Well done! You made it! You made it through the first full week back of work in the new year! I’m pretty sure we’re all tired and looking forward to a good weekend back on the sofa, in the gym, or whatever you decide to do on a weekend. It’s also time to take a look back at the weeks posts and catch up on some of the articles you might have missed.
At the end of 2014, amid mass speculation and rumour, it was finally announced that composite door manufacturers Solidor had received significant financial support from DW3 Product Group, a newly formed investment group. What this signaled was the start of the next industry super group.
Summary
I began the working week with a look at 5 companies that are set to make waves in the industry this year. These were a selection of companies that either had product which I thought the industry was going to sit up and take notice of, companies who were evolve or merge during the year, and companies that I thought were going to do great things in the name of the industry. Got a few comments on the way too.
This year marks the 350th anniversary of one of the industry’s biggest glass companies, Saint-Gobain. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the company on such a long history on what is traditionally a very competitive area of the market, especially when global market conditions remain as up and down as they are right now.
Summary
It’s not often a company gets to celebrate their 350th birthday, especially in our industry! So I couldn’t let this week pass without giving a nod to the very impressive achievements from Saint-Gobain.
It’s a hard story to avoid if you’re near a TV, website or newspaper. Yes, the price of oil continues to slide in a rather dramatic way. At the time of writing Brent crude is below $51 per barrel. It’s a new five year low and is resulting in rapidly reducing fuel costs and supermarket prices. For us consumers, it’s great news. More cash in our pockets and more spending power. However, as fuel and oil shows no sign of stopping it’s decent, there are issues growing on the sidelines which are going to become more important over the coming weeks and months.
Summary
Oil. The subject of oil gets me fired up. Might sound sad, but oil affects everything we do. So when prices drop as much as they do, it’s worth taking at look at it. The good news is, we’re all paying less for fuel, which means more money for homeowners to spend on windows and doors!
Just as I posted my thoughts on the 5 companies to watch in 2015, in comes Solidor, my first suggestion, with a second new appointment to the company, and the first of 2015. His name is Mike Price and his expertise lie in manufacturing. A rather key skill if Solidor are going to be acquiring some of the bigger names in the industry.
Summary
Not long after I had mentioned Solidor in my recent top 5 post, they go ahead and announce a second new appointment in personnel. A guy called Mike Price has been brought on board to make sure that things in production and operations in the new group run smoothly.
After my 5 Companies To Look Out For post at the beginning of the week, I thought it might be useful to explore 6 products that you might expect to do rather well in 2015. These are just my thoughts, not a guaranteed result!
Summary
From the top 5 companies to the top 6 products to keep an eye on this year. This was my stab in the dark at what I thought was going to do well in 2015 on the products front. This one drew a few comments, with the hint that aluminium was going to have a good year this year too. I agree. I also think timber is going to have a decent 2015.
Earlier on in the week, George Osbourne said that he was keeping an eye on all industries to make sure that price reductions created by the sharp drop in oil price were passed on to the consumer. That’s ALL industries. Not just supermarkets and fuel companies at the pumps.
Summary
Last up, a post in which very few people agreed with me. Because that’s never happened before ;-)
I wanted to pose the question, with an accompanying poll, if window and door prices should come down to reflect the reductions in oil prices. Despite all the comments left saying that prices should at least remain where they are, of the 18 people who voted on whether prices should come down, 8 said yes. So there is a portion of the industry out there that does believe they should come down. A sticky issue this one I think.
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