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Deceuninck’s Heritage Flush Sash, which forms part of the company’s Heritage Window Collection, has won the prestigious category of New Product of the Year at this year’s G-Awards. It’s not often we see something genuinely innovative in our market, but the Flush Sash from Deceuninck has delivered something new that provides fabricators and installers with a completely new sales opportunity.

Rob McGlennon, Managing Director of Deceuninck UK comments: “We quickly identified the need for a strong product for the growing heritage sector and worked hard to design a product that suits every need in this field. Our Heritage Flush Sash comes with the option of fully welded or mechanical joints for a completely traditional and authentic look, also giving our customers a true USP over the competition.

“In addition to designing the best-looking product for this sector, we have also been able to offer our Heritage Flush Sash customers the benefit of 26 colourways from stock. Again, for added authenticity we also offer 26 colourways in matching trims, cills and ancillaries – all from stock. We have of course had to invest a significant amount of money to allow us to offer this amount of product from stock, but we did it because we knew how far ahead this investment would put our customers. It means they can order colour as easily as they can order white. For the Heritage sector, this is particularly important as the windows need to match the character of the property.

“The beauty of our cleverly designed Flush Sash isn’t limited to the Heritage sector however – it looks just as stunning in a modern town house property, as it does in a traditional cottage. Our new grey substrate with smooth matt anthracite foil is available on our Flush Sash and from stock and will continue to develop the range to help our customers win even more projects, in even more property styles.

“From a technical perspective, our new product addressed a gap in the market at the time because no other Flush Sash came with a night vent, so didn’t come with the option to lock the window in a night vent position. For this reason, the euro-groove position became critical. We also ensured outstanding weather and security performance was part of our Flush Sash offering with Airtightness Class 4, Watertightness Class E900, Wind Resistance Class AE2400 and PAS24:2016 Kitemark approved, all complete with the system.

“The Flush Sash also comes with a host of marketing support that is considered to be above and beyond the industry standard. All Heritage Collection customers have access to an array of marketing assets to suit all needs, including printed brochures, image library, point of sale and much more.

“We are thrilled to receive the prestigious recognition from within the industry at the G-Awards for what we feel is a product that has truly changed the market in 2017, but we will continue to work closely with our customers to deliver what the market wants, when it needs it, with new #Bestinclass innovations and product developments on the horizon.”

Contact Deceuninck today for more information on 01249 816 969 or visit www.deceuninck.co.uk

Hot on the heels of the announcement of its new grey substrate, Deceuninck UK is pleased to reveal a Smooth Matt Anthracite foil that along with its grey substrate provides a very real alternative to aluminium.

“Aluminium windows and doors continue to see growth as the trend for sleek grey windows remains,” says Chris Jones, Head of Sales at Deceuninck. “However, when given the choice, when the aesthetics are like for like, people would still rather have PVC-U in their homes. They prefer the warmer feel of the material, the improved thermal efficiencies and of course the lower cost. Until now though, the PVC-U market hasn’t had anything that can really sit alongside aluminium as a real alternative.

“Along with our new grey substrate, this new smooth matt anthracite foil offers all the benefits of PVC-U but with the sleek, smooth look of aluminium. Our customers are already leading the way with colour but this combination is another game changer for them. In anticipation of the popularity of this new product, the smooth matt anthracite foil on grey substrate will also be part of our colour range in stock, so homeowners that want these windows, won’t have to wait for them.

“We do things differently at Deceuninck so that our customers can make the most of market opportunities. This latest product development is the perfect example of how we continuously invest to ensure we’re delivering the right products at the right time on behalf of our customers.”

Contact Deceuninck today for more information on 01249 816 969 or visit www.deceuninck.co.uk

Lincoln based fabricator, Sternfenster, has announced that it has now produced over one million IG units after 10 years of using Super Spacer warm edge spacer from Edgetech.

“We’ve benefitted hugely from our relationship with Edgetech,” commented Sternfenster MD, Mike Parczuk. “Super Spacer hasn’t just dramatically improved the thermal performance of the units we produced – it’s significantly upped our productivity and efficiency.

“Super Spacer doesn’t need to be cut into bar length form, it comes pre-dessicated, and it doesn’t need a PIB primary seal applied. Taken altogether, it’s helped revolutionise our manufacturing process, and helped us grow from strength to strength.

“Customers who join our approved installer network enjoy a host of benefits that give them the edge over the competition – and, thanks to Super Spacer, a level of market-leading thermal performance that helps them sell to increasingly energy-conscious end users.”

Chris Alderson, Edgetech MD, commented: “It’s fantastic to reach such a momentous milestone with Sternfenster. It’s been a privilege working with one of the most forward-thinking, quality-driven businesses in UK fenestration – and we look forward to working with them to reach the two million mark!”

The post Million milestone appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

It was a victorious evening for REAL Aluminium when it clinched the winning trophy for ‘Promotional Campaign of the Year – Trade’ at the G17 Awards.

The prize was awarded to REAL Aluminium for its fully integrated campaign – ‘as easy as child’s play’ – which achieved incredible results in its first year. Sales of the REAL Aluminium range of aluminum fenestration products – comfortably the widest in the industry – eclipsed all targets with more than 500 customers coming on board in the space of just 12 months.

In awarding REAL Aluminium, the G17 judges’ comments were: “A slick campaign with fantastic results.” “Great use of multiple channels with a single message that spoke to the audience.” “An award winning campaign!”

Claire Miller, marketing director of Customade Group – which owns the REAL Aluminium brand – collected the trophy

Claire said: “Winning this award has topped off a phenomenal year for REAL Aluminium and we are so proud to take the winning title for our innovative trade campaign. Aluminium is a fast-growing market, but it’s more complex than PVCu and many installers need help to get it right. This campaign was all about breeding confidence among installers and underlining that REAL Aluminium is a solid and experienced partner for growth. The results of the campaign speak for themselves and our sales figures, which have far exceeded all expectations, prove that REAL is delivering for installers.

“REAL Aluminium has won some top industry awards already and this G Award is the pinnacle of our achievements, cementing our success in spreading the message that aluminium just doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s testimony, not just to the team that has worked so hard to make REAL Aluminium a success, but also to the many customers who have seen their businesses achieve significant growth as a result of it.”

REAL Aluminium delivered a fully integrated trade campaign across traditional and digital media to create a novel talking point in the industry. The campaign championed the capability of REAL Aluminium to slash lengthy lead times and inspire installers into the profitable world of aluminium. Featuring nostalgic childhood games that resonated with people, it successfully engaged with the industry and drove several hundred quality leads to the REAL sales team.

To find out more about the REAL Aluminium range, please call 01453 826884 or visit www.real-aluminium.co.uk.

REAL Aluminium is part of the Customade Group – www.customade.co.uk.

After it made such a huge impact when it was previewed at the FIT Show, the door which AluK says will become the new benchmark in the bi-fold market has officially been launched.

The Luminia F82 bi-fold is the flagship product in AluK’s premium Luminia range, and is now available exclusively from a network of Luminia Select Partners across the UK.

Targeted directly at the higher end of the market where demand is buoyant and still growing, it has all the aesthetics and performance features needed to justify a premium price with strong and sustainable margins.

The F82 ticks every box for the homeowner and developer offering contemporary slim sightlines, effortlessly smooth operation, stylish hardware and low U-Values. Crucially, AluK says that it also allows installers to differentiate their product offering from both the me-too doors in the mass aluminium bi-fold market and the less streamlined alternatives.

The F82 has slimmer sightlines than other doors available, but more importantly offers bigger expanses of glazing, thanks to slim, symmetrical sightlines on the frame, cill and jamb of only 97mm.

The contemporary look created by these uniform sightlines extends to the bespoke flush hardware designed and developed just for this door. This includes a new flush pop up T-handle, unique to AluK, which removes the need to add unsightly surface mounted door handles. There is also a flush handle for the traffic door, and specially designed, heavy duty rollers which deliver effortless operation. The F82 has achieved PAS24 accreditation at 2600mm wide, meaning that it can be installed in new build properties where Approved Document Q is required.

AluK has ensured that the door always opens and closes smoothly, with the new heavy duty compact rollers offering a heavier maximum sash weight of 150kg as standard. It also boasts class leading thermal performance, thanks to U-Values of 1.3W/m²K with a double glazed unit, and just 0.7W/m²K when triple glazed.

All of the configurations in the F82 are available as open in or open out doors, and in double and single door options to ensure a suited offering for the homeowner. It is available from stock in four standard single and dual colours – grey, white, brown and black. Further popular RAL colours are available to order, with the additional option of custom RAL colours if required.

The F82 has been deliberately designed to be quicker and easier to fabricate than other competitor doors, with fewer separate profiles, a single gasket requirement and only two types of corner moulding. It also therefore more cost effective to install, requiring less preparation and less time on site.

AluK’s Managing Director Russell Yates, says: “We’ve been inundated with enquiries for this door since the FIT Show – not just from our own customers but also from retail buyers and commercial specifiers. We know from the response that it offers a unique combination of style, performance and security, and that there are buyers waiting and eager to buy.

“We’re delighted to have 15 of the UK’s best known and most highly regarded aluminium fabricators already lined up in our new Luminia Select Partner network to start fabricating the door for us, and we are working closely with them to give trade buyers all the sales and marketing support that they need.”

Further details on the new F82 are available www.aluk.co.uk

Austin Barcley, managing director of Improveasy

A survey of glass and glazing installers has revealed how the industry is reacting to the current economic and political climate.

Improveasy commissioned market research company, Insight Data, to survey over 11,000 installers, asking them their views on many issues related to the industry and the wider economy.

The survey began by focusing on issues directly related to the respondent’s businesses and showed that more respondents (64%) reported that leads in 2017 had increased – compared to the year previous – than those who said these figures had stayed the same or decreased.

Similarly, 41.17% of installers said they have seen the number of domestic project completions increase in the past year.

Most (over 60%) respondents also stated that their cash flow and employee numbers had remained steady.

Regarding the wider economy, 70.6% of respondents claimed that recent political developments had had an impact on their business.

However, installers may define this effect as either negative or positive and, indeed, the statistics suggest that 2017 has been a reasonably positive year for many in the construction and home improvement industries.

With Brexit on the horizon – the UK is due to leave the EU no later than March 2019 – the survey also raised questions regarding the future of the UK economy.

Most installers responded saying that they believe GDP, exports, and unemployment will remain at their current levels rather than increasing or decreasing, perhaps indicating respondents’ uncertainty about the current climate. By contrast, a huge 67.64% agreed that inflation will go up.

Looking forward into the year ahead, just over half (52%) said they expect their business to perform better in 2018 than it has in 2017.

Austin Barcley, Improveasy’s, managing director, commented: “Frankly, we’re all probably fed up of hearing about ‘Brexit’ but it is an unavoidable issue that is impacting many sectors and supply chains in the UK. Overwhelmingly though, our industry is looking robust and installers appear to be confident about the future of their businesses.”

The post Survey reveals positive industry appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

The window, door and conservatory industry celebrated in style at the G-17 Awards in London last Friday.

Held once again at the prestigious Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, the glazing industry ‘Oscars’ were hosted this year by comedian Russell Kane, who proved to be a big hit with the hundreds of guests who had gathered for glamorous black-tie event.

Two of the most hotly contested prizes, for Fabricator of the Year and Installer of the Year, were won by the Glazerite UK Group and SEH BAC, respectively. The latter also picked up a second award for Promotional Campaign of the Year (Retail).

Other highlights included Solidor’s Danny Barnett winning the Unsung Hero Award and the Thermoseal Group – a company that’s no stranger to G-Award success – claiming the Derek Bonnard Award for Excellence.

This year, the G-Awards also featured the Fensa Installation of the Year – which was won by Artisan Conservatories & Windows, Clwyd – and the GGF Lifetime Achievement Award, which was picked up by Greg O’Donoghue.

See below for the full list of winners:

• Component Supplier of the Year – Mila
• Conservatory Installer of the Year – Thistle Windows & Conservatories
• Customer Care Initiative of the Year – Glassolutions
• Fabricator of the Year – Glazerite UK Group
• Glass Company of the Year – Global Glass
• Installer of the Year – SEH BAC
• New Product of the Year – Heritage Flush Sash by Deceuninck
• Promotional Campaign of the Year (Retail) – SEH BAC
• Promotional Campaign of the Year (Trade) – Real Aluminium
• Training & Development Initiative of the Year – Epwin Windows Group
• G17 Unsung Hero Award – Danny Barnett, Solidor
• Commercial Project of the Year – HSSP Architects & Oxted Window Systems for the Baily Building
• Fensa Installation of the Year – Artisan Conservatories & Windows, Clwyd
• GGF Lifetime Achievement Award – Greg O’Donoghue
• Derek Bonnard Award of Excellence – Thermoseal Group

The post And the winners are… appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

3,000 homes in Fife built to Secured by Design standards have 87% fewer crimes, say Police Scotland. Windows Active takes a closer look

A Police Scotland study has found that 3,000 homes built to nationally recognised police crime prevention standards in more than 150 Kingdom Housing Association (KHA) developments in Fife experienced 87% fewer reported crimes compared to properties not similarly designed and protected. The homes were all built to standards set by Secured by Design (SBD), the national police crime prevention initiative, which has 200 officers and staff attached to police forces around the UK to ‘design out crime’ by working with architects, developers and local authority planners at the planning stage. SBD’s proven crime prevention techniques include incorporating natural surveillance and limiting through movement into the layout and landscaping, and increasing the physical security of buildings, such as attack-resistant doors, windows and locks to deter opportunist burglars.

The study’s findings were recently announced at KHA’s annual meeting to celebrate the association’s building of 3,000 terraced, semi-detached and detached villas as well as flats and bungalows spread over 153 developments – all to SBD standards. Crimes included in the study were housebreaking, attempted housebreaking, (the Scottish equivalent of burglary and attempted burglary in England), sneak-in thefts (access through an insecure door to steal) and opening of lockfast places (usually vehicles, sheds or outbuildings/garages where the locking mechanisms are overcome to gain entry for theft).

The study found that only 1.8% of all of the 3,000 SBD homes were subject to these crimes compared to 14.2% of the non-SBD properties. Statistics were gathered from crimes from 2007 to 2016 within Fife, and laterally P Division (Fife) and compared with 3,000 non-SBD properties over the same period at developments completed between 1997-2015 in Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes, St Andrews, Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath, Levenmouth and South West Fife. One of the speakers at the annual meeting, Police Scotland Divisional Commander, Colin Gall, presented a certificate to recognise the KHA and SBD achievements to KHA’s Chair, Freya Lees. Stuart Ward, SBD National Designing Out Crime Manager, who is responsible for implementing SBD and general crime reduction in all 13 Divisions of Police Scotland, said: “These results highlight the benefits of building to SBD security standards. Evidence suggests that SBD homes achieve significant reductions in crime and can continue to do so year-on-year.” Stuart, who was the first full-time Force Architectural Liaison Officer in Fife, added: “This is especially important as most SBD developments are in social housing, many of them in deprived areas.”

Kenny McHugh, SBD Development Officer for Scotland, said: ”This is a remarkable milestone for KHA and SBD in Scotland. For police, falling crime reduces demands on services and enables us to focus on other priorities. With more robust products, SBD also frees up budgets by reducing repair and maintenance costs as well as providing a long-term legacy of safer, more cohesive and desirable communities, where people choose to put down roots.” Bill Banks, Group Chief Executive, Kingdom Housing Association, explained that KHA’s first regeneration project to include SBD’s standards of security and crime prevention into new homes and the surrounding environment was in 1997 in Buckhaven, Fife, following relatively high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in the area. “We found that this first partnership with SBD resulted in a safer environment for our tenants and led us to deciding to incorporate SBD standards to all our new housing projects going forward.” Bill said that KHA was extremely impressed by the police research that showed SBD homes were 87% less likely to be targeted by criminals – a statistic that endorses KHA’s strategic decision 20 years ago to embrace SBD security into all their new home developments. Bill added: “I feel all developers, and providers of new housing projects, should be adopting the SBD standards of enhanced safety and security to enhance the well-being of residents in their respective developments.”

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