Colourful future

The rest of the world may be reflecting the grey days of February with gloomy forecasts of stagnation and worse around the industry but two companies at the top of its supply chain have each brought rays of sunshine to this week’s news, and if there is a theme that at least partially links the two it is colour.

First, Epwin tells of very significant expansion plans, not only in the number of extrusion lines but more specifically a 30% increase in foiling capacity Read more. Then, albeit from the rather shorter term perspective of a month’s figures, Deceuninck, the acknowledged leader in the promotion of coloured frames, tells us of a very healthy start to the year.
Read more

Elsewhere, the house market has also started the year with a bang as over 52,000 homes went on the market last month – every one of them waiting for a potential buyer with a likely eye on home improvement. Read more

And finally, TrustMark is teaming up with the scam-watchers with the aim of further tightening the noose on the blight of this industry as well as many others. Read more

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Chris Church Editor

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

This Week's News

Epwin steps up to
24 more lines

Epwin Window Systems is on the way to increasing extrusion capacity by over 40% and foiling capacity by 30% with the addition of 24 new extrusion lines as well as new lamination lines at its Telford HQ.

Divisional Managing Director Clare O’Hara, at Epwin Window Systems, said: “Work to install an additional 24 extrusion lines is nearing completion. The investment more than doubles our number of extrusion lines and takes the total number to 41.

 “As demand for our growing product range increases, this investment in our extrusion facilities will enable us to continue to offer outstanding quality with impressive lead times into the future.”

Read more

‘Strong start’ for Deceuninck

Deceuninck reports a strong start to 2019 with January sales up 12% year-on-year, following a record 2018 which finished 21% up on the previous year.

Managing director Rob McGlennon said: “Despite the political chaos and constant reports of economic uncertainty triggered by Brexit negotiations it’s not all doom and gloom. The commercial market is strong, and we are strong in commercial. The Deloitte Real Estate Crane Survey, for example, monitors construction activity in Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, as well as Dublin. In 2018 each city saw a sustained or increased level of development across a range of sectors including offices, residential, hotels, retail, education and student housing.

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Debut Fabricators’ Forum a success, says BFRC

The British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC) has declared its inaugural Fabricators’ Forum a success after delegates from many sectors gathered at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre, Reading, to debate issues affecting the glazing industry including the main theme of energy efficiency.

The organisation reports: “The event saw companies share views, knowledge and concerns of issues around legislation, regulation, training, testing and certification and industry data. Five key speakers led the debates with expert presentations, each of which were followed by discussions with questions and views from the audience.

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TrustMark’s a ‘Scambassador’

TrustMark, the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme for tradespeople, has joined the ‘Friends Against Scams’ campaign to protect and prevent vulnerable people falling victim to scams.

The National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams team welcomed TrustMark’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Ayers, as a ‘Scambassador’ to help them to protect everyone from scams and the damage they cause.   Together with the organisation, Simon will encourage all TrustMark employees, Scheme Operators and Registered Firms to become 'friends' and empower them and their wider communities to ‘Take a Stand Against Scams’.

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House sellers see
new-year boom

Hopeful house sellers hit the new year running, with nearly two thirds more homes put on the market last month than December – far more than the expected post-Christmas bounce.

Figures from the latest Housesimple Property Supply Index saw 52,207 homes enter the market as against 31,825 (64%), with an even bigger shift in London from 12,709 to 21,677 ((70.6%).

In other UK hotspots, listings more than trebled in Hasings, and almost doubled in Southend and Torquay, while the biggest increase was Bromley, rising by 270.6%.

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