Fire alarm

There is probably little else to say in the wake of the court report on fake fire glass, except to draw attention to the GGF’s response calling for vigilance throughout the industry on the use of the correct spec of glass in specialist applications.

So, on the same subject, it is no surprise to read that an overwhelming majority of that organisation’s members have given it a hearty thumbs-up in its satisfaction survey. Read Story

Also after last week’s news that healthy machinery sales via Promac were a sign of a healthy industry, we now hear that Emmegi sales grew by 240% last year, adding further support to the general mood of optimism. Read Story

Also, among this week’s letters, Doorco’s Jayne Sullivan is keeping the company’s post-referendum promise by announcing a cut in the surcharge it introduced to counter the floundering pound. Read Letter

We hope you enjoy this week’s issue.

Chris Church Editor

Please send all your news stories to news@the-glazine.com

This Week's News

Man jailed for £145,000 fake fire glass fraud

A County Antrim man has been jailed for a year after a court heard how he had sold fake fire safety glass that was later installed at schools, universities and hospitals in Ireland and England.

Seamus James Laverty, 58, of Deer Park Road, Toome, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of fraud by false representation.
Antrim Crown Court heard that Laverty sold ordinary glass as fire safety glass between 2010 and 2013 when he worked on the factory floor of a glass company. The fraud totalled £145,000.

The glass was sold to the construction industry and later used in buildings including the Ulster Hospital, Strathearn School in east Belfast, Lisburn Road Methodist Church in Belfast, Magherafelt High School, County Londonderry, Carrickfergus Primary School in County Antrim, Tallaght Hospital in Dublin and Manchester University.

Read More Here...

GGF satisfaction survey

Nearly two thirds (63%) of GGF members are satisfied with its services while fewer than 4% say they are actually dissatisfied, according to the organisation’s 2016 Satisfaction Survey published this week.

Of the areas of work the GGF undertakes, technical came out most popular with 71.5% of Members who responded saying that the GGF’s technical knowledge/help was of benefit to their business. The second most valued benefit was the use of the GGF brand with almost 55% of respondents stating this benefited their business.

Brian Baker, Interim Chief Executive commented, “I am pleased that almost one third of our Membership took the time to complete the Survey. It is so important that we listen to our Members and shape our strategy accordingly. In the next few months, we will fully analyse the survey submissions and take the necessary action to improve the GGF services and benefits.”

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Cheap money offsets Sterling fall to keep insolvencies stable

Record low borrowing costs, as well as ‘more patient creditors’ managed to offset the falling pound and the introduction of the National Living Wage to keep corporate insolvency figures roughly stable in 2016.

Andrew Tate, president of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3, said: “Despite a number of challenges for businesses in 2016 – the fall in the value of the pound since June’s EU referendum and the introduction of the National Living Wage among them – there is still a lot of downward pressure on corporate insolvency numbers to balance these out.”

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From: Jayne Sullivan
Operations Director, Doorco

In the spirit of transparency, back in autumn, Doorco publicly set out our pricing strategy post-Brexit. While others took immediate action to hike prices, we pledged to keep an eye on the currency markets to see how things played out.

With no signs of recovery however, this unfortunately resulted in us being forced to introduce a price surcharge. But unlike those suppliers who imposed a blanket price increase – some as high as 20% - we introduced a flexible surcharge index that we promised we’d keep under review and revise quarterly. We have now done just this and are pleased to announce we are in a position to reduce our surcharge on door blanks. From February 1st the currency surcharge will be 2% lower at 6.5%.

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From: Tony Drake,
Managing Director, Fenster Fabrications

See talk of heritage and conservation in the trade press, and more often than not the conversation’s dominated by timber – how it’s the quintessential vintage glazing material, and how manufacturers and fabricators have striven to produce something that has all its charm and elegance but with the exceptional performance and easy maintenance of uPVC.

In a sense, that’s not surprising – the majority of conservation jobs require timber-for-timber replacement, or timber-look uPVC products. But it also forgets the big role aluminium is increasingly playing in the heritage glazing sector.

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From: Michele Wietscher,
Director, Newview Windows & Conservatories

On April 1st, the National Living Wage is set to increase to £7.50 per hour for workers aged 25 and over in the UK.

The decision has been lauded as a step towards financial equality in the UK as the government plans a shift from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. But we need to be careful not to put barriers in place for businesses to grow. It’s an emotive subject and it’s easy to look at national stories such as Sports Direct and make a reaction but to get to the nub of the issue it’s important to look at how it is being received in the ‘real economy’ – amongst shop keepers, entrepreneurs and those running privately owned firms.

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