BIGGER REWARDS WITH VELUX® THIS AUTUMN

VELUX® is offering its UK customers rewards, redeemable at a range of top-brand partners, each time they buy white-painted roof windows and flat rooflights during September and October.

The exclusive promotion, which includes the world’s first curved glass rooflight, is aimed at people working on autumn renovations and extensions projects.

Up to £65 of VELUX rewards are available on flat glass and the new curved glass rooflights range. The innovative curved glass top lets rainwater completely drain off, letting daylight shine through without raindrops spoiling the view. The eight different sizes of flat rooflights provide homeowners with flexibility and variety to match their room size.

Installers can also claim £25 rewards for every white-painted roof window they purchase, perfect for homeowners wanting a lighter, brighter living space as the white finish reflects more light back into a room.

Tesco and John Lewis online are the latest retailers to join the VELUX Rewards scheme alongside M&S, Argos, Pizza Express, Thomas Cook, Ticketmaster, Curry’s PC World.

Richard McArthur, marketing manager from VELUX said: “Autumn is traditionally a busy time for installers who are taking advantage of the better weather to carry out renovations and home improvement projects on behalf of homeowners.

“The promotion includes the entire VELUX range that is available in white-painted, from manual, centre-pivot and top-hung standard roof windows to combination solutions, and remote controlled VELUX INTEGRA® roof windows. We have also added our newest product, the curved glass rooflight, to complement our existing range of flat glass rooflights. These windows help create lighter, brighter interiors inside the home as well as improve the overall look of flat roof extensions.

“We know that our customers enjoy rewards that allow them to give themselves and their friends and families a treat, so whether you are a frequent installer of VELUX products or use them just a few times a year, it really makes sense to join VELUX Rewards and start earning points with every purchase.”

Installers have a two-month window from 1 September until 31 October to buy products and earn rewards that they can claim for by 17 November. VELUX rewards are redeemable only by registering to the scheme online at www.velux.co.uk/rewards.

August tends to be a quiet month on the news front. Most news-generating things are taking time off, like the Government, families etc. They’re all on holiday. But this August has been a little different. The saga with Entu has reached a climax it seems. It has kept many of us glued to screens to see what happens next.

I am very happy to say that on August 23rd this website smashed it’s all-time records for page views, visitors and unique visitors in a single day. And it was the Synseal post with regards to it’s new finance deal that helped me smash my daily record. In case you haven’t read it already, you can click here to catch up on the news.

These are the stats that matter.

All major metrics records

These were my previous daily highs:

Previous visitors record: 1144 – February 11th 2016

Previous unique visitors record: 1062 – February 11th 2016

Previous page views record: 1811 – October 8th 2014

These are records that have stood for a little while. The page views record goes back nearly three years. So it was going to be a big ask to break even one of these records, never mind all three in a single day.

But it was the Synseal story that really give DGB a traffic push on Wednesday of this week. In retrospect, it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise. Synseal is one of the biggest companies in our sector, and the rumour mill was going into hyper-drive. Up to the writing of this post, the Synseal article on here has been read a total of 1283 times in less than three days.

These are the new records that were set, again all on the same day this week:

New visitors record: 1641

New unique visitors record: 1283

New page views record: 2104

As you can see, these records weren’t just nudged a bit higher, they were all well beaten. They have raised the bar, and it’s likely that either a very serious industry story like a buyout, an administration or something else along those lines of magnitude will ever get close to breaking these new records. A big thanks though to everyone who sent traffic my way that day!

At the start of the year I set myself some fairly hefty targets for this calendar year for my major traffic metrics. My first goal is to surpass the traffic generated in 2016, and that is an absolute certainty. At current rates I should surpass 2016 traffic at some point in early November. From there, the aim will be to cash in on as much traffic as possible up to the end of the year to hopefully reach my overall 2017 goals.

2017 Goals:

170,000 visitors

120,000 unique visitors

225,000 page views

These are high goals based on 2016 traffic, but you get nowhere by taking things easy! As it stands at the moment and looking at my daily averages I am set to surpass my visitors goal by around 4000 visitors and I am due to hit the 225k pages views goal absolutely on the nose right now. At the moment I am about 1.6% behind on my unique visitors in comparison to the year before. It was at 5% not too long ago so I am quickly catching myself up on that particular traffic metric, and the current trend suggest that I will hit my unique visitors goal just about at the end of the year.

There are certain things which I am doing to help me in my site goals. My weekly email subscriber list grows daily, and currently stands at 1123 total subscribers. This always gives me a big traffic boost every Wednesday when it goes out to subscribers. I am also continuing to grow my Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook communities which is also helping to drive traffic. I am now well over 2000 Linkedin connections and approaching 10,000 Twitter followers. All of this, along with a focus on creating quality content every single time and boosting paid PR publication helps to get me to my goals.

Some question why I focus so much on my stats. I admit that I do get a tad obsessive about stats on DGB. But, stats are the single best way to track the progress of a website, or any type of business. Stats show you where your growth is coming from, what articles are being read, which ones aren’t. You can identify on areas to improve on and things which you can boost further to create even more growth. Stats tell the story of this website from when it was just starting out to where it stands right now. You can’t do it any other way.

We’re still in a pretty turbulent time in the industry right now, with the fortunes of battered Entu the focus of the industry eye right now, even though some other media outlets aren’t reporting on it. I suspect that early next week we will be hit with another trading update from KPMG and Entu. This is one to watch as if the company, as already warned, goes into administration, this is going to have serious ripples across many parts of the industry.

There’s going to be plenty more to report on in the coming days and weeks!

The collection and recycling of waste PVC in the UK reached a new high of 120,392 tonnes in 2016, according to the latest figures from Recovinyl, the PVC industry’s recycling scheme.

It’s an increase of 12% compared to the previous year (2015: 107,593). According to Recovinyl, the window profiles recycled represent the equivalent to more than five million window frames (5,158,483) or enough to glaze 515,848 houses (assuming each house has 10 windows). That’s reportedly enough to renovate all the dwellings in both Manchester (217,240 homes) and Liverpool (206,500 households).

The UK’s performance is said to represent 21% of the total recycled across Europe with Recovinyl being the main contributor. A total of 560,492 tonnes of waste PVC was recycled through Recovinyl last year across its 18 European member countries. The Recovinyl network currently comprises 153 recycler partners.

Recovinyl is the organisation aimed at facilitating PVC waste collection and recycling within the VinylPlus framework of the European PVC industry’s Voluntary Commitments. This programme is aimed at tackling the sustainability challenges for PVC and delivery of current recycling targets to 2020.

According to Recovinyl, waste PVC-U profiles comprised 62% of the UK’s recycling achievement in 2016, with pipes, rigid and flexible PVC films and cables making up the rest.

“The recycling of PVC is maintaining an upward trend thanks to on-going investment in recycling infrastructure and strong commitment from the sector. It’s a significant achievement that demonstrates the sustainability of this readily-recyclable material,” commented project manager Jane Gardner of Axion, Recovinyl’s UK agents.

Recovinyl says that a major factor driving the recycling success is increasing demand from manufacturers for good quality recycled material. Capable of being recycled up to seven times without any loss of performance, PVC can be reused in many diverse new and long-life products from construction products such as windows to flooring and electrical components.

Cumulatively, some 3.5 million tonnes of PVC is said to have been recycled through the Vinyl 2010 and VinylPlus frameworks across Europe since 2000. Building on this, Recovinyl says its strategy continues with consolidating and increasing the steady supply of PVC waste being recycled in Europe by creating demand – a ‘pull-market’ for recycled PVC material – from the converting industry.

Further recycling initiatives for PVC have been established in the UK, such as the collection of single-use waste PVC medical devices via RecoMed. RecoMed is funded by VinylPlus and undertaken jointly by Axion and the British Plastics Federation.

The post UK Recovinyl PVC figures reach new high appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Residence Collection has been shortlisted in the ‘Best Windows’ category of the national Build-It awards.

The prestigious annual event recognises innovation and excellence in the custom and self-build sector, bringing together architects, manufacturers and key industry figures. Residence entered its new, innovative flush sash window R7 with outstanding benefits in performance, looks and design. The entry included a case study where R7 was chosen for a replacement installation because of its authentic design and character. The property owners were looking for timber windows but were immensely impressed by the quality, style, and timber-alternative solution of R7. They said the windows had ‘transformed’ their home.

Residence Collection General Manager Sarah Hitchings says: “We’re extremely pleased to be shortlisted for these awards. We’ve been active in developing and positioning our systems as the best flush sash windows on the market. Our strong growth this year and achievements like this are a credit to our team’s efforts and success.

“R9 is an established timber-alternative flush sash system targeted at the super premium market. It’s ideal for period or heritage properties, or those in conservation areas,” continues Sarah. “R7 is the new kid on the block. A uniquely flush system, inside and out, it opens up a new market for us in high-end contemporary homes and self-builds, modern new builds and city apartments. We’re looking forward to the award ceremony and keeping our fingers crossed!”

The winners will be announced in a glittering Gala Dinner on 22^nd September in London, hosted by celebrated comedian, Marcus Brigstocke.

Visit www.residencecollection.co.uk, call 01452 300 912 or follow @Residence9 on Twitter.

TruFrame, which has built its reputation on producing hand finished windows, has started buying professional fenestration tools from Mila, following the hardware specialist’s announcement that it has added the Xpert Tools range to its product line up.

Mila is now supplying TruFrame with everything from moon knives to air blow guns for use at every stage of fabrication; and providing exactly the same expert advice and guaranteed next day delivery service which it offers on its hardware range.

The Melton Mowbray based trade fabricator already buys a large proportion of its window and door hardware from Mila, so says it makes perfect sense to buy the Xpert Tools from them as well.

TruFrame’s Marketing Director Paul Roper said: “Mila has long supplied TruFrame with a whole range of quality hardware including ProSecure handles and hinges, ProLinea door handles, ProLinea Curve window handles, Evolution door hinges and Supa stainless steel pull bars and escutcheons. It is one of our most valued partners and has shown that it shares our commitment to providing the very best customer service and consistently meets our very demanding requirements on quality and delivery.

“Quality control is absolutely paramount at TruFrame and a big part of that is obviously having the right tools for the job. Mila’s Xpert Tools range is packed with products which are tailored specifically for this sector and we have been impressed with the choice, quality and next day availability.”

The full Xpert Tools range from Mila includes air tools, glass lifters, hand tools and measuring devices as well as four different grades of Teflon sheet for use as a release barrier during welding. It is available alongside ancillaries, tools and adhesives and gives customers the option of ‘One Stop Shop’ ordering.

The range is included in Mila’s new The Key 8 catalogue which is due for publication soon and is also available on the company’s website at www.mila.co.uk

It was positive news for housebuilding across July, as construction contract values for the sector reached £2.5 billion.  However the same could not be said for the infrastructure sector as figures reached the lowest total for more than six years. 

The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from construction industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights the levels of construction contract values awarded in July across all regions of Great Britain, which totalled £5.4 billion based on a three-month rolling average, still well below this year’s peak of £6.5 billion from March. 

Looking across all the construction sectors in July, it was infrastructure that provided the biggest surprise, producing just £784 million worth of construction contract value, a 97 per cent annual decrease and its worst performing month for more than six years. Typically one big value infrastructure project is commissioned each month, which was absent in July. 

Outside of January and February this year, housebuilding figures reached £2.5 billion for July – the highest value for any month since Barbour ABI began tracking the series six years ago.  Furthermore, four of the top ten biggest construction contracts agreed this month came from housebuilding – including the Charter Square development in Staines, valued at £120 million. 

It was a mixed July across other construction sectors, with industrial, hotel leisure & sport and medical & health all increasing contract value on June figures, whereas education and commercial & retail dipped, with the latter producing its lowest figures since the beginning of 2013.  

Regionally, London and the South East led all regions, both with 14 per cent of the total construction contract value. Some of the larger projects in these areas includes the Oxford Technology Park worth £90 million and the Wandle Terrace redevelopment valued at £70 million. 

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Overall construction figures remained steady in July, thanks to the robustness of the housebuilding sector, producing another strong month.  In reality, this picked up the slack for waning sectors such as infrastructure and commercial & retail that fail to make up lost ground.”

“Across July there were 925 construction projects commissioned but these did not fall consistently across the sectors, putting an ever increasing emphasis on housebuilding’s robust figures to make up for the lack of investment in other parts of construction.” 

www.barbour-abi.com

Eurocell has launched a pioneering industry initiative in Select – the sector’s first comprehensive solid conservatory roof approved installer scheme. Designed to give scheme members a competitive edge and boost business, Eurocell Select will seek to address homeowners’ fears about product and workmanship quality, encouraging them to engage approved companies to carry out work.

Built upon the company’s leading Equinox solid conservatory roof range, Eurocell Select is being operated in partnership with certification body, CERTASS, and is the first independently audited and accredited scheme for solid roof installations.

The scheme features a two-year workmanship (installation) warranty, an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR) with no annual fees and low per case fee (from £35 per party) and a comprehensive marketing support package.

Membership will be limited to 150 companies during the introductory period, so it will be a race against time for professional installers seeking to grow sales and profit to sign up on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Those ‘early adopters’ will get free entry to the scheme, discounted CERTASS accreditation and a significant Eurocell contribution to the first year’s subscriptions.

Entrance to the scheme includes typical ‘professionalism criteria’, such as meeting the terms set out in competent persons and quality assured installer schemes; and installing Equinox, in compliance with Eurocell specifications.

Head of Marketing, Chris Coxon, believes Eurocell Select will prove attractive for both the trade and the consumer: “Traditionally finding suppliers for home improvements has always been a headache for homeowners. Concerns over reliability, quality of work and cowboys all add to the stress.  Eurocell Select will give them greater confidence in their choice. For the participating installer, the scheme provides a competitive edge over rivals and, crucially, more sales and profit opportunities. For example, last year we referred over 2000 leads to our Equinox installers and for Eurocell Select we are targeting a £100,000 investment in lead generation”.

He continues, “The conservatory market has changed. Once homeowners were prepared to invest five figure sums in a garden room for occasional use. Now they want to maximise their plots with a room they can use 24/7, 365 days a year. The result? A burgeoning conservatory roof replacement market. With around four million conservatories already covering Britain, this means plenty of opportunity for Eurocell Select members”.

Jason Clemmit, Managing Director of Certass, added ‘We are delighted to be working with a top industry player in Eurocell. Our new solid conservatory roof warranty is the first of its kind, which will help raise standards in this new, fast growing sector’.

For more details about Eurocell Select, visit www.eurocell-select.co.uk or call 01292 292099.

Brighton Bi-folds used Jack Aluminium System’s shopfront system to create a bifold door and a bifold window at an upmarket fish and chip shop in Worthing.

“Our client was looking to open up the restaurant in two ways,” explains Phil Bedford, Managing Director at Brighton Bi-folds. “One to the outdoor veranda where diners enjoy their posh chippy tea and another to the takeaway counter, so it could be fully opened up in good weather.

“A residential-style bi-fold door system was never going to cut it, because the business would be opening and closing the doors and window every day. We needed a robust, commercial system that could withstand daily business use.”

Brighton Bi-folds turned to Jack Aluminium’s JD47 Shopfront system for a solution.

“We already used Jack Aluminium systems so I asked them if we could adapt it to create a bi-fold. Nothing is off-the-shelf in this industry, and it made sense to use JD47 to get the benefits of the commercial system’s strength and security.

“It also meant that we could put in a level access threshold so there are no trip hazards for customers and easy access for pushchairs, wheelchairs, mobility scooters and people who use walking aids.”

The result is an impressive bifold door that opens out onto the high street, so the space can be opened up in the summer when the takeaway counter is most popular. The bi-fold-style window creates an opening from waist-height. It’s in the sit-down part restaurant and opens out onto the veranda.

Phil adds: “Using Jack Aluminium Systems works really well for us. One benefit is the fact that they sell in quarter and half bar lengths. For a business like us, it’s great because we use smaller volumes of profile for bespoke, one-off projects without having lots of waste.”

Ash Pearson, Sales Manager at Jack Aluminium says: “We love working with companies like Brighton Bi-folds who really think outside of the box. It gives us ideas for product development and lets us know exactly what kind of systems are in demand. This project proves that our systems offer good design flexibility to suit interesting installations.”

www.jackaluminium.co.uk