This Week's News

Warmcore Launch Delivers True Innovation

Synseal is proud to introduce WarmCore, an innovative aluminium folding sliding door system which incorporates a radically different product design approach to create a new high performance fenestration framing solution: “warm aluminium”.

Totally designed from scratch starting with a clean sheet of paper, every single component has been concept sketched, detail designed, prototyped, tooled, trial installed and rigorously tested by Synseal’s market-leading R&D team. WarmCore is a high quality aluminium bi-fold door solution with peerless thermal performance to ensure end-user comfort, all year round.

Precision-manufactured with a high quality surface finish and affording slim, elegant door frame sightlines once installed, aluminium has undoubtedly become the material of choice for premium folding sliding door applications today. But now there’s an even better solution – WarmCore’s innovative “warm aluminium” frame construction is key to offering unrivalled thermal performance with U-values as low as 1.4 W/m2K using standard 28mm double glass or 1.0 W/m2K using 44m triple glass.

At the heart of WarmCore products is a core of PVC-U which significantly out-performs the polyamide thermal breaks commonly used to reduce the threat of cold bridging on aluminium windows and doors. The result is an innovative “warm aluminium” frame construction, carefully dimensioned to provide an optimised 70mm front-to-back overall sash frame depth for UK applications while ensuring market-leading thermal performance thanks to the multi-chambered insulating core.

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Annual Report Shows Stability In Tough Times

The Glass and Glazing Federation has released its Annual Report for 2013 showing a financially stable position against the tough economic conditions in the period.

GGF President, Brian Baker of Glassolutions Saint Gobain stated, “2013 was a difficult year for the industry but the GGF Membership remained stable and continued to provide a high level of support for Members.”

Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive commented, “The Federation’s Membership yet again stood up well to the trading pressures they faced in 2013. It is also particularly pleasing to see that the number of new Members joining the Federation increased from 23 in 2012 to 32 in 2013 (39%) and this year we are on course to show another recruitment increase on 2013. It is clear that our retention and acquisition strategies are working effectively as more and more companies realise the benefits of being part of the GGF.”

In the political arena during 2013, the GGF continued its dialogue with Government on several campaigns such as Cut the VAT, Consumer Rights and Fire Safety. During the period, the Federation was also highly proactive as the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and CE marking became law with many companies in the industry having to comply.

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Four G 14 Award nominations for The VEKA UK Group!

Systems supplier The VEKA UK Group has been shortlisted for a fantastic FOUR G Awards ahead of the Presentation Evening and Gala Dinner to be held at the end of November.

The Group has been nominated for 'Commercial Project of the Year' thanks to Bowater Projects winning the tender for the Anchor National Window Replacement Project 2013/14. This involved fully refurbishing 28 sheltered housing developments across the UK, using Halo's System10 and TwinSash windows, along with PVC-U residential doors and roofline.

Halo's TwinSash system ensured the Group's nomination for 'Environmental Initiative of the Year' as it's the first window to achieve an Acoustic ‘A’ Rating under the BM TRADA Q-Mark Window Acoustic Rating Scheme.

The Company's long-standing commitment to Apprenticeships has seen it shortlisted for 'Training & Development Initiative of the Year'. After 20 years of training and supporting young people at the start of their career, The VEKA UK Group's Apprenticeship programme still remains at the core of the company's business and development strategy.

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Housing starts fall for first time in 18 months

Glenigan Index for October 2% higher than a year ago, with the value of residential project starts falling for the first time since April 2013.

Private housing starts rose 1% year on year, while social housing saw 17% drop.

Retail strongest performing sector over the last three months, up 54% on same period in 2013.

Private sector continues to drive construction growth, buoyed by double digit growth in commercial office and hotel & leisure sectors.

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ERA Announced as Finalist in G14 Component Supplier Of The Year

ERA, the cornerstone of the UK hardware industry has been shortlisted in the ‘Component Supplier of the Year’ category in the G Awards. The finals take place on the 21st November in London.

Commenting on this shortlisting, ERA Group Sales Director, Clare O’Hara comments: “without question being acknowledged as Component Supplier of the Year would be a fantastic achievement, especially in awards of this calibre. We are having a record year working closely with existing and new customers to deliver the ultimate security proposition through the ERA Five Star Guarantee and new product innovation such as the Invincible, but what we’re famous for and what was reflected in our submission is the way we do business – the service we provide is what sets us apart and it’s the reason this business continues to grow – at ERA you get unrivalled service but backed up by market-leading security innovation – it’s a powerful proposition and impossible to replicate.

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Windows and Doors in Spotlight as Repairs and Maintenance Top Tenant Agenda

A survey published last week revealed that Scotland’s social housing tenants view repair and maintenance of their home as more important than any other landlord service – including dealing with anti-social behaviour.

In addition to reporting that 88% of tenants regard repair and maintenance of their home as ‘very important’, the survey of tenant groups by the Scottish Housing Regulator also found that more than three quarters of those questioned said keeping buildings and entrances secure was equally significant.
 
For social housing landlords - in Scotland and across the UK – this primary research helps to set tenant satisfaction priorities and once again windows and doors come into the spotlight.

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Back in The Finals Again

Solidor has followed up their G13 Award for Promotional Campaign of the Year – Retail as a finalist in the same category at the G14 Awards, as their impressive consumer campaign continues to deliver a large number of pre-qualified enquiries for their Recommended installer network.

For companies operating in the trade sector, the ability to implement and deliver a results-driven consumer campaign has been the ultimate nirvana and Solidor has proven that with marketing investment and a product that’s packed with features it can be done. Solidor has built their reputation as the composite door pioneer, with a large number of industry firsts from new and exciting colours inside and out to a range of hardware that is unmatched in the sector.

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GGF Members’ Day 2014: A Great Success

GGF Members’ Day was hailed a great success by Members and Staff alike as over 100 delegates attended and saw a packed conference programme of 16 presentations at the prestigious Glaziers’ Hall in London.

The event was opened by the Right Honourable Simon Hughes MP who voiced full support for the Federation and its campaigns in particular; the GGF’s lobbying to reduce the VAT from a rate of 20% to a rate of 5% on home improvement work and on energy efficient windows.

With the day off to a great start, delegates heard presentations from guest speakers Richard John of National Energy Foundation and from GK Strategy, Robin Grainger and Ellen Daniels who highlighted the GGF’s work across its core campaigns.

Brian Baker GGF President and Host for the day commented, “Members’ Day was a great event from start to finish, with engaging speakers, topical presentations and healthy discussion. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to make Members’ Day a truly memorable occasion.”

Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive added, “It was pleasing to see so many Members not only attending the event but also enjoying the networking opportunities.”

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Universal’s Finalist Night

Universal Arches has been nominated as a finalist in the G14 Awards for Commercial Project of the Year, in an impressive joint entry with Dempsey Dyer for the refurbishment of a Victorian Mill in Leicester, with 655 arched PVCu window frames.

The overall project valued at £8.75 million is believed to be the largest one ever carried out involving the replacement of arched head PVCu windows and was carried out over a carefully organised and managed 12 month programme. Due to the nature of the project, both Universal Arches and Dempsey Dyer had to implement a detailed project plan and work closely with architect RG+P and the local Planning Department of Leicester City Council.

Universal Arches is no stranger to the G-Awards, having been awarded G09 Specialist of the Year on the back of their performance as a business and also their overall and continuing influence on the bending sector, as a clear market leader. The statistics from the entry from Universal Arches and Dempsey Dyer show that the 655 frames took an incredible 1,875 production hours over a 26 week period, something that only until recently could have been achieved, as the bending specialist continues to invest in further growth.

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Master Baker is Master Builder

Rumours that The Great British Bake Off (TGBBO) contestant Richard Burr is not a real builder are sadly mistaken because he is in fact a master builder, reports the Federation of Master Builders. 

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: "The FMB is extremely proud that our member Richard Burr is challenging stereotypes about builders. Today's modern builders are often multi-talented as demonstrated by Richard's brilliant performance on TGBBO." 

Berry continued: "Unfortunately many people have a negative impression of what constitutes a builder. The reality is that many builders are highly qualified, hail from a variety of backgrounds, and carry out a range of complex and difficult projects. We need to rethink the stereotypical image of 'mud and boots' in the building industry and think instead of building professionals such as Richard Burr.".

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