GGF Appoints Shaun Mcallister As New Managing Director

Image Above: Shaun McAllister

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Shaun McAllister as Managing Director as the Federation continues to build its senior management team.

With over 30 years’ experience in the home improvement industry, Shaun brings to the Federation a wealth of knowledge and core industry experience.

Shaun has been associated with several glass and glazing companies including G.F Kite, Weatherseal, Mumford and Wood, and the Anglian Group.

In 1983, Shaun started life in the industry as a fabricator before undertaking numerous roles throughout the fenestration supply chain including working as an Installer, Surveyor, Installation Manager, Divisional Operations Manager, Regional Sales Manager and from 2007 to 2016 as Conservatory Director at the Anglian Group.

On his new position, Shaun commented:

“This is truly a unique and exciting industry and it’s a privilege to able to represent the GGF Membership as Managing Director. I am thoroughly looking forward to working with the GGF staff and current members to continuously improve the GGF services and membership benefits.”

Best known for his work with Anglian Group, Shaun started with Anglian Windows as a commercial installer in 1991 before becoming a surveyor and then Installation Manager. In 1994, he became a Depot Installation Manager responsible for revenues of over £6m per annum. In 2000, as Conservatory Manager, Shaun helped establish Anglian’s first dedicated Conservatory Installation Centres based in Basingstoke and Crawley. In 2003, he became Anglian’s National Conservatory Manager responsible for conservatory revenues of over £80m per annum. In 2006, he moved to a Divisional Operations Managerial role responsible for Installations across the South West of England.

In 2007, Shaun fleetingly left Anglian to join Mumford and Wood where he established their installation division only to return to Anglian in 2008 as Conservatory Director where he headed up the Conservatory, Driveways, Garage Conversions, Flat Roofs and Solar Products divisions.

Most recently Shaun has undertaken secondments within Anglian as diverse as Regional Sales Manager for the South East to overseeing the integration of a new survey and manufacturing software system.

Shaun joins the Federation at an exciting time with a new senior management team and improved infrastructure that will see the GGF work closer with its commercial subsidiary companies for the benefit of all connected to the GGF.

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Wakefield-based fabricator, Conservatory Outlet, has marked its best year ever with an award ceremony at its 2017 employee Christmas party to recognise the dedication and hard work of its team.

In the last 12 months, Conservatory Outlet has joined forces with retailers, Clearview Home Improvements and Pennine Home Improvements, to form the Conservatory Outlet Group. The company says that during this time, its staff have ‘stepped up’ to fulfil an unprecedented influx in orders, with several ‘record months’ topping all previous records.

According to Conservatory Outlet, a huge part of the its success in 2017 is also owed to the growth of its network of retailers, with five new or refurbished showrooms added to the network this year and a sixth on the way in early 2018. The team at Conservatory Outlet have also found time to launch two new products; the Extreme 3 security locking system and the Envisage flush casement window, both of which are said to have contributed significantly to sales during 2017.

As part of the end of year celebrations, individual team members were recognised for going ‘above and beyond’. Award winners were nominated by the senior management team for demonstrating exemplary behaviour in line with the new company values, including honesty and integrity, growth and innovation and energy and tenacity, and were presented with a personal thank you letter and vouchers by managing director, Michael Giscombe.

Michael commented: “2017 has been a fantastic year for us at Conservatory Outlet and it’s extremely important to us that we recognise our employees and thank them for their dedication in helping us to achieve everything we have this year, I couldn’t be prouder of the way in which we’ve really pulled together.

“2018 will be crucial for our company as we take our current projects to the next phase. It’s down to the energy, passion and integrity of our fantastic team that this is made possible.”

The post Conservatory Outlet celebrates ‘outstanding year’ appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Once again raising the bar and extending its range of durable, dependable fire-rated products, pioneering Astraseal has become the first fabricator to manufacture a 60-minute rated, fixed fire window.

Instead of traditional hardwood or steel, Astraseal’s unique fire window system is based on the proven FireFrame from Winkhaus, combining durable composite and uPVC materials for advanced fire resistance. Add to this Astraseal’s fire-retardant sealed units and the new window system can provide a long-lasting barrier for both internal and external uses.

“Through upgrading our FD60 fire door solution, we saw the incredible potential FireFrame could offer as a fixed fire window system,” comments Zac Nedimovic, Sales and Marketing Manager at Astraseal. “Six months on from Grenfell and the spotlight is still heavily focused on fire-rated products and their performance. With our fire window system, installers can deliver a new level of fire protection along with a full suite of quality, certified fire-rated products that can provide a great assurance and peace of mind to their customers.”

The new fire window system is available in a range of sizes in both single and double fixed pane configurations. Designed for use in any residential or commercial application, the window offers incredibly slim, internal sightlines along with dependable durability and strength thanks to its, innovative hybrid frame.

The 60-minute fire window strengthens Astraseal’s industry-leading fire-rated product line, joining their range of uPVC and composite FD30 and FD60 fire door systems. As well as offering its brand-new 60-minute solution, Astraseal also offers the RAUFERNO uPVC fire-window system. Based on REHAU’s Total 70 profile and the popular S706 window, the RAUFERNO is a high-performance 30-minute alternative.

“It’s great to see our fire-rated product range is proving popular across the UK, providing a first-class solution whether it’s social housing, commercial developments or new-build residential projects,” adds Zac. “Astraseal are the go-to supplier when it comes to fire products and we only see this continuing with our new 60-minute fire-window – an exciting development to drive forward fire-rated products and fire safety.”

For more information call Astraseal on 01933 227233or visit www.astraseal.co.uk

‘Switch without a Hitch’ is the promise being made by Rehau trade fabricator, Euroglaze, as it guarantees to make the process of changing supplier simple and profitable for third party stockists and installers.

According to Euroglaze, it has built its 30-year reputation on Japanese style lean manufacturing efficiencies which enable it to offer three-day lead times on all standard products ordered on-line, as well as its ‘warm and friendly’ customer service.

The company says it is now combining these two strengths into its ‘Switch Without a Hitch’ service so that customers can start buying quality windows and doors without any worries about hassle or disruption.

The company’s managing director, Martin Nettleton, explained: “Often, the only thing holding a customer back from switching supplier is the idea that it will be more trouble than it’s worth. We’ve addressed that concern head on and made sure that customers know they can make the switch to Euroglaze without any trouble at all.”

Euroglaze says that the new five-stage service starts with a call to discuss a customer’s needs in order for it to put together a package of products and services which suits them best. Then, each new customer is assigned a dedicated member of a customer service team who acts as a personal contact, and who walks customers through their early orders, from order to delivery.

Once a first order has been placed, Euroglaze says that customers will also get a call from its ‘friendly and efficient’ despatch team who discuss delivery requirements and introduce them to their driver. After each of the early deliveries, the customer service contact will be in touch again to ensure the service is living up to expectations.

Martin said: “This is an easy and pain-free process. We are by the customer’s side every step of the way and our team makes sure that every customer feels valued and looked after. We may be focused on quality and efficiency, but we never forget that our customers are people and not numbers and we work hard to make them feel part of the Euroglaze family.”

Euroglaze’s Switch Without a Hitch initiative reportedly comes at a time when it is attracting a record number of new customers. These are said to be largely distributors and installers who have become weary of poor service and poor communication from larger fabricators and who want the benefits of dealing with a smaller company which can still offer quality products and competitive prices.

Martin concluded: “We pride ourselves on making it better for customers. We can match bigger fabricators on range, quality and price but we can outdo them on service and Switch Without a Hitch is a perfect example of that.”

The post Switch without a hitch appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

The initial findings of the Hackitt Review offer a positive step forward to address a multitude of failings within the construction industry and among its regulators, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “We welcome the interim findings of the Hackitt Review which make clear that there is much for the construction industry and its regulators to address post-Grenfell. The FMB submitted a detailed response to the Review and many of our points have been reflected in its initial findings. In particular, we welcome the acknowledgement that although some safety-critical tradespeople, for example gas engineers, must be registered for different types of work, others do not have such requirements. We are also pleased that the Review has recognised that current Building Regulations and guidance are too complex and unclear. We look forward to working with the Government and our industry colleagues to address the areas of failure so such an incident is never allowed to happen again.” Berry concluded: “I’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dame Judith Hackitt and the wider review team for the swiftness with which this probing and insightful interim report has been delivered. It’s too often the case that such consultations and inquiries drag on when swift action is required. Here the Hackitt Review has managed to get the balance right by consulting with a broad range of people and organisations but then taking speedy action to reflect and report back. We hope the Review team maintains this momentum so we can achieve a safer built environment, and one that always adheres to the highest of standards, as soon as possible.” www.fmb.org.uk 

Epwin Window Systems has won the Sustainable Business Award from Business Environmental Support Scheme Telford (BESST) 2017, for Carbon and Energy Management.

Paul Nelms, Epwin’s group environmental manager, said: “We are delighted to have won this award. As a business, we are committed to ongoing energy reduction throughout our Telford extrusion plant and to collect a sustainable business award proves this commitment is being duly recognised.”

The Business Environmental Support Scheme for Telford (BESST) was launched in 2001 to help businesses improve their environmental performance and reduce their carbon footprint. Members come from both the private and public sectors with represented industries ranging from manufacturing and engineering through to tourism and retail.

The BESST Group work in partnership with the Environment Agency and Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

Epwin Windows Systems also won the BPF Energy Award 2017 for the facility BPF/F00150 within the Climate Change Agreement. This award was also given in recognition of the company’s considerable ongoing commitment to energy reduction throughout their manufacturing processes.

The award was presented to the Epwin Windows Systems management team by Chairman of BESST, Andy Whyle, at the company’s Telford manufacturing headquarters in December.

The post BESST in class appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) has relaunched two updated security glazing leaflets.

The revised “Laminated Glass: Safety and Security” and “Toughened Glass: Safety and Strength” leaflets are now available to download free from the GGF website and printed copies can be purchased on the GGF Shop.

These newly revised consumer leaflets are designed to give homeowners basic knowledge of the glass installed in their homes.

Each brochure gives details of why and where, respectively, toughened and laminated glass should be installed.

Each week the GGF receives many queries from homeowners requesting information on how to ascertain the type of glass installed in their home. The revised leaflets now give examples of markings to look for and what information the markings should contain. This information allows the homeowners to check new and existing glazing for compliance to Building Regulations and EN Product Standards for Thermally Treated Glasses.

The most recent amendments were focused on simplifying the information already provided by making the wording less technical, giving example markings, as well as updating the references to the newest versions.

Both the Laminated Glass and Toughened Glass leaflets will be regularly used by the GGF to send consumers the information they require.

They will also be of great benefit to GGF Members who can distribute them to their customers, which in turn continues to promote their products and services and the importance of security glazing.

Laminated Glass: Safety and Security

This trifold leaflet explains what laminated glass/laminated safety glass is and covers the main types of laminated glass as well as special laminates.

Other areas included are appearance, marking, availability and a list of reasons why customers should choose laminated glass with a guide to the levels of protection laminated glass offers.

It is a popular and useful leaflet for all laminated glass suppliers.

Toughened Glass: Safety and Strength

This handy leaflet explains what toughened glass is and highlights its flexibility for many glazing solutions and systems.

The publication also outlines the mandatory (critical) safety glazing areas where safety glazing materials such as toughened glass must be used by law, in new and replacement glazing applications in all buildings.

In addition the leaflet covers the extensive range of toughened glass and other thermally treated glass as well as process restrictions.

If you manufacture, supply or install toughened glass this is a very useful leaflet to provide to your customers.

Both leaflets can be downloaded from the Publications Section of the GGF website www.ggf.org.uk

Hard copies of the leaflets can be purchased from the GGF Shop http://shop.ggfmembers.com/

Members of the GGF Laminators and Tougheners Groups meet four times per year in London and Birmingham. For more information on these groups and if you wish to attend, please contact technical@ggf.org.uk