Home and away

Last week’s joint cri-de-coeur from the seven construction bodies over the ‘Brexit cliff-edge’ for EU workers caught the attention of the national media (Read Story) along with successive reports that one five construction workers – and one in every two in London – is non-UK, mostly from other EU countries. Such a level of attention is a clear indication of how seriously everyone is taking the threat, so could that in itself suggest that no one in government would do anything to unbalance the equilibrium in whatever final deal emerges?

Speaking of matters international, we also hear this week that the UK Pavilion at the forthcoming Fensterbau is to be much enlarged. As far as the UK is concerned, this is the first year that FIT Show has gone biennial and will alternate with the German event so perhaps the expansion is inevitable, but perhaps we could also hope the UK industry is optimistic about its future role on the world stage. Read Story

Back home and the DHF is calling for further safety measures to be written into the specification of doors, affirming once again that whatever structural issues may be attributed to the Grenfell tragedy, it has thrown the spotlight on every aspect of fire safety, which in itself can only be a good thing.
Read Story

Amid good news and bad, we hope there is something for everyone in this week’s issue.

Chris Church Editor

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

This Week's News

DHF calls for compulsory doorsets after Grenfell

The Door & Hardware Federation is calling for a change in Building Regulations to enforce the use of complete doorsets in fire compartmentation in multi-occupancy buildings.

 Fire doors are one of the most important and effective elements of a building’s passive fire protection, with more than three million being installed in the UK each year, says the organisation, but if fire doors are not compliant, the compartmentation of the building is compromised and can result in serious consequences.

The organisation is calling for complete doorsets to be used that are manufactured and certified by a 3rd party accreditation scheme, installed by a 3rd party accredited installer and maintained by a 3rd party accredited company.  And the organisation is urging the UK government to adopt and enforce a mandatory requirement for all fire doors to be complete doorsets.

Federation CEO, Bob Perry, explained: “There are many crucial components of fire doors that distinguish them from conventional doors …but if just one of these components fails due to poor maintenance or damage, the effectiveness of the door can be severely reduced. 

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GGF names Quinn as commercial MD

The GGF Group has today announced the appointment of Billy Quinn to the newly created role of Managing Director of its commercial arm including the subsidiary companies FENSA, GGFi, BFRC, RISA and Borough IT.

Most recently as Commercial Director for the online digital training provider CCUK, he has also held senior commercial roles within several blue chip retailing groups including HRG, Kingfisher and B&Q. Additionally Billy has experience in the not-for-profit sector holding the position of Non-Executive Board Chair of The Furniture Ombudsman (TFO).

The GGF said in making the announcement: “Billy joins the GGF Group at a time of steady growth and also during a transitional period of restructure. With this appointment the GGF Group aims to strengthen its commercial arm which will subsequently benefit all connected to the Federation.”

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UK goes big for Fensterbau

The UK Pavilion at Fensterbau Frontale is set to more than double in 2018, according to the Glass & Glazing Federation, which is hosting the section for the second time at the biennial event.

The GGF now has 200m2 reserved to provide a designated area for 12 British companies to co-exhibit and reach an international market expected to be in excess of 100,000 trade visitors.

Fensterbau Frontale 2018 takes place in Nuremberg on 21-24 March.All six organisations who co-exhibited in 2016, Clearview, the GGF, Glazpart, GQA Qualifications, RITEC International and the FIT Show have once again signed up once to be part of the UK Pavilion:

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Set for system launch

Kömmerling is preparing to launch its new System 76 PVCu window and door system with dedicated casement, flush casement and fully reversible profiles, hybrid options, lift and slide doors and a patio door option with soft-close technology.

Stefan Seidel, managing director of profine UK said: “With the System 76 launch just a few months away, it will make for the most complete and technically led PVCu window and door systems in the UK market …and we’re eager to see the first products manufactured in just a few months.”

The company also announced that it has launched a smooth slate grey foil (one side) for its C70 Gold window and PremiLine patio door systems. This new introduction takes the number of stock foiled options from Kömmerling for the two systems to 11, out of a range of over 80 foils in total.

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Seasonal slump hits house movers

The usual pre-Christmas drop in new listings with estate agents has hit harder than usual this year with figures down nearly a quarter overall and over two thirds of UK towns and cities seeing a decline, according to the latest Property Supply Index from online estate agent HouseSimple.com.

Among the worst hit was Bath where new listings were halved, and Watford with 40% fewer new sellers advertising their properties last month. Every London borough saw a decrease in listings, led by Kingston upon Thames at 42.5%.

Highest increases were Newquay at 62%, Truro 56% and Lichfield 43%.

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