GROWING GLAZERITE ROLLS OUT BIGGEST-EVER FIT SHOW LINE-UP

More systems …more brands …more speciality products …The Glazerite UK Group Ltd is gearing up to match the biggest-ever FIT Show with the biggest-ever range of products and services from the best in the industry.

Always one to lead the way Glazerite are managing just that again this year with the launch of their new Flood door. The high-spec Flood Door, incorporating the Palladio slab will be on display as Glazerite look to sign up suitable companies to take on exclusive regional partnerships. Working with some of the industries best including VEKA, Halo, Solidor, Palladio, Residence, Warmcore and Ultion gives the company a compelling portfolio, making it a must-see for every installer visiting the show, at the NEC in May.

Director Jason Thompson says they can’t wait to show the industry everything the group now has to offer: “We’ve just opened our new specials factory enabling us to differentiate the manufacturing processes for the premium brands in our portfolio. Manufacturing 7 profile systems across our product range gives our installers all the flexibility they need when quoting for jobs. Coupled with the industry’s leading quality and guarantee organisations – like Network VEKA, Planitherm Installer Network, Maco Secure +, VEKA / Halo approved installer, ERA Five-Star Guarantee and the Ultion £1,000 Break-in Guarantee – Glazerite can provide the right support package for every company regardless of size.

“Glazerite installers are often the first to have access to new or enhanced products. The new Flood Door is a great opportunity for retailers to target the many high-risk areas and the regional exclusivity means they will be uniquely placed to market this great product.”

He added “Where else could they see so many of the biggest and best names in the industry all on one stand – and know that every one of them is backed by the quality manufacturing, guarantees and service that we stake our name on. A huge part of this offering is the marketing support we offer to our customers, from getting some of the basics in place right through to building them a bespoke website. It’s really about making sure their customers have a great first impression of them.”

At the core of the stand this year will be the marketing hub and Glazerite are inviting existing and potential partners to make an appointment for an individual marketing review. With an in-house marketing team, the fabricator are perfectly set up to offer their customers the advice and support they need to grow their business. Glazerite are the people to talk to on stand E15 if you’re looking to get a lot more out of your fabricator.

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.

www.glazeritewindows.co.uk

Prefix Systems have launched an impressive content rich new website, which details information about their products for the extended living space and outdoor living markets, alongside aluminium and hybrid window and door systems.

The new website at www.prefixsystems.co.uk offers site visitors with a wealth of information from their broad product range, which is now available from five manufacturing sites serving the entire UK, with the recent addition of Sussex-based Pavilion Systems. Navigation has been carefully organised with products split into six categories of glazed roofs, solid insulated roofs, Orangeries, skylights and rooflights, outdoor living and doors and windows.

Additional information is also covered on specialist glass, Velux rooflights, dedicated products for the replacement conservatory market and specific content on their impressive OPUS aluminium-timber composite system. Latest news is carried on the site, along with a live Twitter feed and a Live Chat facility, which has already proven particularly useful.

There is now a dedicated page for the impressive Verandah system, along with new OPUS and WARMroof product pages, while a dedicated FIT Show page will carry important information before, during and after the industry’s important and only trade show. A new download area is also being worked on, which will include the eagerly anticipated, new 2017 Prefix Product Directory, after its launch at the FIT Show.

As a people driven business, the website also details full contact details for each of their branches, with a number of e-mail contacts listed by branch including support, quotations, external sales and accounts. Proudly listed on the home page are a number of the most recent business awards that Prefix has picked up over the last three years, reflecting the culture built up at the company which is now in its 21st year of trading.

Hannah Gilrane, marketing co-ordinator of Prefix Systems commented: ‘The new Prefix website is a content rich platform for the trade, with easy to use navigation. Given our particularly broad product range, it’s an opportunity for us to support trade partners with important information, clearly laid out and all underpinned by the award-winning service that we offer.’

For further information, on Prefix Systems contact the head office on 01254 871800, visit the new website at www.prefixsystems.co.uk, e-mail enquiries@prefixsystems.co.uk or add to their considerable following on Twitter @prefixsystems. You can also visit them on stand R20 at the FIT Show in hall 8.

The seeds of the project were cast in 2012 by owner Allen Green and his wife Jan, who have lived in Hereford since 1984 and run a family owned business in a neighbouring town. Handing over the business to family members they are now looking forward to retirement in their stunning new home.  This is a ‘grand design’ of the true kind and has involved years of planning and preparation with Allen and Jan adopting a hands on approach, project managing the build themselves.

Originally looking for a home, ‘with a little bit of land’, to be enjoyed by their children and grandchildren their search has ended with an impressive, architecturally styled  oak frame, self build, red cedar and stone clad home set in 14 acres of glorious woodland. The Greens bought the land at auction not knowing at the time that it was in the centre of an area of geological interest and home to over 600 species of moths and butterflies.  Preserving the integrity of the area has been important to Allen and Jan as enjoying their natural surroundings is a big part of their retirement plan.

The project has included building a barn, putting in a new steel bridge for access and preserving two original stone cottages. “Our original plan was to rebuild and extend the original old stone cottage but this proved to be impractical, so we were then looking at taking on this much larger new build but retaining the heritage of the old cottage.  It has been very satisfying seeing the new building emerging while the old cottage sits quietly and gently in the background.  This blend of old and new has been important to us throughout this project. ” says Allen.

The 270 m2 overhanging wing-shaped roof is one of the features of the project and its dipping and rising aesthetic complements the surrounding, undulating woodland.  “We were originally looking at a zinc roof but the complexities of the structure would have made ventilation very difficult.  I liked the idea of using a single ply roofing membrane because we wanted a high performance, low maintenance, flexible, agile solution” said Allen.

His research led him to Sarnafil.  It was the company’s Swiss heritage and the fact that some of their earliest roofs are now over fifty years’ old that  proved an attractive proposition: “The Sarnafil credentials were very reassuring’ says Allen ‘I felt that I could relax and worry less because it’s Swiss and you associate that with high quality, high performance brands”.  Allen then contacted Kevin Hodge, Managing Director, County Flat Roofing (UK) Ltd, a Roof Assured, Sarnafil registered installer, based in Weston Super Mare, who has over 20 years’ experience installing the Sarnafil membrane on commercial and domestic projects.

“This has been an exciting project” says Kevin “it’s allowed us to use the versatility of the Sarnafil membrane to work closely with Allen to design and develop solutions throughout the membrane installation.  This is the first installation in the UK using the new lead grey self-adhesive Sarnafil membrane, developed and manufactured by Sika Sarnafil in Switzerland. The ease of application, flexibility and accessibility of the new membrane has allowed us scope to meet the complexities of this unusual roof design.”

The system was installed using Sarnafil G410-15ELF SA self-adhesive lead grey membrane with an integral self-adhesive 300g/m² polyester fleece as the main roof sheet with Sarnafil G410-15EL lead grey for all detail work flashings. The plywood deck was primed using Sarnafil 600 primer, with the build up covered by a 15-year Sarnafil, insurance backed product guarantee. The Sarnafil membrane is one of the only membranes on the market that comes in a 2.5 m roll making installation even more efficient and cost effective.

The breadth of the project has been wide, but the core reason for starting in the first place has never been lost to Allen and Jan: “This has always been about creating a family orientated home.  We never wanted it to be a show home and that has been the foundation for most of the decisions we have made about the design”.

If you are interested in becoming a Roof Assured by Sarnafil registered installer visit www.roofassured.co.uk/installer

The post Roof Assured by Sarnafil install new self adhered membrane on dream home appeared first on Windows Active Magazine.

For anyone who missed ‘Shoe Gate’ on social media in the last few weeks, the recent news from RegaLead is that after almost 2 decades with the company, Ian Duckworth is sadly leaving to relocate abroad. Stepping into his (admittedly less flamboyant) shoes is seasoned industry glass man Roland Sarin, who has joined the company as Market Manager Insulated Glass.

Roland comments: “I first joined the industry back in 1995 and have been lucky enough to work with some leading brands over the years like Pilkington and Edgetech. I love our sector because of the huge diversity of individuals and products which keeps it challenging and interesting. RegaLead is a brand that I’ve kept an eye on over the years and have always respected their tangible innovation, teamwork and inclusivity. Visiting their stands at many trade exhibitions, I’ve been impressed by a sense of professionalism but what that’s always mixed with enjoyment, respect and fun. I’ll be working with Ian for the next couple of months before he leaves and look forward to meeting customers between now and the FIT show.”

Guy Hubble, Joint MD comments: “We’re obviously sad that Ian, or Ducky as he’s affectionately known to the team, is leaving and we wish him all the best for his new life. He has been a fantastic asset to the business and without him, RegaLead would not be the clear market leader it is today. He has consistently shown talent and dedication in both his dealing with customers, but also in terms of product development. I’d like to say a fantastic thank-you. And it’s not entirely a goodbye as Ian will continue to support us in our export markets when he emigrates.

“Insulated glass remains a core part of the RegaLead business and we service an extensive customer base of IGU manufacturers and distributors to trade. With his heritage and experience in glass and glass processing, Roland is the ideal person to build on this important part of our business and continue the relationships and product solutions Ian has made over the years.”

For more information on decorative products for glass, windows and doors from RegaLead visit www.regalead.co.uk or call 0161 946 1164.

GQA Assessors are invited to learn about the benefits of TruFit®, expanding foam edge tape from Edgetech UK, at a special GQA CPD event on 19 April 2017.

Window installation tapes like TruFit are being used more and more for window and door installations and this year it will feature in the finals of the Master Fitter Challenge at FIT Show 2017.

“TruFit is leading the professionalisation of the industry by helping installers to maintain the Window Energy Ratings (WERs) of the windows they are fitting,” explains Charlotte Davies, Head of Marketing at Edgetech UK.

“Our CPD session for GQA assessors will give them a thorough understanding of TruFit and how it can be used to achieve a more modern finish with a consistent perimeter seal. This will give them the knowledge to ask the right questions of candidates using window fitting tapes.”

“TruFit offers benefits that outperform traditional ‘wet’ sealant methods, with up to 23 percent less heat loss in independent tests. It’s important that both installers and assessors understand these benefits.”

FIT Show’s Master Fitter Challenge is well-known for incorporating the latest industry trends, which is why TruFit is included in this year’s final.

Charlotte continues: “Master Fitter competitors will be installing using TruFit during the finals. As part of our involvement with the competition, we’re inviting all Master Fitter Competition entrants to join us for the CPD event also. That way they can practise fitting windows with TruFit before the live final at FIT Show.”

Entry is open for the Master Fitter Challenge until the end of March. Installers looking to show off their skills, win a share of the £10,000 prize money and be crowned Master Fitter of the Year can enter at www.fitshow.co.uk/master-fitter-challenge.

The CPD event will be held at Edgetech UK’s headquarters in Coventry. You can book your place on the TruFit GQA CPD session by calling 0114 2720033 or emailing: info@gqaqualifications.com.

For more information on TruFit, visit www.trufit-it.com.

It’s an inescapable fact that we’re living in an age of superfast communications, where emails, video conferencing and Facetime are a part of everyday working life. And there’s no doubt that along with things like product videos, such tools – for that is what they are – help many businesses achieve some of their goals.

But while things like Skype and meetings conducted via a superfast broadband network with real-time video links have their uses, there are some things that these elements can’t bring about, namely, the personal impact of standing in front of a product and learning, firsthand, what it can do.

That is the genius of a trade event like FIT Show 2017. It is easy to forget that a little actual face-to-face time – not just Facetime – can work wonders turning potential customers into long-term loyal clients and can give your company a competitive edge.

Attend a trade show, either as an exhibitor or as a visitor, and you are guaranteed to find the people who will match your aspirations. It’s contact ‘heaven’. You’ll either be an exhibitor looking to sell a product or a service to willing buyers, or you’ll be a visitor, looking for that special item or service fulfillment that will make your job more productive – and hopefully more profitable.

FIT Show 2017, being held for the first time at the NEC in Birmingham this May, brings together both exhibiting companies – over 200 – from the glass and glazing industry and thousands of visitors from the sector. Being able to see and in many cases touch the product that you want for your operation, and be able to discuss it in detail with the experts, is an experience you won’t want to pass up.

Another advantage of the trade show formula is that everything is under one roof. As an exhibitor, the world comes to you. Plus you get to see what your competitors from across the UK and beyond are doing. You can see at firsthand how the sector is developing. It’ll give you lots of ideas on how to perfect your own product – or give you the satisfaction that you have the best product on the market!

And as a visitor, being able to go around the exhibition halls and witness – again, at firsthand – an industry-wide array of products and services is an incredibly cost-effect way of spending your time.

And as well as hundreds of exhibiting companies, there’s more – much more – to the FIT Show 2017. As well as product demonstrations, visitors can hear from the best in the business by attending free-to-attend seminars across the three days of the event. These are always a big hit with delegates and cover a range of must-know guidance on regulations, finance and market conditions, plus business know-how, sales tips and installation advice, all presented by the show’s carefully chosen experts.

Finally, event organisers fully appreciate that people’s time is precious, and so creating value at a trade show is an absolute ‘must’. That’s why FIT Show’s BIG Tuesday will take place on Tuesday 23rd May and will see show opening hours extended to 8pm. Offering a relaxed ‘after hours’ atmosphere – a time when some will argue the best deals are done – some exhibitors are already planning to include drinks and music on their stand in order to create a party atmosphere and take advantage of the extra hours.

If you want to find out about the latest product developments in glass and glazing, you can’t afford to miss FIT Show 2017.

If you’re visiting the FIT Show why not take advantage of the free daily seminars? For more information visit: www.fitshow.co.uk/seminars and for the aluminium-focused seminars delivered by experts in aluminium, AluK visit: www.fitshow.co.uk/aluk-seminar.

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

Securing themselves a strong start to the first quarter of 2017, Sternfenster is proud to offer the cutting-edge, Secured by Design aluminium bi-fold door. Now available for Sternfenster Approved Installers, this door has been meticulously designed to greatly improve door performance and ensure customer peace of mind.

This Secured by Design certified aluminium bi-fold door has achieved a prestigious status across the market, as few suppliers can offer them. For Sternfenster Approved Installers, this offers an opportunity to open up new markets with a highly sought after product that promises a greater profit margin and happier customers.

Approved Installers can also benefit from reduced aftersales services, with the Secured by Design aluminium bi-fold door undergoing a stringent testing process to ensure an outstanding degree of product quality and build is achieved. This will not only enhance any home in which they are installed, it also allows you to maintain your reputation as a respected double glazing installer.

Quality by design, these aluminium bi-fold doors combine a premium grade aluminium profile with a high security, multi-point locking system to create a product that specialises in crime prevention. Customers want the best, and the Secured by Design aluminium bi-fold door from Sternfenster is a clear answer to that call.

Sternfenster strives to continually improve what they can offer their Approved Installers, with this outstanding door being their most recent fruit of labour. By joining the Sternfenster Installer Network, you’ll be in the hands of a national business that offers you all the benefits of innovation and expansion.

To illustrate this further, Sternfenster will be rebranding their aluminium products under ‘myALI Frame Solution’, which will include both myALI patio doors and myALI bi-fold doors. With Network Members in mind, this rebranding offers a generous collection of consumer based brochures for Approved Installers to utilise.

Mike Parczuk, Managing Director of Sternfenster, said “Our new Secured by Design aluminium bi-fold doors are a clear statement on the quality we strive for. We only offer the best for our customers and 2017 will not see an end to that. It really is the best time to join our Approved Installer Network”.

Expand your business, increase profit margin and guarantee customer satisfaction by becoming a Sternfenster Approved Installer, today. Give us a call on 01522 512 525 or visit www.sternfenster.com for more information.

Developments in UV-bonding technology are supporting glass processors in driving innovation in the built environment, delivering great architecture and higher margins.

Glass is the architectural material of the 21st Century. It defines our cityscapes, dominating the facades of commercial and office buildings. It’s also increasingly defining the architectural features of our homes.

This isn’t new, there have always been exponents of glass. The American architect and trailblazer Frank Lloyd Wright, writing as early as the 1940s of the merits of connecting indoor and outdoor spaces: ‘The outside of any building may now come inside and the inside go outside, each seems as part of the other.  Continuity, plasticity, and all the new simplicity they imply have at last come home’.

It’s only now, however, that we as homeowners are embracing glass in the mainstream of UK house design and that is driving innovation in the glass processing sector and the technologies to support it.

Bohle remains at the forefront of global leading innovation in UV bonding technology and has developed a complete range of cleaning agents, pre-treatments and curing adhesives to UVA lamps, bonding tables, rigid fixing and clamping devices.

But while the application of UV bonding is established in the manufacture of everything from glass furniture to shop fit outs, its use in external applications is only now beginning to establish itself – and that’s creating multiple opportunities.

“It was the quote from Frank Lloyd Wright, that got me thinking about how as an industry we handle corners in window design, especially when those windows are looking out onto panoramic views”, says Alex Simpson, Managing Director and owner, The Glass Man. “Pillars and supports interrupt and ruin them.

“The concept was simple – develop a glazing unit that turns a corner to maximize the view outside. It was doing it that was the hard part.”

Having initially developed the concept more than a decade earlier, The Glass Man manufactured its first 90-degree seamless Infinity Corner IGU in 2009. “It wasn’t delivered overnight”, continues Alex. “In part because I was developing the unit alongside running a business and in part because it took a lot of investment to get the process right. “

The patented Infinity IGU is suitable for use with timber, aluminium, composites and PVC-U frames, in either double or triple-glazed, argon-filled options. These are manufactured from 8mm toughened external glass and 6mm Pilkington K toughened internally.

“These units are invariably going out to somewhere sitting on top of a sea cliff or half way up a mountain so you need to factor in wind loadings”, adds Alex.

Creating a single IGU unit that in effect seamlessly ‘turns the corner’ of building, presented a unique set of challenges. “We worked very closely with Bohle to identify the right UV bonding solution”, says Alex. “There are other suppliers out there and they’ll all supply you with a product but what you get from Bohle is incredible technical expertise.

“We made a number of trips across to Haan in Germany to work with their technical team to identify the right bonding solution for what we were trying to achieve.”

He continues: “It sounds simple but in manufacturing a 90-degree unit, you’re applying at least five disciplines. You have to understand glazing, edge-working, polishing, toughening and bonding, before you even get to sealing and filling the unit.

“Manufacture at 90-degrees creates a lot of different challenges, not least how you turn spacer bar on a 90-degree angle.”

Manually manufactured, units also have to be specially packaged before shipment to minimize risk of damage in transit “you’re exposing the unit to stresses across three dimensions, so we use indicators and special packaging to make sure that units aren’t damaged”, says Alex.

This hasn’t, however, stopped the Infinity Window from ‘travelling’. For a window manufactured a stone’s throw from the banks of the River Clyde, this has included shipments as far afield as Penzance and Sligo and London to Estonia.

“It’s  more expensive than a standard IGU but as a percentage of a larger high-end installation it’s negligible and in defining a room, or even the architectural style of a property, it delivers a huge number of benefits to the end-user”, says Alex.

He continues: “The real opportunity here is for window companies. It’s such a stunning architectural product selling it as a fabricator or retail business delivers so many USPs and opportunities for high margin.

“That’s what we have always tried to do. Manufacture innovative high quality products that deliver high margin to us as a business and our customers.”

For more information on Bohle and its UV bonding technologies please call the customer services team free on 0800 616151 or email info@bohle.ltd.uk.

Alternatively, for to find out more about the Infinity IGU please visit www.theglassmanuk.co.uk call 01698 334545 or email info@theglassmanuk.com 

A free trial of Thermoflex Warm Edge Spacer is now being offered by Thermoseal Group, giving potential customers the opportunity to sample the UK’s highest performance flexible spacer with a lowest thermal conductivity rating of 0.135W/mK. Interested participants are encouraged to contact the Thermoseal Group sales team whilst this offer remains available.

Thermoseal Group is the UK’s multiple award-winning manufacturer and supplier of warm edge spacers and over 1,500 insulated glass (IG) components for use in the manufacture of premium IG units. The Group Sales Director, Mark Hickox, says: “After much investment to ensure its superiority, we are delighted to be able to offer UK sealed unit manufacturers this opportunity”.

“Thermoflex Warm Edge Spacer achieves the highest Passive House rating of phA+ for arctic climates and the best edge resistance within the Passive House component database of spacers – 6.30m K/W. Psi values are as low as 0.027 W/mK and are the result of continual investments in equipment and skills for testing and benchmarking Thermoflex in comparison to that of other leading flexible spacers.

“The nearest competitor thermal conductivity value is 0.15W/mK (as opposed to 0.135W/mK for Thermoflex), which means that Thermoflex can be exchanged within current Window Energy Rating (WER) simulations whereas competitor products cannot be exchanged within a WER incorporating Thermoflex warm edge spacer without a new simulation being required.

“Our innovation centre has enviable test facilities and we have employed specialists with the technical skills to test all of our products to exacting standards from the initial compounding of the raw materials, right through the process to packaging and delivery to the customers. Our testing gives us the confidence that our products will pass both independent tests and maintain the integrity of the compounded desiccant within the spacer as it continues to perform throughout the lifetime of the insulated glass sealed unit.

“We understand that the quality of the raw materials is crucial in securing the highest standard of spacer” says Mark. “As well as being produced from the highest quality materials, Thermoflex is also compounded and processed in the exact way to ensure the right tensile and compression properties and UV stability. We are continually investing in new technology and methods to improve and develop this product”.

For your free trial of Thermoflex Warm Edge Spacer, contact your Area Sales Manager now, or call 0845 331 3950 (Intl: 0044 121 331 3950) or email sales@thermosealgroup.com. Terms and conditions apply.

To find out about Thermoseal Group and its comprehensive range of IG components and machinery, visit www.thermosealgroup.com. For full information about the Group’s warm edge spacers see our multi-lingual websites at www.thermobarwarmedge.com and www.thermoflexwarmedge.com.