Veka hosts Powerhouse 2050

VEKA Group MD David Jones (left) shows George Osborne the warehouse during the factory tour.

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) chose Veka Group’s Burnley headquarters as the location for the launch of its latest report; ‘Powerhouse 2050: The North’s Routemap for Productivity’.

Established in the autumn of 2016, NPP aims to increase the contribution the North makes to the UK economy. This will be achieved through cooperation with local stakeholders at all levels along with government. Following the publication of its first report earlier in the year – which focussed on education and skills, infrastructure and assets, international competitiveness, and leadership and learning – the Powerhouse 2050 report focuses on advanced manufacturing and materials, energy, digital, and health innovation, with a series of specific proposals for government funding, business investment and closer collaboration across the North.

Following an introduction from Director of Northern Powerhouse Partnership Henri Murison; former Chancellor and NPP Chair George Osborne delivered a speech on the past, present and future of the initiative to a packed conference room at Veka’s HQ.

Mr Osborne said: “One of the major aims is to improve connectivity. Northern villages, towns and cities are proud of their local identities and steeped with history but are perhaps not big enough to make a global impact by themselves. They are close enough geographically however to team up; the distance between Manchester and Leeds, for example, is shorter than the Central Line of the London Underground.

“We have all the ingredients we need for the Northern Powerhouse to succeed, and now it’s time to make some decisions on what to focus on, because choosing everything, means choosing nothing. A great idea like this cannot live and die with any one MP or government, but if the North itself owns this idea, it will endure.”

Veka’s managing director, David Jones said: “It has a been a pleasure for Veka to host the launch of the latest Northern Powerhouse Partnership report, and as one of the primary capabilities is ‘advanced manufacturing and materials’, Veka seemed to set the scene perfectly.

“Veka Group has been operating in Burnley since 1986 and we have never stopped investing and innovating when it comes not just to manufacturing quality products but in providing the highest standards of working conditions for our employees.

“Almost all of the speakers today called for Northern businesses to pull together, own the Northern Powerhouse initiative and work towards a stronger North. I think I am speaking for everyone at Veka, when I say ‘we’re in’!”

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Synseal Group is vying for trophies across an impressively wide number of categories in this glazing awards season with three G17 Award nominations and eight in the National Fenestration Awards.

Global Glass, Masterdor and WarmCore are among the Group’s brands to be shortlisted after continued growth this year. Global Glass is up for Glass Company of the Year at the G Awards and IGU Manufacturer at the NFAs, where WarmCore is also a contender in the Aluminium category and Masterdor has been recognised in the Timber Company and Composite/Panelled Door categories.

Synseal Group will be returning to the NFAs this year hoping to scoop the Systems Company award for the second year in a row, and will also be competing in the PVC Company category. Meanwhile at the G17 Awards, Synseal’s aluminium lantern roof, Stratus, is among the seven products fighting for the coveted New Product of the Year award, and the Group has also been named a finalist in the Training and Development Initiative category.

Synseal Group’s marketing team is particularly pleased to see two of its team shortlisted for individual awards. Marketing assistant Katherine Taylor is in the final of the NFA’s Young Person award, with Ellie Saunders nominated in the Social Networker category for running Synseal’s Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

www.synseal.com

Earlier this year, hardware manufacturer, the Trojan Group launched one of the industry’s very few Document Q compliant letterplates. Manufactured from Stainless Steel for ultimate corrosion resistance, the TS008 Unicorn Letterplate meets the exacting requirements of TS008 which means it can be used on doorsets that need to comply with the requirements of PAS24: 2016 or Document Q of Building Regulations.

In order to help potential customers discover for themselves the importance of the new high security TS008 Unicorn Letterplate, Trojan have commissioned a short 90 second video that demonstrates the anti-fishing properties of the product compared with a standard letterplate. Tony Chadwick, Trojan Group’s Managing Director explains.   “The TS008 Unicorn Letterplate has an inner protective housing and a unique concealed hinge mechanism to prevent attack. The inner flap has a positive stop feature for maximum protection from ‘fishing’ while the inner flap projection is below door handle height for added protection. When it comes to explaining these technical features of the letterplate we find that video is much more suitable so fabricators and installers can see straightaway the benefits for themselves.”

The TS008 Unicorn Letterplate has simple but elegant styling that will complement any doorface and is suitable for both composite and PVC-U doors. It is available in a full choice of external finishes including Polished, Brushed and Satin Stainless Steel, PVD Gold, Black and White. The internal letterplate can be colour coded to match the door colour.

The external flap is manufactured from 304 Stainless Steel for ultimate corrosion resistance (galvanised mild steel is used for painted finishes). The letterplate has a 25 year anti-corrosion guarantee on all Stainless Steel product finishes and there is a 10 year mechanical guarantee on all versions.

The video can be seen on YouTube by searching for “TS008 Letterplate Demonstration” and is also available to view on www.trojangroup.com

Polyframe has announced plans to expand its 50,000ft2 site in Livingston and boost production of PVCu frames by more than 30%. It is said to be the second major investment since becoming part of the Customade Group.

Polyframe Livingston has reportedly made a £750,000 investment into plant and new machinery to help it satisfy growing market demand and increase production on the site from 1,500 to 2,000 frames a week on a single shift basis. Polyframe Livingston is said to be Scotland’s largest trade fabricator and the biggest fabricator of Veka PVC-U frames north of the border.

The move at Livingston follows the announcement by Polyframe for more space and new machinery at its Norwich site, where output will increase from 4,500 frames a week to 7,000 frames a week.

115 people are currently employed on the Livingston site, with 75 staff working in the factory. The enhanced Livingston site will manufacture the complete range of Veka PVC-U windows and doors.

The factory will be equipped with a number of brand new machines, including a new Stuga ZX 5 sawing and machining centre – said to be the very first of its kind in the UK – a new eight head welder, an SV800 corner cleaner and a reverse butt cleaner. According to Polyframe, this machinery will enable fabrication at Livingston to become fully automated, with the exception of handling and assembly. The developments on the site will also help the business to maintain its consistently high ‘On Time In Full’ record.

Martin Linden, managing director of Polyframe, Livingston, said: “This has been an outstanding year for us and we are very excited to be ramping up our production rates. This venture is particularly notable at a time when many PVCU fabricators are not investing and shrinking back on production. The atmosphere at Livingston is buzzing and we’re all ready to take the next step to reach 2,000 frames a week. Our longer-term goal is to achieve an impressive 4,000 frames a week.

“This investment isn’t just about growth though, it’s about taking us forward in our journey to continuously improve. That’s why we’re dedicated to developing our operational procedures and investing in our people. This investment will be fundamental in helping us to create even better, smarter processes, whilst maintaining our very high manufacturing standards and improving efficiency. Those are critical assets to our customers and what ultimately sets us apart from other fabricators.”

Polyframe operates nationally and has four PVC-U production sites in Norwich (fabricating Rehau), Halifax (fabricating Halo and Eurocell), Gloucestershire (fabricating Duraflex) and Livingston (fabricating Veka) which will collectively fabricate more than 13,000 frames a week when the expansion is completed at Livingston.

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Following a reported increase in demand from visitors to the FIT Show, organisers have announced the launch of Visit Glass, which will take place alongside the FIT Show in May 2019 at the NEC.

The FIT Show organisers have said that they are responding to the 40% of the 10,000 visitors to the 2017 FIT Show who declared an interest in seeing glass products and glass-related processing equipment and technology at the event. Visit Glass will become the first UK exhibition and forum dedicated to the manufacture, processing and application of flat glass for almost 15 years.

The event is designed to appeal to glass industry professionals, together with specifiers and buyers of flat glass products and systems. These include insulated glass units, architectural glass, processed flat glass for all non-glazing applications including kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and the furniture industry – as well as glass for interiors including offices and decorative interior design schemes.

Prompted by the visitor feedback the organisers of the FIT show say they carried out further research into the viability of such an event and were told that professionals operating in the sector would respond positively for something created specifically to address the unique needs of the UK flat glass industry, one that continues to undergo substantial technological and market changes. They also learned that, despite the success of the FIT Show, it did not serve the specific needs of flat glass manufacture, processing and technology.

The FIT Show’s Nickie West say: “Despite glass being an obvious and essential component of almost everything that is shown at the FIT Show, the glass industry has needs that are quite distinct in almost every respect.

“After analysis of visitor research at the 2017 FIT Show, we realised that glass-related topics were some of the highest categories they wanted to see at the show. However, this was not reflected in what they saw there. Visit Glass will address this imbalance through a distinct, separate event alongside the FIT Show.

“With the numbers of visitors to the FIT Show indicating their interest in flat glass we can guarantee a very substantial attendance to Visit Glass,” added West. “In addition, there will be a substantial marketing campaign to encourage a wide cross section of the glass industry, in addition to users and specifiers.”

Visit Glass will take place in its own clearly designated space at the NEC alongside the FIT Show, in a space that will combine key exhibitors alongside a ‘powerful, thought provoking and informative’ seminar programme dedicated to the glass industry and markets in the UK. To ensure an appropriate format for Visit Glass was created the event was ‘soft launched’, during which time a number of powerful, key brands were quick to reserve exhibition space. These are said to include Pilkington, Saint-Gobain, Edgetech, Lisec, National Glass Group and Sapphire Glass Merchants.

A dedicated seminar theatre within Visit Glass will offer a programme of seminars addressing UK and general issues relating to the manufacture, processing and application of flat glass. FIT Show organisers have announced that industry experts are being consulted to ensure that content is ‘highly relevant’ and current for the UK flat glass industry when the event takes place in May 2019.

Visitors will also be encouraged to network in the Visit Glass bar, access for which will be granted to Visit Glass pre-registered visitors who will automatically be granted VIP status. Visit Glass and FIT Show visitors will have full access to both events.

For more info, visit: www.fitshow.co.uk/visitglass

The post ‘Visit Glass’ launched for 2019 FIT Show appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Trade counter network National Plastics stocks one of the industry’s most comprehensive ranges of roofing products throughout their 32 nationwide depots.

The stocked roof range includes Res-Tec’s GRP Roof 1010 System. The intelligently designed roof system is applied cold so there are none of the risks associated with hot works – and none of the insurance costs either. It’s easy to transport and lift onto a roof because there are no large or heavy rolls of material to manoeuvre. It can also be installed in temperatures as low as 5°C or as high as 30°C, meaning that scheduling roofing works becomes a lot less weather-dependent. It’s manufactured in the UK, is LABC-registered and the resin is manufactured to ISO 9001 and 14001 quality and environmental standards.

Also available is an EPDM rubber roofing range which is easy to install, which makes it a boon for tradespeople. It is supplied in rolls for ease of handling and installation and awkward pipes and upstands in the roof can be overcome with the self-adhesive EPDM rubber. The overlaps are joined safely and quickly using only a hot air gun – no naked flames are required!

The National Plastics’ roofing range further extends to include the Uni-Click Dry Verge system along with an extensive range of ‘add ons’ and adhesives for a complete roofing solution.

National Plastics’ Managing Director, Geoff Foster, said of the range: “Offering an increasingly wider range of products demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to being the industry’s ultimate ‘one stop shop’ experience for installers.  Our customers are very time-pressured. Our aim is to reduce that pressure as much as possible by stocking as broad a range of products as we can. It means our customers need to go to fewer places for their supplies which is proving popular.”

National Plastics is renowned for being a one-stop shop when it comes to building products. The extensive roof range is part of an offering that also includes guttering products, fascias and soffits, cladding, drainage products, PVC-U windows, doors and conservatories, composite doors, garden products, accessories and wall and bathroom panels.

All products are sold with the promise of National Plastics’ competitive pricing along with knowledgeable and experienced staff making it the popular choice of many installers, builders and DIYers throughout the UK.

www.nationalplastics.co.uk

Consumer favourite Swish has just launched a new suite of marketing literature. It comprises a trade product guide, a retail brochure and retail-focused POS material. Gerald Allen, Epwin Window Systems’ Marketing Manager, said: “Our new literature showcases the strength of the Swish brand and highlights the quality on offer.”

The trade brochure highlights the winning Swish combination of everything homeowners are looking for all wrapped up in a brand name they know and trust. It also considers Swish’s ease of fabrication, versatility and flexibility. There are sections on Swish’s casement windows, tilt and turn windows and doors as well as information on the triple glazing options, colour options and environmental, quality and security accreditations.

The retail brochure highlights Swish’s ability to make a house a home, focusing on the comfort, quality and security its products offer. It also promotes the benefits of the Swish combination of the reassurance of a national brand with the personal service of a local company.

There are sections on the brand’s windows, doors and conservatories and all elements are beautifully brought to life with high quality lifestyle imagery designed to help homeowners’ imagine how Swish products could add value to their own homes.

Alongside the retail brochure sits a buyer’s guide that provides information to help homeowners make the right decisions when it comes to investing in new doors and windows and demonstrating how Swish delivers at every level.

The retail material is completed with a series of POS material including ‘recommend a friend’ marketing collateral to encourage Swish customers to share details of friends who have expressed an interest in Swish products.

www.swishwindows.co.uk 

The recent Palmer Market Research report published last month didn’t really paint a rosey picture for the window industry in the coming three years or so. They did say that 2016 was a year in which the window industry outperformed expectations however, something which based on anecdotal evidence I can agree with.

The news after 2016 however wasn’t great. PMR expects a contraction of a rather sharp 4% this year, 2% next year and then a return to moderate growth by 2020. After steady year on year growth since the recession, a 4% contraction this year would be quite a stark reversal of fortunes.

I have to admit, the noises coming out of the industry in certain parts do echo these predictions. Especially in the volume and “value” parts of our market.

So, if there is to be a slowdown in the window and doors industry for the next few years, we have to start making preparations now. It may not be as bad as the Great Recession, but slowdowns bring risks, and preparations now save pain in the future.

Step up marketing

At the sign of things going south, it is often tempting to start to reign in spending on certain things. Marketing and advertising is often on that list, although it is perhaps the one thing at this time that should be being stepped up.

If the window industry is about to contracting, the best thing any forward thinking business can do is to start promoting a strong, outward facing image. This is also the time where many businesses, such as fabricators and installers, will be assessing their spending and who they’re spending with. It’s an ideal time to capture new business when it is up for grabs.

It is also a time for more aggressive companies to steal more market share. In any slowdown there are always companies who start to lose some level of market share as sales start to dip. The more dynamic businesses in our industry should be using this time to become far more aggressive and direct when it comes to marketing to capture new market share where others have been slow to react.

Increased marketing during a slowdown also helps to project a positive image around a company. During tougher times it is easy for things to look more negative than what they sometimes are. Proactive marketing helps to stave that negative image off.

Become more efficient

It might sound obvious, but right now is the time to be looking at how our businesses are run. If PMR data is correct, the slowdown has already begun. If so, then the window industry and it’s companies already need to be looking at ways to make the running of their companies more efficient than they already are and to protect profit margins.

This is going to be a hard balance to find, as many SME’s in this sector are actually growing and plenty are finding skilled labour difficult to come by as they look to continue their growth stories.

For the largest companies in our industry who may already be on a rocky path, staffing levels might be one area to look at, although certainly not ideal.

Technology has a role to play here as well. As an industry we should all be looking at ways to use the tech that is out there to help make running our companies easier, faster, more efficient and more profitable. That may involved some initial investment at the beginning. But if that investment results in better margins and better efficiency, then it’s worth paying.

There is a ton of new products for fabricators and installers to dig their teeth into these days. Aluminium has exploded back onto the scene. Vertical sliders are back in vogue. Bi-fold doors remain very popular. The timber alternative area is booming. There remains plenty of niche areas of our industry that despite the gloomy outlook look set to perform well.

It is these areas that companies need to be exploiting now and in a big way, before the bandwagons get too full. One of the things we did well as an industry when the last recession hit was we diversified rapidly and quickly in a bid to get the cogs of the industry moving again.

Our industry has changed a lot in ten years, and the products that were once popular are quickly falling out of favour with home owners. In order to tough out the next couple of years and to try to extract as much growth as possible, we all have to embrace the wealth of new products at our disposal and really give compelling reasons for home owners to continue to invest good money in their homes and properties.

As Brexit continues to weigh on concerns, domestic growth stagnates and spending power starts to be squeezed, we’re going to have to work even harder to maintain a growth market that makes any sort of decent profit margin.

Work has recently finished on the new Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh with fabricator Total Glass manufacturing 350 unique WarmCore windows to give the hotel a regal finish.

Previously a Premier Inn site, the hotel was acquired by Leonardo Hotels, one of Europe’s fastest growing hotel groups, and given a €7m, 4* refurbishment across its 282 rooms. The WarmCore windows were installed by Reliant Windows and were finished in a bespoke pale silver metallic colour befitting of the hotel’s new name.

The hotel chain prides itself on designing each of its 80 hotels individually, so the specification for the project required something quite unique. WarmCore’s composite structure made it straightforward to manufacture the specialised colour requirements demanded by the project designers with no fuss, allowing the whole project to be delivered within seven weeks.

Phill Cresswell, Sales and Marketing Manager at Total Glass, said:

“We’ve worked closely with Reliant Windows on a number of projects and when we were approached about delivering aluminium windows for the Leonardo Royal Hotel, we knew that WarmCore was the only product for the job.

“WarmCore has revolutionised our aluminium supply chain and given us the capability to turnaround dual colour and bespoke colour requests very quickly, allowing us to tender for a number of commercial projects like this one which we couldn’t have done with an alternative aluminium system, given the complexity of the specification and the time requirements. Specifiers love the guaranteed low U-values and easy maintenance that WarmCore offers – hands down it will be our product of choice for similar projects in the future.”

To find out more about Total Glass’ WarmCore offer visit www.totalglass.com or call 0151 549 2339.

Combining excellent thermal performance and ease of maintenance, Senior Architectural Systems has added a new overswing reversible window option to its popular PURe® range of low U-value aluminium window and doors.

The new PURe® overswing aluminium window is fully revisable to enable cleaning to be completed from the inside of the building.  Safe, secure and benefitting from the inherent strength and durability of its slim aluminium frame, the new PURe® overswing option can help to reduce maintenance costs and is ideally suited for high-rise projects where access to the exterior façade can be difficult.

The latest addition to Senior’s patented PURe® range, which is the first on the UK market to benefit from an enhanced thermal barrier manufactured from expanded polyurethane foam (PUR), also provides exceptional acoustic and thermal performance.  The PURe® overswing window has the potential to achieve U-values as low as 0.93W/m² when calculated as a commercial CEN standard window.

Offering exceptional design flexibility, Senior’s PURe® windows are also available in tilt and turn and casement style options, with Senior’s innovative door range featuring a choice of the PURe® FOLD and PURe® SLIDE. Both the PURe® doors and windows are fully compatible with Senior’s extensive range of aluminium curtain wall solutions.

Ideally suited for a wide range of applications, Senior’s PURe® range of aluminium windows and doors have already been specified on a number of contracts in the education, commercial and housing sectors, enjoying particular success in the new-build residential and student accommodation markets.

For more information please visit www.seniorarchitectural.co.uk/pure