Our window and door industry is full of bodies and organisations. Some we like, some we don’t. Some we’re members of, some we’re not. And in April of this year, we saw the creation of another. Not that many seemed to spot it at first. This new body is called the Glazing Supply Chain Group.
A body of bodies
To talk in the style of a Marks and Spencer advert, this isn’t just any industry body. This is a glazing body made up of other industry bodies. Here is the full list, with links to the various sites:
The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF)
British Glass (BG)
The Flat Glass Manufacturers Association (FGMA)
The Steel Window Association (SWA)
Council for Aluminium in Building (CAB)
European Window Film Association (EWFA)
There are some quite big names in there. The most obvious being the GGF, the Steel Window Association and the Council for Aluminium in Building.
So what exactly is the point of this new industry super-body? Well, according to their website:
- To represent the supply chain in the glazing industry and act as the collective “voice of the industry” to Government (local, national and European) and related organisations post and pre-election 2015.
- To promote the benefits of energy efficient glass and glazing and highlight the environmental advantages to key Government departments.
- To increase awareness of the Group in the construction industry and in the political arenas.
- To increase the size of the Group and involve (unite) more trade bodies who share the Group’s core messages and who will endorse the Group’s activities for the good/benefit of the industry.
- To maintain a non-commercial, independent, clear and progressive messages on behalf of the Glazing Supply Chain.
All admirable aims, can’t argue with them. All valid points that the industry could benefit from.
Problems to overcome
Since their April launch, I haven’t seen much activity from the group. They’re only four months old, but if they are to start making dents in their stated objectives, they need to be proactive from the start.
Communication is going to be key. With some trade bodies there is a high degree of scepticism from the industry. There will be that to overcome. General communication from trade bodies to the industry hasn’t been all that great in the past either. That will be something that has to improve if the message of the Glazing Supply Chain Group is to get out to everyone clearly.
There are other things which I have seen which need to be improved. Their website for example needs some work. It’s based on WordPress and it looks like it is using a similar theme to the one this website uses. So the good news is that there is plenty of scope to make it look and operate really slick. But right now it is far from that. It’s been launched a bit too early for me. Perhaps it was rushed through a bit early? I’m not sure, but there just isn’t enough information on there right now.
They say that one of their aims is to increase the size of the group and unite more trade bodies to increase the power and effectiveness of the group. Well it has my support. I’m all for trying to improve relations between the industry and the general public. But it has to be done right and it has to be done with purpose. No point in setting something like this up just for it to waft away in the months to come.
Overall, the message and ethos is good, but there is work to do make it effective.
