Specialised celebrate 20 years in business

Long-term business partnerships are often the holy grail for successful companies, and when you reach a 20-year milestone it is cause for celebration. This year Specialised Conservatory Systems is celebrating 20 years in business as a fabricator of Ultraframe roof systems. Specialised has lived and breathed Ultraframe products since its formation by Dave Thomas back in 1997. You would be hard pushed to find a manufacturer of conservatory roofs that has more hands-on experience than Specialised has with Ultraframe’s range of innovative roofing solutions. Dave and his fellow directors Simon Bartlett and Karl Beard have a long history of working directly for Ultraframe. This experience has been invaluable over the years as Specialised has championed the innovative roof systems that Ultraframe have created.

Over the years Dave has seen the business evolve and today it is witnessing a very different market: “From the early days when we were fabricating two or three roofs a week to now where we are fabricating in excess of 40 large and more complex structures, we have always had an extremely customer-focused business. By partnering with Ultraframe we have been able to offer products that satisfy the needs of our customers. Ten years ago we saw a shift from polycarbonate to glass roofs, and today we are seeing another shift as customers are turning to solid roof alternatives. We are meeting this trend thanks to Ultraframe, this time supplying Ultraroof 380 and LivinRoof.”

The company now employs 14 people and offers its extensive range of conservatory roofs and orangery solutions nationwide. Key to its offering are the free surveys and on-site assistance it makes available to all customers. Dave believes this technical support is key to the company’s success over the last 20 years: “Combining the vast experience of myself, Karl and Simon, we can offer a comprehensive technical support function and this has underpinned the business from its conception 20 years ago. The main reason I set the business up was that I saw a lot of fabricators getting it wrong. So, I thought I could set up on my own with technical support from Ultraframe and financial know-how from my wife Denise. We have built on this, and today we offer installers an unrivalled product and customer service.” More complex and innovative designs and products have really opened up the conservatory market for Specialised. Dave and the team at Specialised are looking forward to continuing their long business relationship with Ultraframe, and this will be compounded by Dave’s belief that there is now a realisation that conservatory-based products can now offer a true extension solution.

Tel: 01772 822232

E: sales@specialisedltd.co.uk

www.specialisedltd.co.uk

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Express Bi-folding Doors claims to have been ‘making waves’ in the home improvement market for over a decade and says that its turnover is projected to reach £30million by 2019. The aluminium glazing manufacturer’s latest development will see it open a £500,000 showroom within the M25 at Trade City in Romford, reportedly creating eight jobs.

With four showrooms open across the UK in Leeds, Glasgow, Redhill and now Romford, Express has grown from a father-and-son team 11 years ago to a nationwide business employing over 200 people. Its flagship showroom in Leeds opened in 2016 next to the company’s manufacturing facility, a move that is said to have kick-started a year of rapid growth.

The Romford showroom, situated in Trade City on Ashton Road, is 9,000ft², comprising three show house-style displays, an exhibition cube structure and various other displays showcasing Express’ complete aluminium glazing range. New for 2018 is Express’ super-slimline lift-and-slide door, which is said to offer heavy-duty durability with lightweight, panoramic design.

Interior designer and TV personality, Linda Barker, will be attending the official launch event which is open to the public, on Friday 9 March.

Steve Bromberg, of Express Bi-folding Doors, said: “The glazing market is growing at such a rapid rate which means we’re always able to offer new, customisable products and innovations. With our significant investment in the north of England last year and opening The Home Space, we wanted to open the door to more customers in London and the east. Romford is the perfect location to do this and will complement our already successful showroom in Redhill. We now have two showrooms open within minutes of the M25 and we couldn’t be happier, the team has worked exceptionally hard to get the showroom finished.”

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On February 2^nd 2018 Made for Trade received the sad news that after a very short illness our valued and well respected Trade Sales Manager, Trevor Hopper had passed away.

Known as one of the ‘good guys’ in the industry, Trevor carried himself in a positive and upbeat manner always willing to go the extra mile for his clients and employer.  His sense of humour and enthusiastic approach to life made him very well thought of by all he came in to contact with. 

His career spanned many years, starting in engineering and a spell offshore in the oil and gas industry Trevor returned to Grimsby, his home town, looking for a change in direction which is when he chose the fenestration trade.  

Starting out as a canvasser he quickly progressed into direct domestic sales, this then led to him starting his own window & conservatory business.  After enjoying 10 years of working for himself he decided to join a national timber and PVCU manufacturer supplying to the trade, this is where Trevor’s skills shone developing professional and robust relationships with installers and trade counters up and down the country, which led him to our door.

Known to the Directors, Richard and Bradley Gaunt for his passionate approach, Trevor was the ideal candidate who could be trusted to push forward the company’s innovative product in keeping with their ethos and he continued to do this until he became ill. He will be greatly missed by many in the industry and was definitely one of a kind.

Trevor leaves behind his loving and supportive wife Carolyn, children and grandchildren who will continue to tell the stories of his motorcycle adventures and keep his memory alive in the way he would have wanted.

Specialist hardware manufacturer Avantis Hardware have launched their first suite of all stainless steel door furniture under the new Stylex brand. The eye catching Stylex range which includes letter plates, door handles, door knockers and numerals is manufactured form 304 grade stainless steel, employing high performance finishes suitable for a wide range of environments, ensuring long service life and good looks.

Avantis Sales and Marketing Director Jon Walker explained “When looking at bringing a new range of door furniture to market we scrutinised the worst case challenges and environments the products would face throughout their service life, especially in coastal locations.  It was immediately obvious that we would have to use the best materials and surface finish technologies, to ensure both functional and aesthetic longevity as well as a guaranteed minimum 10 year operational life. We also saw it as essential to give installers confidence and homeowners peace of mind that their new doors will keep looking good year after year. The result is Stylex, a very high performance range of suited door furniture, manufactured from grade 304 stainless steel, employing sophisticated polishing and surface finish processes, together with elegant and contemporary design.”

The Stylex range is offered in polished stainless steel, brushed stainless steel, PVD Gold and PVD Burnt Gold. Stylex is backed by 10 year guarantees against mechanical and surface finish breakdown.

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AluK has announced the first ever winner of its brand-new Installation of the Month competition. SG Installations’ install of AluK windows, doors and curtain walling in a contemporary property in Northforeland, Broadstairs edged out the other shortlisted projects from Nottingham Window Company and Bedford Bi-Folds in an on-line poll.

AluK’s Installation of the Month competition is designed to give the company’s very own ‘Experts in Aluminium’ the recognition they deserve. It is open to all customers, who just need to tag the very best installation photos they post on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #MyExpertInstall to enter. They don’t need to register or fill in any forms, and they can enter as many times as they like.

AluK says that the competition is all about showcasing the huge variety of projects where AluK’s aluminium windows, doors and veranda systems are installed, and above all to recognise and reward the quality and innovation being demonstrated by its customers every day.

With SG Installations taking the prize for February, entries are now open for the March competition. AluK will be drawing up a shortlist of finalists towards the end of the month, with the winner chosen by AluK’s Twitter followers.

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With a stunning win for ‘New Product of the Year’ at the G17 Awards 2017, the Heritage Flush Sash Window from Deceuninck has proven itself to be a fantastic new addition to the market. It’s obvious that impressive products need the right marketing, which is why Deceuninck approached ICAAL, a creative digital marketing agency, to help them to promote this product via a brand new website: www.heritagewindowcollection.co.uk.

By combining their wealth of experience in the home improvement industry, with the understanding that a bespoke design is imperative for perfectly capturing a brand, ICAAL were able to deliver a website that ticked all of the boxes. This included working closely with Deceuninck and their print design team to create tailored sections of the website, utilising Deceuninck’s beautiful photography. The website was required to serve as a retail facing platform, which meant ICAAL worked meticulously to brand guidelines to ensure the Deceuninck approach was communicated effectively to consumers. ICAAL then undertook the build of the website by handling every line of code with an attention to detail that guaranteed nothing was missed. To ensure the new website fired on all cylinders when it launched, all of the bases were covered. This included integrating a beautiful image-based design, contemporary media hub, full product details USPs, a customised content management system (CMS) and an easy to use fabricator search functionality.

With user experience (UX) also in mind, ICAAL created a custom built, password protected media hub which was filled with product images, marketing material, technical documents and brochures. This was all placed in an easy to operate, user-friendly CMS to ensure these features could be accessed with complete ease.  To complement UX further, this website also featured an online product brochure that was i-framed into the website to allow users to flip through the book without having to leave the website. This allowed Deceuninck to promote their award-winning Heritage Flush Sash Window range in a stylish, effective and modern way that was not a chore for potential customers.

Not only did ICAAL create a fully-fledged customer-facing website, they also created a section for trade customers. The unique fabricator search engine allows prospective installers to find their nearest Deceuninck fabricator, complete with map-based orientation and enquiry forms tailored for lead generation.  After being handed the finished product, Carol Hearn of Deceuninck offered her thoughts “Worthy of all 5 stars. Very professional experience from start to finish. Kept in the loop all the way. Updates done very, very quickly, The team are very knowledgeable and work together brilliantly. Well done to Chris and his team.. and thank you for everything.”

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The Corgi Fenestration installer scheme has been approached by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask the fenestration industry to participate in its Approved Documents user survey. The closing date for the survey, which should take around 20 minutes to complete, is midnight tonight (6 March).

The department is reported to be looking for comment on all Approved Documents as it wants to understand how industry uses the guidance provided to discern the functional requirements of the Building Regulations. All information provided will be confidential.

According to Corgi Fenestration, this work is in response to a recommendation Dame Judith Hackitt has made in her recent review of the Building Regulations and Fire Safety. She has recommended that the government consider how the suite of Approved Documents could be structured and ordered to provide a more streamlined, holistic view while retaining the right level of relevant technical detail.

For more information and to complete the survey, please click on the following link:

http://corgifenestration.co.uk/trade/installer-service/

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The Council for Aluminium in Building (CAB) is to host its first regional member’s meeting and mini-conference of 2018 this Thursday, 8 March, at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds City Centre, followed by a drinks reception and dinner at Aspire.

The meeting will be preceded by a series of CAB update presentations, while the mini-conference will consider the theme of ‘New Era for Specification?’. The format will be two 45-minute panel discussions and will broadly look at the following topics:

• The issues surrounding changes in specifier attitudes, following a recent review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. There will be a focus on issues such as competency, as well as raising the point of avoiding a culture of ‘construction to the legal minimum’.
• Exploring whether the above might lead to architects and engineers spending more time developing product specifications.
• The implications for construction product manufacturers, especially CAB member companies.

Chair of the panel will be Chris Ashworth, of Competitive Advantage. Joining him will be John Beaumont, quality manager at Bowmer & Kirkland, who previously worked for a specialist aluminium contractor, and Jason Clarke, director of DLA Architecture. One of Jason’s recent projects is Central Square in Leeds.

The format for the afternoon/evening will be as follows:

4pm Registration and tea/coffee in the Millennium Room

4.30pm CAB presentations followed by mini-conference session one in the main auditorium

5.45pm Tea/coffee break in the Millennium room

6.05pm Mini-conference sessions two and three in the main auditorium

7pm Transport to Aspire for drinks reception on the Mezzanine

8.30pm Dinner in the Banking Hall

Aspire is approximately six minutes’ walk from The Carriageworks. Transport between the two venues will be provided by way of a double decker bus, courtesy of Yorkshire Heritage Bus Company.

To book or for more information, call: 01453 828851 or email Julie Harley at: julie.harley@c-a-b.org.uk

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