Another Successful Manchester Pigs

People in Glazing Society (PIGS) saw another hugely successful event at the Castlefield Rooms in Manchester on 2 March 2017.

The first 2017 event drew in people from across the entire glazing industry for drinks, nibbles and fun networking.

PIGS organiser and Client Strategy Director at Balls2 Marketing, Sarah Ball said: “I’m properly chuffed with the turn-out in Manchester this year. It’s always one of our most popular PIGS events but I think this has been our best-attended yet.

“We’ve almost hit the 200 attendees mark and it’s great to see faces old and new enjoying a drink and a good chat.”

As usual, PIGS received fantastic support from the industry. 36 companies and organisations dipped their hands in their pockets to sponsor the event. All of the money went behind the bar to start the PIGS party.

Sarah continued: “PIGS doesn’t make a profit – it’s all about getting people in glazing together for a good time. As ever, we have our fantastic industry sponsors to thank for making PIGS happen.

The Manchester PIGS sponsors were:

Avantis International
Build Show
Business Micros
Central RPL
Danvac Vacuum Lifting Equipment
Dempsey Dyer
Edgetech UK
Emplas
ERA
ExtrudaSeal
FIT SHOW
Frame Fast
GGF
Georgian Bar Company
Glass Times
Glazpart
Icotherm
Insight Data
OnLevel
Network VEKA
Premier Conservatory Supplies
Profix Group
Purplex
Regalead
Selecta Systems
Stevenswood
Stuga Machinery
Synseal
Thermoseal
Titon
Ultraframe
Universal Arches
Victorian Sliders
The VEKA UK Group
Whizzle
Yale

“An extra thanks to GAP, who gave us a boost of funds when the bar ran dry on the night – much appreciated!”

There are three further PIGS events planned for 2017. The next is in London on 11 May. There will be a first-time PIGS in Glasgow event in the summer and Birmingham will finish off the year’s events.

Sarah adds: “I would like to say thank you to everyone who supports and attends PIGS and I’d also like to thank the Balls2 Marketing team for helping me with the organisation and promotion of PIGS.”

If you would like to sponsor a 2017 PIGS event, please email Sarah at sarah@balls2marketing.com. Sign-up for the latest event updates at www.balls2marketing.co.uk/pigs.

TruFrame has equipped its sales team with four new Audi A3 Sportback e-Tron hybrid cars, which were inspired by the technologies Audi developed for its winning Le Mans 24 hour racing team.

Audi first debuted the technology with its R18 e-Tron at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans and subsequently one of the team cars was driven to victory, making it the first hybrid electric vehicle to win at the iconic race track. Audi went on to win with the same car in 2013 and 2014, while harnessing this engineering expertise to make it commercially viable in mass produced vehicles.

TruFrame, which already carries ISO 14001:2015 for its environmental management system, says the adoption of hybrid cars is a ‘further commitment to minimising its impact on the environment’.

The new Audi A3 Sportback e-Tron hybrid cars boast emission levels of 37g/km of CO2 and a 580 mile range from a small 40 litre fuel tank. According to TruFrame, it’s also one of the few cars that qualifies for zero-rating in the Congestion Charge Zone in London.

David Firmager, managing director of TruFrame commented: ”The new fleet of e-Tron hybrid cars for the sales team fully supports our commitment to the environment and our ISO14001:2015 certification. Our credentials as a diligent manufacturing company are demonstrated by our wealth of quality standards and this is part of the reason why our customers choose us as their PVC-U window fabricator of choice.”

www.truframe.co.uk

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Composite door manufacturer, Doorco, has recently taken delivery of a second edgebander in the next phase of its strategic UK manufacturing expansion. Providing extra capacity to look after the company’s increasing number of prepped door customers, the investment is part of Doorco’s £5 million investment programme to date.

Matt Le Masurier, Doorco’s senior production manager, commented: “The composite door sector is a competitive place, so it’s imperative that suppliers can deliver what customers need when they need it. Even better than this is pre-empting their requirements and ensuring you’re ready to deliver the solution when they go looking for it. The only way to achieve this is to take control of the entire manufacturing process and invest in the best machinery for the job. The addition of the new edgebander will ensure Doorco continues to do just this and completes the line-up of two edgebanders, two state of the art paint lines, a beam saw and three CNCs.

“The new Biesse edgebander has a lot of capacity. It runs at 18 meters a minute, meaning one machine can theoretically edge nine sides a minute, or 270 doors an hour. The problem for suppliers who only have one edgebander is that in the event of a breakdown, they can’t route, paint, pack or ship a single door, irrespective of how much equipment or how many personnel they have downstream – the job stops. If fault diagnosis identifies a need for replacement parts, the situation very quickly snowballs and customers end up paying the price. That’s why we’ve got two edgebanders.

“We feel the real-world value of the recent investments into our operations, both from a machinery and people perspective, is immeasurable. We understand the high value attached to customers’ peace of mind that their doors will be delivered on time, every time. Unlike some manufacturers with a simpler business model, automation for Doorco is critical because we have such a diverse spread of customers, ranging from one-off prepped doors to containers. Each one is important to us. It’s thanks to the investment we’ve already made on behalf of the supply chain and are continuing to make, we can ensure we’ll continue to raise bar on our customer service and delivery on robust operational targets, whilst staying at the forefront of product quality and new innovation.”

www.door-co.com

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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 two of the most exciting on-trend markets: colour and aluminium.

Joint MD Guy Hubble comments: “FIT for RegaLead this year will be all about differentiation and keeping ahead of the changing tastes in home improvements. We are often credited with providing the huge colour palettes and decorative glazing that helped move composite doors from social housing only, into a desirable retail option. 2017 sees us aiming to replicate this, by making two of the industry’s most exciting current markets – colour and aluminium residential doors -even more accessible to fabricators and installers.

“Visitors to our stand will see URBAN: the new aluminium door system that brings a composite door mindset to the traditionally expensive aluminium residential door market. If it’s colour you’re interested in, we’ll be showcasing two different products. Firstly, ColorLine, the pre-painted profile service, 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. And finally, we’re delighted to extend even further our ColorSpray offering, RegaLead’s paint manufacturing division for the glass and fenestration markets. Already the world’s leading specialist glass coating provider and used by over 350 companies across the globe, we have invested in new paint formulations, dispensing and drying solutions.

Guy concludes: “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, please visit www.regalead.co.uk or call 0161 946 1164.

A free trial of Thermoflex warm edge spacer is now being offered by Thermoseal Group, giving potential customers the opportunity to sample what it claims is 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 while this offer remains available.

The Group’s sales director, Mark Hickox, said: “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. 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, call 0845 331 3950, or email sales@thermosealgroup.com. Terms and conditions apply.

www.thermobarwarmedge.com
www.thermoflexwarmedge.com

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This year’s FIT Show will see the launch of a brand new InfoServer module for BM Aluminium’s LogiKal software.

This module brings LogiKal into the factory for the first time and allows users to send work orders generated from within the software direct to workstations on the shop floor.  While fabricators using Business Micros’ PVC-U software options will be very familiar with this kind of technology, this is the first time it has been available in LogiKal.

Using barcode scanning, InfoServer tracks the progress of a frame around the factory – delivering the information and data needed at each stage of the production process to the relevant workstation. BM Aluminium says it represents a real step forward for aluminium fabricators who want to achieve a paperless factory, whilst also improving efficiency and reducing the potential for errors.

Visitors to the FIT Show will be able to track a virtual frame around the BM Aluminium stand using a series of mini workstations and will be able to see demos of all the latest innovations available within LogiKal.

BM Aluminium is also celebrating its 10th anniversary at the FIT Show and will be thanking customers for all their support since 2007 with promotions and competitions taking place throughout the show.

Further details are available at www.bmaluminium.co.uk

North East specialist glass and solar PV manufacturer, Romag Ltd, is doubling its capacity, following a £1m investment program including a second, state of the art toughening plant.

The investment comes just nine months after its acquisition by fellow glass manufacturers Clayton Glass Ltd and is testament to CEO Ryan Green’s commitment to growing the business to its £50m potential.

The new machinery will dramatically increase Romag’s production output and will provide the business with additional vital resilience against any potential machine breakdowns. CEO Ryan Green explains: ‘Good customer service is the foundation for any successful business. This investment is essential to increase our capacity to meet current demand, and to provide vital resource against machine breakdowns that could affect production lines.

He continues: ‘The investment will assist Romag in reaching the next level in its production capacity, thus strengthening the business and laying a solid foundation for consistent levels of great service. We are determined for 2017 to be the most successful yet, as we strive towards excellence.’

This is the second major investment in the business, following a new MRP system implemented last year which has given Romag greater visibility on the production processes and more flexibility with its clients.

Romag has a strong reputation around the globe for manufacturing high quality specialist glass products, in a range of shapes and sizes to meet individual client aspirations and design requirements. Romag glass is stringently tested to ensure manufacturing processes meet and exceed industry regulations and expectations. For more information about Romag, visit www.romag.co.uk.

RENOLIT EXOFOL PX Light Ivory is added in to the RENOLIT exterior grade range as a stock range item.

Previously only available on a make to order basis the move in to the stock range recognises the increasing popularity of cream colours and is indicative of the importance RENOLIT places to continuously improve service levels to their customers.

Light Ivory which is a yellowy cream colour (similar to RAL 1015) is a complementary addition to cooler Ice Cream B and warmer Cream White widening the scope for designers, home owners and installers. Cream windows have universal appeal creating a sophisticated and pleasant installation which suits both traditional and heritage windows alike and also most building exteriors from stone, buff, red or multi-brick.

Windows in this colour area have the ability to portray an elegant high quality image which has led to the demand for cream coloured exterior films increasing year on year. Cream is now the 3rd largest selling exterior grade solid coloured film sold in the UK market and with improved availability of Ivory Cream this is anticipated to grow further.

Ivory Cream produced as a RENOLIT EXOFOL PX grade material is a patented advanced exterior film which also benefits from the addition of SST (RENOLIT’s solar shield technology). RENOLIT EXOFOL PX was developed to enhance weatherability, reduce heat build-up and extend guarantees periods* up to 15 years in the UK.

To request an A4 sample of RENOLIT EXOFOL PX Light Ivory go on line to www.renolit.com/exterior/en/sample-ordering alternatively please contact

email: renolit.cramlington@renolit.com    

Tel.: 01670 718222