If there is a niche that has exploded in recent years, it is colour. Who would have thought that in just a few years, our industry would have transformed from a dreary, boring old sector whose idea of colour was Rosewood and Light Oak, into an industry which now goes by RAL charts and Farrow & Ball heritage colours. What is now available in terms of choice of colour is endless, and it is that level of customising that is driving the explosion of very grand and detailed projects.

In all honesty, it is a rare day I sell a white door now. In fact I can’t remember the last time I quoted for one. I think it could possibly be right at the start of the year. Since then, there have been many shades of grey, black, red, green. The list goes on. And we’re now seeing this pattern of colour transfer more and more to the windows side. Don’t get me wrong, white windows are by far still the most popular colour. But this habit is changing ever so slowly. Colour is the way forward now, and it’s here to stay. So if you’re looking to cash in on this trend, what is the best way to do it?

Spraying. I have written in a previous post a little while ago that it is simply impossible to hold in stock every single colour as a foil. It is simple far too impractical and inefficient. Systems companies and fabricators simply can’t invest that amount of space and money into such an effort. But the best alternative is to make spraying available, and to make it as accessible as possible.

As the consumer becomes more educated about the amount of choice they now have when picking their new windows and doors, it means they are going to become more particular. Especially when it comes to colour choice. If the particular shade of red you stock isn’t to their liking, they are going to ask for something else. Which then most would respond with the choice of spraying that product to that particular shade of red they are after. An installer will need to then be able to have access to spraying facilities to make this work. The ideal scenario would be that their manufacturer has an in-house spraying facility to achieve this goal. Alternatively, a local spraying business might be on hand to provide that service. Ideally, there should be a range of local and easy options to around to make sure that spraying windows and doors isn’t difficult.

And this here is the key. As demand for coloured and sprayed products continues to grow, our industry needs to make sure that it invests money and time to make these services available, else losing market advantage to other companies quicker to the mark than some others are.

Colour is booming. Lets make the very most of this fantastic opportunity to get creative and make some money while we do it!

All comments welcome on this as always in the section below. Is your installation company selling a lot of sprayed products? Is this an area of the market you are looking to get into? Does your supplier offer you a spray facility or do you have to outsource it to someone else?