets.

Guy Hubble, RegaLead’s Joint MD says: “If it’s the latest innovations in composite doors that you’re interested in, head straight to Stand E33.This year we’ll be exhibiting new door glass options and design; introducing visitors to the latest ColorSpray GRP coating technology; launching Urban Contemporary Glazing and perhaps most exciting of all, showcasing Colorline. Colorline is the pre-painted profile service for doors that’s supplied in a three-part kit form to match any DOORCO or Distinction shade within 5 days, and RAL and other paint colours in 7 days. A special FIT launch will be ColorLine for Alustar.

“Just as our markets have evolved, the RegaLead brand of 25 years ago is a totally different animal with a host of new products and services to create and satisfy emerging home improvement trends. One thing that hasn’t and will never change though is our philosophy of adding value through decoration, the latest demonstration of which we look forward to sharing with visitors our Stand E33 during FIT 2017.”

For more information, call RegaLead on 0161 946 1164 or visit www.regalead.co.uk

Leading VEKA fabricator Modplan has added VEKA’s FlushSash window to its range. Heidi Sachs, Modplan’s Managing Director, said: “The FlushSash window will add even more value to our portfolio. It is perfect for heritage and conservation projects or as an alternative to aluminium, making it a very flexible addition.”

The FlushSash window sits flush within its frame, so replicates 19th century windows, helping to keep the heritage feel of older homes. This feel can be enhanced with heritage detail options such as ‘monkey tail’ handles and ornamental peg stays that are available. While offering everything heritage applications need, the window also has a modern feel to its aesthetics, which makes it a popular option for architects and specifiers looking for a cost-effective alternative to aluminium in new build projects. It is available in 19 colour options, all designed to look like stained or painted wood.

While the window may have heritage looks, the thermal efficiency credentials are certainly modern day, thanks to its five chamber construction that gives it a U value of 1.3m²k using 28 mm glazing. And for when even better credentials are needed, a triple glazed version is also available. The security is impressive too because it achieves BS7950 and PAS 023/024.

The new FlushSash window is manufactured in Modplan’s dedicated factory near Newport, Gwent with orders for coloured frames being fulfilled in Modplan’s painting facility, which is on the same site.

The FlushSash window is the latest in a line of new products being introduced by Modplan. Heidi says, “It is important to us to have product range that meets our customers’ needs. We keep our finger on the pulse when it comes to product design and we are confident that the FlushSash window will be a valuable addition to our customers’ portfolios.”

Modplan manufactures and provides a comprehensive range of products that includes the Matrix 58, Veka Matrix 70 and 70FS systems, VEKA Vertical sliders, PVC-u patio and bifold doors, conservatories, the Vertex Open Canopy, the Vertex roof system with polycarbonate, glass or tile effect roof options, the Wendland roofing system and the newly added Ultrasky, Livin room and LEKA Warm Roof. For more information on any of the Modplan’s products and support, simply Ask the Man from Modplan.

www.modplan.co.uk

ERC Testing, the Leigh based test house set up in 2016 to facilitate testing of window, doors and safety glass, recently opened its doors to visitors keen to get a greater understanding of the types of testing that take place and learn more about what each of the tests involve.

Mike Hackett, Test Laboratory Manager, explains: “The Open Day was the perfect opportunity for us to dispel the myths about product testing. When customers are putting products in to be tested, it can be quite daunting, but we talk through each process so they have a full understanding of what is taking place with an aim to taking the stress out of the situation. We have tested a variety of doors and windows manufactured using PVC, aluminium or timber. Main tests include weather testing (air, wind & water), security testing to PAS 24: 2016, and other operation tests. Safety glass testing may include impact testing (EN 12600), fragmentation testing (EN 12150-1) and 4-point bend testing EN 1288-3). As a test house, we are a new name in the industry, but I’ve been in the fenestration industry for 30 years now so have a good understanding of products and production processes and my colleague Pete for 17 years, which definitely helps as we are able to see if from the customers’ side of things.

Pete Fradley, Test Laboratory Technician, continues: “The feedback we’ve received to date has been extremely positive in terms of our product knowledge and the way we communicate each process. Another huge plus for us is our location, as the laboratory is located in Leigh, Lancashire to allow easy motorway access for clients not only in the North but also based in South, together with those in Ireland & Northern Ireland. When we’re not carrying out the actual tests or writing up the reports, we spend time researching and developing what we do to ensure we are keeping up to date with any market changes. We’re pleased that ERC Testing has had a fantastic first year and we’re looking forward to building on that success and our reputation in the years to come.”

Bill Keating, Managing Director of ERC Testing concludes: “ERC Testing works in close cooperation with CENSolutions, ER Certification and TÜV Rheinland Nederland B.V., providing a customer oriented, comprehensive approach towards improving the quality and reliability of glass, windows and doors supplied to the UK market. By working closely together we can ensure our customers have access to everything they need in order to obtain product certification with all of the help and guidance they might need. We are delighted to say our first year has gone incredibly well. ERC Testing has completed the circle in terms of our cooperation partners and our customers are most definitely enjoying the benefit of that.”

For more information on ERC Testing Ltd, log on to www.erc-testing.com

Distinction Glass is celebrating the success of its range of triple glazed laminated glazing units for its market-leading composite doors. Bethaney Larkman, Marketing Manager at Distinction, commented: “We launched the Distinction Glass brand to give our glass the showcase it deserved and it is doing just that. We can see that the quality and beauty of our range are proving very attractive to homeowners.”

While the classic glass designs remain the most popular, contemporary designs have seen a surge of interest. Bethaney commented: “We can see that homeowners are realising that a composite door doesn’t have to replicate a traditional timber door – they can choose a door style and glass design with stunning contemporary looks.”

Distinction’s glass range is renowned for its quality and attention to detail. Each design is triple glazed, something that offers two major benefits. Firstly, thermal efficiency is maintained. And because the decorative panel is enclosed within two clear panes, keeping it clean and pristine is much easier too. All the panels have slim sightlines so attention is focused on the beauty of the panel and for extra security the external face is fitted with 6.8mm laminated safety glass to BS EN 14449.

Comprising of 23 designs across four collections, the range offers something for all tastes and styles and really raises the bar in glass design.

Distinction Doors has been the market leader in composite doors for some time. It is clear that it maintains its position because it recognises what homeowners are looking for. The success of the Distinction Glass range is a perfect illustration of this and the beauty of the range is backed up with practical features too.

www.distinctiondoors.co.uk

Hurst Plastics’ 20^th year in business has seen production of its composite fire doors rise by more than 40% and sales of composite doors within the trade and commercial markets grow by 10% and 20% respectively.

The latest year-end figures from Hurst Plastics follow a period of major investment in resources, plant and machinery across all areas of the business to enable the firm to keep pace with its future growth strategy.

Mark Atkinson, Sales Director at Hurst Plastics, explains: “We are very pleased with our performance over the last 12 months, particularly in composite doors and composite fire doors which have both delivered impressive growth. Fire doors now represent around 30% of our turnover which is indicative of how demand for them has grown. We are very encouraged by these results, particularly in the commercial sector where there is plenty of further growth potential in social and local authority housing. The domestic sector has delivered relative growth too and that reflects the continuing shift among homeowners from budget entrance doors to higher end, higher performing composite doors.

“In line with the recent Palmer report, which predicts significant growth of composite doors through to 2020, we expect sales of our composite doors to continue to grow over the next few years. This will not just come down to luck though; it will be in no small part because of the ambitious investment the business has made and the emphasis we place on delivering consistently high levels of service.

“We’ve worked hard to make our business the ‘easiest to work with’ and we have developed a comprehensive package that helps customers to seamlessly integrate with us. We are proud of our achievements and, despite being in a competitive industry, we maintain the lead in some key areas. We have the largest external sales team within the composite door market and our OTIF record is above 98.5%, which we believe is the best in the industry.”

Sales of Hurst Plastics’ door panels have also grown in the last year, indicating that there is still demand for them, despite the growing popularity of composite doors. Although considered a ‘mature’ product, Hurst manufactures at least 2,000 door panels a week. Customers continue to buy panels from Hurst because the company invests in the range and constantly introduces new styles and colours.

Mark adds: “This year has been another good year for us in panels with sales up once again. The door panel may be a mature product, but there is still plenty of demand for it and our production rates are showing no sign of slowing down. We’ve maintained this consistent output because we continue to invest in developing our range and we support it with a comprehensive suite of literature. Our Modern Collection, for instance, is a selection of fresh, European inspired designs, which make the ideal entrance to a more contemporary styled property. Designed to replicate the look of a composite door, every door comes with a choice of stainless steel trim for a modern finish.”

In the last two years, Hurst Plastics has invested heavily to increase the production capabilities of its two dedicated factories in Kingston-upon-Hull. This has enabled Hurst to ramp up production of both its composite doors and door panels and maintain excellent product consistency. Hurst has also continually improved its ‘Hurst Live’ account management system to enables customers to specify and buy doors with ease. To maintain its high service levels, Hurst also Hurst delivers the majority of its doors on its own fleet of 16 vehicles.

www.hurst-plastics.co.uk

Sliders UK has announced the formation of a new senior management team as part of an ambitious strategy for significant new growth.

Created through 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 and joined alongside Murphy in Sliders UK’s new senior team 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-founder 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 5-days or less.

“The restructure of our composite door line early has given us faster turnaround and an increasingly competitive offer at a time when reliability”, says Mines. “This has come at a time of not only growth in the composite door market but at a time when service in the sector has in general, dropped off.”

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.

Sitting alongside its established aluminium bi-fold door offer from ALUK, it features a highly innovative fully adjustable jamb option. This makes it far simpler to align the door, even where apertures are out of square – cutting installation times to as little as 45 minutes.

PAS24 and Part Q compliant, it also launched the new Duraflex bi-folding door at the end of the year. This is fully integrated with the systems company’s Diamond suite, featuring beveled and chamfered options it achieves a DER ‘A’ rating and u-values as low as 1.1Wm²/K.

It’s launch and that of the Ultimate Evolution, sitting alongside its established Eurocell Ultimate Aspect PVC-U door range and the launch of the PremiLine PRO patio door from Kömmerling. .

Another Part Q ready door, it sits alongside Sliders UK’s established offer from Duraflex, giving the door specialist one of, if not the, industry’s largest bi-fold and patio door offers.

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

He concluded: “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.”

For more information contact sales@sliders-uk.com or visit the website at www.sliders-uk.com.

Training is well underway for the all-female team taking part in this year’s Paddle2Pedal challenge – the first ever ‘Ladies Only’ event organised by GM Fundraising. With the first weekend of training under their belt, the team of twelve are will meet again in May to test their fitness and skills on the River Avon and surrounding Warwickshire countryside.

Gary Morton, founder of GM Fundraising and challenge veteran, is supporting the team for the challenge. Gary comments: “The first weekend was an astounding success. I was particularly impressed with how seriously the team are taking this challenge, the amount of work they’ve put in over the winter months and how the team comradery is already coming through.

“We met in April in Loughborough for our first ever team canoeing experience. Thankfully the weather was glorious and the ladies paired up to complete 4 miles on the River Soar, after a very comprehensive briefing session from Mark Bache of Epwin Group – our canoeing expert and coach. Day two saw the team take to their bikes for their inaugural ‘team’ bike ride lead by fellow challenge stalwart Alan Sadler, who is also supporting the team throughout the challenge in August. It was amazing how quickly everyone pulled together and cycled as a team.

“Onwards and upwards to more of the same in Stratford-upon-Avon. We have a couple of tough days planned for the ladies, but I have no doubt they will rise to the challenge! Of course, they are also working hard to raise much needed funds for the children and families of Hope House Children’s Hospice – the inspiration behind everything we do.

Follow the team’s progress on social media using #GMFP2P or #paddle2pedal, and for full team profiles and more information on the challenge, the charity and for support links, please visit the website www.gmfundraising.co.uk/paddle2pedal

We’re also going to be at the FIT Show – visit us on Stand B16 to find out about our other exciting projects.

Qualplas, the St Helens-based PVC-U window fabricator and long-standing customer of The VEKA UK Group celebrates three decades of business this year. The milestone will be marked with a wide range of activities and customer giveaways throughout the year.

Since the very beginning, Qualplas has been dedicated to providing top quality products and unbeatable customer service to all of its trade, retail and commercial clients. This commitment was cemented when the young company chose The VEKA UK Group as its number one supplier of PVC-U profile just one year into trading, before later also joining Network VEKA, which has quality craftsmanship and customer satisfaction at its core.

In January 2016, ST Group Ltd – the parent company of Qualplas – was taken over by Huws Gray, the largest independent builders merchants in Wales and the North West of England. Largely the company has continued as previously, albeit with a slight change in the management team. One major change however, is the amount of miles the Qualplas delivery vehicles are now covering, particular within North Wales, resulting in an ever-widening customer base.

Aron McMahon, Manager at Qualplas said: “There have been many highlights for Qualplas since 1987, mainly growing from small premises in Peasley Cross to a 10,000 sq ft site in Knowsley Road.  There have also been some tough times along the way, in particular with recessions in the early 1990s and late 2000s. However, our commitment to quality and service has never changed and we continue to thrive and offer a premium service to new and existing customers alike.

“A huge thank you has to be said to every member of staff – past and present – who have worked tirelessly each day in order to deliver the quality products and service that Qualplas has become renowned for. Also, a massive thank you to all of our customers over the past 30 years; a number of whom have been with us since day one!

“Last but certainly not least, everyone at Qualplas – from the board of Directors, the management team, and all employees – would like to say a massive thank you to The VEKA UK Group. A large part of our success is down to the suppliers we choose. Qualplas’s long-standing relationship with The VEKA UK Group has ensured only the best quality raw material to fabricate with plus additional support in terms of technical expertise. Qualplas’s partnership with the Network VEKA brand has also enabled the company to be where it is today. Qualplas aims to work closely with both for many more years to come.

”The VEKA UK Group’s Sales Director Neil Evans added: “Congratulations to everyone at Qualplas on 30 years of trading. To stand the test of time over all these years is a wonderful achievement and as one of The VEKA UK Group’s first ever customers, Qualplas is a shining example to many more companies in the industry. On behalf of everyone at The VEKA UK Group I would like to wish Qualplas and all of its employees a very happy birthday and we look forward to many more years of working with them in the future.”

www.vekauk.com

Scottish construction supplies specialist Rembrand Timber Ltd has become a distributor for Composite Wood Company™, with big plans to bring the benefits of the fast-growing Composite Wood range to landscapers and home improvement installers.

Sales of Composite Wood decking, fencing, balustrades and garden rooms have exploded during the past year.  With over 13,000 likes on its Facebook page, Composite Wood Company has proven the huge market potential and is building a national distribution network to cater to this rapid growth.

With 21 branches across Scotland, Rembrand is open to trade and public so it is well placed to deliver Composite Wood to its customers.  With a strong track record in fencing and landscaping, Rembrand was quick to recognise the potential – especially after Composite Wood Company passed on 100 sales leads in just 3 weeks.

“Our customers are always looking for new ideas that will add value to their business and Composite Wood does exactly that,” says George Low, Managing Director of Rembrand.

“This is a superb product.  It is strong and hard-wearing to suit all weather.  Its concealed fixing system makes it easy to install.  And it looks great.

“It’s backed by consistent supply and great service from Composite Wood Company.  We’ve been blown away by how well they get this market.”

Composite Wood Company is equally excited about the partnership.

“Rembrand thinks very much like us in terms of their ambitions for growing the market and we’ve clicked straight away,” says Tony Pratt, Sales Director at Composite Wood Company.

“Scotland is a major area for us.  Having a company with the reputation of Rembrand on board will definitely help us to bring Composite Wood to landscapers, home improvement installers and homeowners.”

Composite Wood is available now from all Rembrand branches.  Rembrand is placing standard displays in most branches and, in certain areas, larger bespoke displays will be supplied by Composite Wood Company, including a garden room for one of the branches.

www.compositewoodcompany.co.uk

Image Above: Philip Collard 

Research conducted by MarketingWorks and Reading University uncovered the real cost of the bidding process in the construction industry as almost £3 billion.

myConsole, recently announced as the procurement partner for Digital Construction Week, will be holding a webinar to show the industry how they can use digitalisation to dramatically reduce these costs.

The research discovered that the bid cost works out to 0.57% of the project value (Appendix A). When you add together the amount spent on winning and losing bids in the £110 billion construction industry, the total hits almost £3 billion.

“The bidding process often escapes serious scrutiny and analysis. Our research highlights that this needs to change. The potential for efficiencies and savings in time and money are massive,” said Philip Collard, Chief Executive of myConsole.

Most tellingly, there are a range of work winning behaviours that mark out winning bidders (Appendix B). In their webinar, myConsole will highlight the areas ripe for change in the bid process.

Key takeaways from the session will include insights into:

• Relationship building
• Bid selectivity
• Process management

The traditional approach to winning work is for teams to spread their resources over a large number of bids. The research shows the average number of bidders per tender is five, which aligns with the typical length of a tender list – between four and six.

Philip Collard explained how this impacts on the cost of bidding. “We discovered the true cost for a winning bid is the cost of four losing bids, plus the cost of the winning bid. This brings the cost of the bid process up to a staggering 2% to 3% of total revenue.”

“We have valuable insights into the behaviour and processes that win work, and can help procurement teams create massive efficiencies,” said Philip.

Tune into the myConsole webinar on 1^st June at 2pm. Register here to find out more.