Balconette Offers New Revenue Opportunities For Window Companies

Opportunities for window and door companies to increase their product portfolio and boost their revenue streams are being offered by balustrade specialists Balconette.

The company, which manufactures and supplies glass-walled balconies, is expanding its National Registered Partners programme throughout the UK and Ireland in response to the rising popularity of these types of products that open up interior light and space.

In particular, Balconette points to increasing demand for frameless glass Juliet balconies, which provide a secure barrier without obstructing views. They provide the elegant – and affordable – balustrading solution for the growing use of first-floor bi-fold doors and French Doors combining maximum ingress of light with minimum maintenance.

Balconette’s approach is to develop long-term partnerships with trade customers who sign up to its growing programme, which stretches from Scotland to Cornwall and includes Northern Ireland and Jersey.

Installers benefit from a comprehensive support package that includes training, product discounts, referral of enquiries and dedicated literature to help close sales, as well as installation advice.

“We are always looking for professionals that we can collaborate with and recommend as potential local installers of our products to clients in their areas,” says Effi Wolff, Balconette Managing Director.

He highlights current trends that show more and more homeowners are keen to improve their properties, rather than move. “We believe this represents a great opportunity for installers to offer innovative and cost-effective products, such as frameless glass Juliet balconies, that can transform homes, as well as generate extra valuable revenue for their businesses,” he continues.

“Our expanding network has helped to open up new sales opportunities for window, door and home improvement companies as well as installers and builders involved in all types of fenestration, refurbishment and improvement projects,” adds Effi.

Balconette Registered Partners offer clients a full balustrading service, from initial site surveys, design and drawings through to final installation, ensuring complete customer satisfaction from start to finish.

For Aberdeenshire-based joiner Simon Elms, becoming a Balconette Registered Partner has added sales and given his business a new dimension with mutual benefits. He signed up having been impressed with the Balconette glass and aluminium balustrading system he installed for a client.

“I’ve used a number of balustrading systems and the Balconette one is certainly a good quality product that sells – and at a very competitive price. As well as conventional balconies, decking systems frequently need a secure barrier and adding the Balconette system has given me another ‘string to my bow’,” says Simon, who is Balconette’s most northerly installer.

“It has opened up opportunities for more work; for example, architects are asking me to quote for installation projects having been referred to me through Balconette. In turn, I’m introducing more people to them so there are definitely reciprocal benefits,” he adds.

For more details on how you can become a Balconette Registered Partner, visit www.balconette.co.uk, call 01342 410411 or email enquiries@balconette.co.uk.

The FIT Show has revealed its most comprehensive seminar programme yet for this year’s exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC, with a host of industry experts covering a full spectrum of key topics for the window, door and conservatory industry. With 19 sessions scheduled over three days, the seminars are designed to provide delegates with guidance on everything from market conditions, regulations and finance, to the latest sales, business and installation advice – and more besides.

Widely regarded as one of the industry’s most successful window salesmen and business development consultants, Paul Clifton will be hosting a series of ’20-minute Expert’ sessions on each day of the show. With advice on how to double profits in three simple moves, as well as a ‘magic formula’ to overcome any customer objection – plus the ‘seven golden rules for low pressure selling’ – Paul’s presentations are a must for anyone looking to optimise their business and sales strategies.

In addition to contributions from ‘sales guru’ Paul Clifton, day one of the seminar programme will include Paul Neck, from Business Doctors South West, who will offer friendly and practical advice for business owners on how to increase the value of their company, and the GGF’s Director of Home Improvement, Brian Smith, who will discuss the most efficient methods of dealing with disputes with consumers. FIT Show Director and FIT Talk host, Paul Godwin, will host a ‘Lunch ‘n Learn’ session with Robert Palmer of Palmer Market Research, while the afternoon sessions will start with a ‘Tool Tech Showcase’ from Tibby Singh. Promising to be a real highlight of the seminars, Tibby, who is a BBC Carpenter of the Year and multi-award winning carpentry and joinery expert, will demonstrate the latest tech for window installers, before handing over to social media expert, David Glenwright, who will present the best ways to promote your business through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Day two will feature invaluable business advice from a number of prominent industry speakers, such as Andy Mee from Business Doctors Oxfordshire with a seminar entitled ‘Running your business? Or is it running you?’ which will cover topics such as funding solutions and how to improve on efficiency without compromising quality – as well as guidance on glazing in conservation areas from Russell Day, Technical Officer at the GGF.

After another ‘Lunch ‘n Learn’ with Paul Godwin and more demonstrations from Tibby Singh, Tabitha Morton, Head of Integration at Yale, will offer insight into how fabricators and installers can benefit from increasing consumer demand for smart door and window security.

In addition, Geoff Cooney, Business Finance Manager at Genie Lending Limited, will offer an overview of the increasing range of non-bank funding solutions available to SMEs, followed by Grahame Wackett and David Lilley of the BSI, who will host a session called ‘Building a Resilient Business’.

Paul Clifton will once again present two more of his ’20 minute expert’ session on day three, followed by the GGF’s Health & Safety Expert, Phil Pinnington – who will highlight how some company directors are being fined, and even imprisoned, for negligence on H&S – and another ‘Lunch ‘n Learn’ with Paul Godwin, who will be joined by Peter Searle, of Business Doctors Maidstone.

All seminars, which take place on stand B70, are free to attend to FIT Show visitors. For more details on the full programme, visit: www.fitshow.co.uk/seminars

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

Aluminium doors, windows and curtain walling from fenestration designer and manufacturer Senior Architectural Systems have been specified for use on a new commercial development in the heart of Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The new Concordia Works scheme on Sovereign Street has been created through the innovative refurbishment of an old 5-storey yarn and cord warehouse dating back to the early twentieth century.  Designed by architects Gpad London, the building combines an attractive mix of original features and modern elements to create a high-specification office space that is ideally situated close to the city’s transport links.

Owing to the scheme’s prominent city centre location, the exterior of the building has been given a stylish and sympathetic makeover with Senior’s dark coloured slim framed SPW 300 aluminium windows and SF52 aluminium curtain walling paying homage to the former warehouse’s industrial heritage.

Senior’s thermally efficient SF52 curtain walling has been used to create the feature glazed arches to the entrance level, with the design continuing with the window arches  that have been installed to the floors above. Completing the fenestration package are Senior’s SPW 500 doors which are ideally suited for use in high-traffic commercial applications.

The Concordia Works scheme was delivered by main contractor Firecrest Construction for client Boultbee Brooks Real Estate.

For more information about Senior, visit www.seniorarchitectural.co.uk

Tap into the increasing growth in popularity of aluminium timber composite windows with AluWood Windows’ easy-to-manufacture, flexible window system. Fabricators looking to add the proven, low-cost entry-level system to their range, have the opportunity to do so at FIT Show by visiting AluWood’s stand, H1 in Hall 7.

“AluWood is a comprehensive flush sash aluminium timber window system that requires a limited number of components,” says Callum Grant, Commercial Director, AluWood Windows. “It’s easy for fabricators to manufacture our full suite of windows including casement and fully reversible, the AluWood system only needs one sash, one mullion and one outer frame.

“This saves fabricators money, by reducing investment needed in tooling, and also saves them time, by limiting the number of tooling changes required. It’s a proven low-cost system, that adds real value to fabricators’ businesses. Visitors to the show can come to see it for themselves.”

The AluWood system provides fabricators and joinery companies with lots of design choices, allowing them to win more projects. The aluminium on the outside comes in any RAL colour and the timber frame on the inside can be made from a wide range of hard and soft woods including Accoya.

AluWood manufactures its system in the UK, holding a substantial stockholding in a number of places. This provides fabricators with lower set-up costs and speeds up deliveries. Certified to PAS 24 standard, the system has also been rigorously tested in harsh weather conditions, so it’s proven to withstand the British climate.

“Visitors to FIT Show will be able to speak to our team about how the system can provide real benefits to their business,” adds Callum.

AluWood is looking for forward thinking fabricators to join its network across the UK. For more information call AluWood on 01955 641303.

www.aluwoodwindows.co.uk

Installers looking for a different approach to getting high quality sales leads, can find exactly what they’re looking for at this year’s FIT Show at the NEC.

Visitors to Comparemywindows.com’s stand A41 in Hall 6, can see its revolutionary new comparison website for windows and doors. Demos of the website on the stand will show installers how they can change the way they sell windows, and attract more customers in their local area. Installers can pre-register their products, services and prices on the site now. The new site will be live before FIT Show.

“Comparemywindows.com is all about giving installers hot qualified leads by changing the way we sell windows,” explains Chris Dickman of Comparemywindows.com. “To do this, we need to provide homeowners with a better experience for buying windows.

“We know from our research that homeowners want the industry to be more open when it comes to window prices and information. We need to provide them with more knowledge about the windows they are buying so they have more trust in the company they’re buying from.

“We have developed Comparemywindows.com because we want to make the way people buy windows the same as other products. Comparison websites already work so well for holidays and insurance, and we believe it will work exactly the same way for windows.”

Comparemywindows.com takes its lead from other successful comparison websites. It gives people looking for windows and doors information about installers in their area and it allows installers to promote themselves directly to serious buyers.

Chris adds, “At FIT Show, we will be looking to talk to forward thinking installers, who want a 21st century method of generating quality sales enquiries. We’re excited about how our new way of selling windows can help installers grow their businesses.”

www.comparemywindows.com 

The world’s first life cycle assessments calculated through the new BRE LINA tool will be unveiled at Ecobuild next week (Tuesday 7 March 2017, 2pm at Stand E109).

The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) is the first customer worldwide for BRE LINA. This allows the BWF to produce life cycle assessment results for its members’ products which are then uploaded into the BRE Hub so that a third party verified BRE Global Environmental Performance Declaration (EPD) can be produced.

The results can also inform assessments for ISO 14001, EN 15804 (the European standard for the sustainability of construction products) and other environmental management systems, and can feed into BIM (Building Information Modelling).

Consequently, two timber windows made by BWF member companies – the Stormsure Timber Casement Window by JELD-WEN and the Conservation Casement Window by Mumford and Wood – will become the first products to receive LINA assessments.

Iain McIlwee, chief executive of the BWF, said:

“This is timber leading the debate once again. LINA is proving to be a powerful calculator which now allows us at the BWF to build on the early work of Wood for Good and the Wood Window Alliance to produce bespoke life cycle assessments for our members’ products.

“This is a major breakthrough in proving categorically timber’s superior environmental sustainability credentials. The simple approach and science behind this environmental tool unravels many of the complexity excuses made by competing materials about why embodied carbon cannot be taken into consideration. It revolutionises the way EPDs can be produced and takes us one step closer to these declarations hitting the mainstream.”

Beatrix Richards, head of corporate stewardship (sustainable commodities) at WWF-UK is speaking at the launch at Ecobuild. She says:

“Government figures suggest we may need to build a million new houses by 2020.  As we seek to ensure that this construction, and indeed the on-going repair and restoration of the existing housing stock, has the lowest possible environmental impact, it is critical that we understand the full life time costs of all the products we use.  This applies to everything – cement, bricks, doors, windows etc.

“Tools exist to help architects, builders, suppliers and consumers to understand the true, full costs, from sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, life time use and disposal, so that decisions can be made on the best possible information. Life cycle assessments are one such way of capturing this information and WWF welcomes the British Woodworking Federation’s lead in adopting this approach.”

Dr Shamir Ghumra, director at the BRE Centre for Sustainable Products, will also be involved in the launch, and says:

“The BWF has shown tremendous leadership and vision by becoming the first organisation in the world to adopt LINA. There is a growing need for better product data through verified EPDs.  LINA makes the verification process quicker for BWF members.”

The launch will take place on the joint Confederation of Timber Industries and Wood for Good stand (E109) at 2-3pm on Tuesday 7 March. Tickets are available free of charge. Presentations will last no more than 10 minutes and attendees will be welcome to continue discussions with coffee and refreshments on the stand.

Further information can be found at: www.bwf.org.uk/toolkit/environmental-waste-management/what-is-a-life-cycle-assessment

Distinction Doors has just announced it has increased its standard range of pre-pigmented colours across all of its door ranges which includes perennial favourites Anthracite Grey and Distinction Chartwell Green. For consistency, the doors are complemented by pre-pigmented through-colour cassettes to match too.   Chantel Roach, Distinction’s Sales and Marketing Director, said: “Anthracite Grey and Chartwell Green are both very on-trend shades and two of our most popular colours. By making them a pre-pigmented colour product rather than a special paint order we can cut lead times and make the colours even easier for customers to choose because they’re an off-the-shelf stock item.”

Chantel commented: “Homeowners care about the practicalities such as thermal efficiency and security but we know that what really excites them is the elements of their door that they can personalise – the colour, the glass, the design. By increasing our range of pre-pigmented colours we’re normalising the idea of choosing what are usually regarded as non-standard colours. In other words, we’re helping Distinction Doors’ installers to make the sales process even more inspirational for homeowners.”

Distinction Doors has its finger on the pulse when it comes to trends in the sector. In extending its range of pre-pigmented colours it is recognising the importance that homeowners place on the aesthetics of their choice.

www.distinctiondoors.co.uk

Supplying premium quality architectural aluminium windows, doors and curtain walling for decades, High Wycombe-based Hazlemere Commercial has won respect throughout the industry for its impressive track record of successfully completed projects for schools, colleges, universities and local authorities – but it also excels at renovating residential buildings too.

Late last year, in line with the requirements of CDM 2015, the firm carried out a thorough-going £925,000 + VAT rejuvenation of the Hyde Park Towers property development – a 1970s-built medium-rise residential block on London’s busy Bayswater Road overlooking Hyde Park, now home to 60 high-end apartments and a luxurious penthouse in what has now become one of the capital’s most desirable areas.

The extensive renovation project involved the removal of the building’s existing steel windows, and replacing them with Sapa Dualframe 75 Si white polyester-coated aluminium alternatives. The firm also replaced several external doors with Sapa Crown aluminium double glazed residential doors, and fitted two sets of new Sapa Crown aluminium sliding patio doors to the penthouse. In addition, Hazlemere Commercial carried out associated works including scaffolding, redecoration, and the installation of a new fire detection system, all in accordance with the latest building regulations.

Hazlemere’s Commercial Division won praise from Levy, the property management firm who hired it for the project: “We have found that Hazlemere were refreshingly co-operative and attentive to our needs and to our residents,” commented Gary Barlow, Associate with Levy’s Building Consultancy team. “The firm was conscientious and thorough in their work with excellent attention to detail.

Hazlemere’s methodology of phasing work into four stages worked very well, ensuring that scaffolding wasn’t in place for the whole duration of the project. Their handling of the whole process was exemplary and the service at each stage was outstanding.”

Hazlemere Sales Director Tony Beale commented: “It was fantastic collaborating with Levy on this project, and both they and the residents of Hyde Park Towers were a joy to work with. We look forward to doing so again in the future.”

For more information visit www.hazlemerecommercial.co.uk or call 0808 231 6594