New Installations Manager Role At The Window Company (Contracts)

Specialist commercial installer The Window Company (Contracts) has appointed Maureen Gregg to the new role of Installations Manager, as it continues to expand.

Working alongside Managing Director Rob Petre and Projects Director Martin Thornton, Maureen is managing fitting teams on projects across the new build and replacement sectors.

Maureen’s role is very much about making sure The Window Company (Contracts)’ projects run as smoothly and efficiently as possible and that the demands of the client, the residents and the window fitters themselves are all successfully managed.

Having spent 17 years with Anglian Building Products, during which time she progressed from Resident Liaison Officer to Contracts Manager, Maureen brings with her valuable all round experience from both sides of a project.

She says that she was attracted to the newly created role at The Window Company (Contracts) because of the company’s reputation for excellence and innovation and its promotion of best practice in terms of training and health and safety on site: “From the outset, it’s been clear that the fitting teams here are key to the success of the business and, as a result, they are well trained, well rewarded and very well motivated.

“From an Installations Manager’s perspective, that’s a fantastic position to be in and I’m really excited about getting started on my first big project for Morgan Sindall in north London delivering the service and quality for which The Window Company (Contracts) is so renowned.”

The Window Company (Contracts) is appearing at this year’s FIT Show on stand M33 and will be inviting commercial clients to the show to see all the latest innovations from across the fenestration sector.

Further details are at: www.thewinco.co.uk

Inagas, the fenestration industry’s supplier of gas filling and testing solutions, is heading to this year’s China Glass where they will have a strong presence.  This year’s show – taking place from the 24th to the 27th May – is the 28th show to date and is expecting over 30,000 visitors from 70 countries.

Inagas Director, Chris Kemp, explains: “Inagas first exhibited at China Glass in 2011.  It has always been a successful show for us – both sales to the local market and the rest of the world – so we are delighted to be showcasing machinery on not one, but two stands at this year’s show. Sparklike on the Quanex stand, E1-482, will be demonstrating a Smartfill-2 – which has always been our most popular solution there – along with an Interfill.   Sparklike has supplied Inagas machinery into a number of large companies in China to date, including CSG Group, Xinyi Glass, North Glass, and Jinchen and Shimao who are manufacturers of IGUs in the refrigeration market.

“Also we will have a Smartspeed-1 on stand E4-03 with our distributor Qinhuangdao Lihai Technology Development Co.  Established in 2013, they have provided a number of  manufacturers with gas filling solutions, including Jiangsu Anchor Glass Company, Shanghai Haojing Glass Manufacture Co., Ltd and Dongyingshengming Windows Company.

“At Inagas, because of the nature of our business, the ability to demonstrate our machinery is an exhibition environment is the best way for us to sell products.  Our face to face, hands on approach allows us to do well within and exhibition arena, and we believe China Glass will pay testament to that fact once again.”

See Inagas on Stand number E1-482 or E4-03 at China Glass or, for more information about the range of gas filling solutions from Inagas, visit www.inagas.com or call 01442 832764.

Saint-Gobain Building Glass has further enhanced its popular collection of conservatory roof glass, with the introduction of Azura+, setting new benchmarks for the lowest g-value in the SGG BIOCLEAN low maintenance self-cleaning range.

More than a year’s development has gone into incorporating one of the best solar performing low maintenance self-cleaning coating onto the popular Sapphire Blue tinted substrate, offering an 83% heat reflection and 0.17 g-value, firmly placing the product at the top of Saint-Gobain’s roof glass range.

“The result is a glass that will keep indoors cooler on warm summer days but give the same heat retention in colder weather due to its 1.0 u-value,” said Jenni Bailey, Market Manager for
Saint-Gobain’s Conservatory Range.

“Temperature control within conservatories is a major issue for end-users who quite rightly want to use them all year round. The addition of Azura+ will have a major impact on the overall comfort of a conservatory, allowing end-users to utilise their new space whatever the season.”

The high performance solar control coating of Azura+ is also complimented by SGG BIOCLEAN, a revolutionary low-maintenance self-cleaning function that uses both rain and natural light from the sun to efficiently combat dirt and grime.

Saint-Gobain’s roof glass range already includes the bronze tinted Solara and the blue tinted Azura, both with BIOCLEAN coating and, to streamline the range ahead of the launch of Azura+, the company’s green tinted Aqua and virtually neutral Natura roof glass products have been rebranded to Aqua+ and Natura+ to reflect their parallel use of the solar control coating.

The launch of SGG BIOCLEAN Azura+ is backed by technical support, especially for processors who have not yet trialled it, and marketing support in the form of refreshed glass sample kits and brochures.

www.saint-gobain.com

This year the FIT Show 2017 will be pulling out all the stops…and champagne corks, as we invite guests to step into the alleyways of deepest, darkest Paris for a Burlesque-themed Gala Dinner.

The event is only weeks away and you simply won’t want to miss out – but you’d better move fast, as tickets are flying out the door faster than you can say ‘Toulouse Lautrec’.

Taking place at The NEC, Birmingham on the evening of Wednesday 24th May, the black tie event is set to be a sell out, despite increasing the capacity and being bigger then ever before, hosting more than 1000 guests.

Featuring lavish drapes, intimate lighting and raunchy entertainment, guests can expect stunning showgirls, can-can dancers, mime artists, contortionists and living statues from the Burlesque Show.

Hosted by Nick Knowles, TV presenter and star of SOS DIY: The Big Build, the evening will see guests enjoying a champagne reception, followed by a delicious three-course meal with wine.

Knowles has many strings to his bow. Exclusively contracted to BBC1 as a presenter and writer for the last 10 years, he has hosted prime time Saturday night quiz shows such as Break the Safe, Secret Fortune and Who Dares Wins. Not only that, he is also a successful screenplay writer, having penned the Royal Television Society awarded Historionics.

And after the newly introduced FIT Show Awards and the presentation of £10,000 worth of prize money to the winners of the Master Fitter Challenge, guests can party into the early hours with some fun features and dancing.

Nickie West, Event Director for The FIT Show, says: “After last year’s roaring success with the Great Gatsby themed night, this year we are transporting Gala Dinner guests to another night of excitement and entertainment.

“We’re delighted Nick Knowles will be overseeing the proceedings and we’re sure everyone will be wowed by what’s in store, from the moment they arrive until the lights go up at the end of the evening. We look forward to see you there!”

For more information or to book a table at the Gala Dinner please contact Nickie@fitshow.co.uk.

Taking place 23-25th May 2017, to book a stand at FIT Show 2017 please contact Freya Humphries on: 07572 623457, or email: freya@fitshow.co.uk. To register as a visitor for FIT Show 2017 visit: www.livebuzzreg.co.uk/2017/fit17

PatioMaster’s appeal as the go-to patio door brand is just about to get even bigger as it gets set to launch new product innovations at this year’s FIT Show. Carmen Velilla, PatioMaster’s Brand Manager, comments: “At this year’s FIT Show we will be highlighting how we intend to make PatioMaster stand out even further with some great innovations including a new Triple Track system that will open up all sorts of possibilities and Palette, our improved and enhanced colour range. We will also be promoting our increased number of stock items that will speed up order turnaround times.”

Sales of patio doors are continuing to grow, even against other types of sliding doors, so it makes sense to have a strong product in your portfolio to meet demand and PatioMaster more than fits the bill not least because it has got excellent brand recognition with thousands of fabricators, installers and homeowners thanks to a compelling package of benefits.

Every PatioMaster door is unique, precision made to exacting standards by regional fabricators in the UK and Ireland, and is usually delivered within just five working days.

When you become a PatioMaster installer, you give your customers the best of all worlds: the personal commitment and passion of a committed local business, the backing and recognition of a national brand and the satisfaction of supporting a privately owned, local firm. You also get the technical support and marketing back up of one of the sector’s biggest names.

So to find out more about what makes PatioMaster stand out and why becoming part of the PatioMaster family could make good sense for your business, visit stand B34 at the FIT Show, which is running 23 – 25 May at the NEC in Birmingham.

www.patiomaster.co.uk

Responding to UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s triggering of Article 50, Mike Cherry, National Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said:

“Now that Article 50 has been triggered, it is time for the government to work towards a pro-business Brexit and give small firms some clarity on how leaving the EU will impact their businesses. In particular, FSB members want to see the easiest possible access to the single market. There must also be reassurance for small businesses which employ non-UK EU citizens, and rely on the ability to recruit those with the skills and talents they need.

“Access to the right skills at the right time is crucial for the success of a small business. A fifth of FSB members with staff employ non-UK EU citizens, workers that are vital to the UK economy. The right to remain for these non-UK EU citizens must be guaranteed at the earliest opportunity to provide reassurance to smaller firms and their workforces.

“The Government must push for a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU based on ease and cost, and then support small firms to take advantage of new trade agreements with priority markets around the world. Small business exporters tell us that the EU single market is still their top market of choice, but firms are also keen to focus on the US, China, Australia and Canada. One third of exporting small businesses have told us they would be genuinely deterred from trading with the EU if a tariff of between two to four per cent was imposed on trade between the UK and EU.

“It’s vital that throughout the Brexit negotiations the small business voice is not lost and that the final agreement is positive for British business. For this reason, FSB will continue to be a constructive partner with the Government on Brexit, especially on issues such as access to markets, to skills and labour, funding – as well as creating the right regulatory environment after Brexit.

“There is now a two year window of opportunity to influence EU law. FSB will focus efforts in the Commission and Parliament to secure pro-business reforms to the single market, as arrangements agreed between now and March 2019 will become UK law.”

www.fsb.org.uk

The FENSA Knowledge Hub (FKH) is a new, revolutionary web-based management and marketing tool.  It processes all the information installers input during the notification process on the FENSA website – and offers it to them as easy to understand, informative data, much of which is graphically presented.  It is available for free to FENSA members only.

FENSA installers will be able to evaluate their performance and prices against the market average, identify sales and marketing opportunities, view their inspection history, compare performance over the previous year and much more besides.

All the knowledge held on the FKH comes from the notification process, so is information already supplied by FENSA installers.  This is then combined with local government information on population, housing stock etc.  Each installer will be able to see only their company specific data – and will not be able to view any other installers’ information.  But, installers will be able to view industry aggregated data by Local Authority area or nationally.

Jon Vanstone, FENSA director, commented: “The FENSA Knowledge Hub will provide a vital insight for our members.  It will allow them to better analyse their performance, indicate sales and marketing opportunities, and identify inspection pass and fail patterns.

FENSA has been gathering all this data and not using it – let alone providing it as an installer management tool.  We thought it was about time we did.”

Most of this data is already available in a FENSA installer’s portal, but in a very inaccessible format. It would take significant time and effort for installers to create something usable with that data.  With the FKH, all the hard work has been done for them.

However, this kind of data is only available on the FKH.  With FENSA’s 80% plus market share, 15 years’ experience and specialist IT expertise it is the only glazing business or Competent Persons Scheme that could provide such useful and detailed information.  FKH has been in development for many months and is the result of substantial investment.

FKH will be an evolving information hub – with new functionality due to be added over the next few months.  FENSA would also like to hear from members about what extra functions they would find useful – with a view to possibly adding them too.

Vanstone concluded: “The Knowledge Hub provides a commercial opportunity for FENSA registered firms’ available no-where else, that should give them an edge over other installers, and allow them to harness the power of their data.”

The FENSA Knowledge Hub goes live on 4th April.  For existing FENSA members just click on the link in the email that you will receive on 4th April, or visit www.fensaknowledgehub.co.uk  and follow the Sign Up process (you will need your FENSA registration number).  Only the main FENSA contact email address will have access initially.  Other emails can be added with the installers permission.

For those interested in joining FENSA and gaining access to FKH, please visit www.fensa.co.uk

The FENSA Knowledge Hub will be demonstrated at the FIT Show on the FENSA Stand (No 30, Hall 8).  Information on how to use FKH will also be provided in the next edition of the FENSA Now newsletter, via direct emails to FENSA members, at the regular FENSA Seminars, on social media and via a programme of webinars.  There is also a ‘Help’ YouTube video:  http://bit.ly/fkh-help

There is also an in depth Help Section on the FENSA Knowledge Hub website itself.  Specific questions can also be sent in via contact@fensaknowledgehub.co.uk