A week of contrast

This week sees the departures of two very well known industry figures, David Leng in the aftermath of the Synseal refinancing deal Read Story and Mark Warren stepping down as MD of Listers, the Stoke PVC-U and aluminium fabricator currently in the hands of administrators and up for sale. Read Story

The timing is entirely coincidental but with one common factor that both were emerging from quite significant spending sprees, Synseal in the acquisition of a large glass business and Listers in new machinery.

On a far more enjoyable note, the other big news of the week is the unveiling of the G17 finalists – 64 companies and individuals all hoping to step into the spotlight and be recognised as the best of the best at the gala ceremony later this year. Read Story

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

Leng departs as
Synseal CEO

Synseal Group today announced that David Leng is standing down as CEO following the group’s refinancing announced two weeks ago.

Leng, who joined Synseal eight years ago, will be replaced by Deborah Kemp who, according to the announcement, has been working with the executive team for the past four months “supporting and developing future growth plans.”

Alongside her, Leigh Daveran remains as CFO. Andy Jones continues as Sales & Marketing Director and will also take on David Leng’s customer relationship responsibilities.

Read More Here...

G17 finalists named

G-Awards judges have today revealed the names of the finalists in this year’s event.

After close scrutiny and lengthy deliberation, the panel of independent expert judges published the list of 64 companies and individuals who will compete for the 12 coveted trophies at the gala awards event in November.

Event organiser Tony Higgin says the year has produced an exceptional crop of finalists:

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Growing support for
Fire Door Safety Week

Support for this year’s Fire Door Safety Week, from 25 September to 1 October, continues to grow as fire safety tops the agenda for many in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, with 175 organisations backing the event.

The British Woodworking Federation, which set up the initiative five years ago, says as well as pledging support for the campaign, many organisations are planning events this month to help spread Fire Door Safety Week’s message about the critical role of third-party certificated fire doors in high-rise buildings, houses of multiple occupancy and other types of shared accommodation.

Before the week begins, a one day conference focusing on fire safety in tower blocks will be held by Local Authority Building Control (LABC) on Friday 15 September at Novotel, Broad Street, Birmingham. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of fire safety across professions involved in the construction and post-occupation management of high-rise buildings.

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Lister’s Mark Warren
steps down

Lister Trade Frames, currently in administration and up for sale, has this week announced that Mark Warren, its MD is stepping down from his role with immediate effect and handing over to his two fellow directors, Darren Pusey and Mark’s brother Phil Warren.

The company said in a statement this week: “We all know that the company is going through a transition as it’s looking for a new buyer, but the striking difference between Listers and many other companies that have faced this critical milestone is that Listers has a reputation second to none and a loyal customer base who are working with the company that makes it a incredibly viable opportunity. And that actually may be the strongest commendation that we can possibly bestow on Mark, Listers is a successful business built on good solid morals and excellent business acumen and one that we understand is attracting bidders from all over the country. Mark was at the forefront of building that reputation and has, we have no doubt, developed a business that the new buyers will be able to move forward with and complete the Listers journey.”

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Estate agents see
‘more than seasonal’
drop in supply

The number of houses going on the market took a 13.1% dip last month – more than double the seasonally adjusted figure allowing for the usual August holiday lull.

Two thirds of town and cities saw a drop compared with July, with the biggest declines in Coventry at 33% and Winchester, 31.1%, while London fell by 22.3%, according to the latest Property Supply Index compiled by online estate agents HouseSimple.com.

August is historically a quiet month for sellers marketing their properties, as families head off on their summer holidays. But even taking this into account, the total number of new properties listed for sale last month was down 5.9% on the corresponding month in 2016.

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7,000-frame
expansion plan

Polyframe is expanding its Norwich site by half again to 70,000sqft with the aim of boosting production from its current 4,500 frames/week to 7,000 on a 24-hour shift basis.

The expansion,set to be completed by next month, is the biggest step by at Polyframe since it became part of Customade Group earlier this year and it will enable the business to retain its claim as the largest fabricator of Rehau frames in the UK.

The new facility the second largest production se within Customade Group after its 200,000 square foot Polyframe Halifax site, which fabricates Halo and Eurocell frames.

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