LTF ON THE OFFENSIVE TO BEAT THE CRUNCH

It’s been a promising start to the year for trade fabricator Lancashire PVC-U Trade Frames, despite indications that 2009 will be a challenging time for the window industry.

In the last two years alone, the Bolton based company, which fabricates around 1,000 Spectus frames a week, has invested around £1 million in state-of-the-art machinery. The aim of the investment is to support its network of installers in the current downturn by further improving quality and increasing the speed of turnarounds. The kit includes a new BJM saw centre and a new Urban 8 head welder - the first of its kind in the UK. An Urban SV-800 corner cleaner enables staff to clean a frame from start to finish in just 36 seconds.

With the capacity to comfortably fabricate 2,000 frames a week, the company is able to support more installers who are coming on board all the time. John Anthony, sales manager of LTF, says: “Many installers are suffering from supply and cash problems because their fabricator is financially unstable, so there’s a lot of movement within the market at the moment. Several installers are coming to us because they are attracted by our no fuss attitude towards fabrication and the fact that we can be relied upon 100 per cent in these difficult times. Our philosophy is very much to club together and form strong alliances to help everyone trade successfully and come out of the current economic climate with a stronger business.”

LTF’s “crunch-buster” package includes quality, fitter friendly products, a reliable and flexible service, quick turnarounds and very competitive prices. LTF also guides installers who are keen to diversify from their core product offering and widen their product portfolio with more design-led products. Bi-folds, vertical sliders and coloured foils, for example, are becoming more popular as end users’ demands become more sophisticated.