In the past decade two Governments, the coalition and this current Conservative Government, have tried to launch schemes that intended to encourage homeowners to take out loans and grants to insulate and retrofit their homes. Both failed. They failed for a number of reasons, all very similar to each other. The most recent version [...]
It is earnings season in UK fenestration and some of the biggest companies are dropping their financial results for H1 of 2021, and as was to be expected, Epwin Group’s H1 results are very healthy. Here are the key findings from their report. What you need to know The table below is your brief [...]
A minimum order value is a figure an installation company will charge as the absolute lowest limit they would accept for work to be done. The subject matter of minimum order values came up via a tweet from a company called T And R Home Improvement Specialists. This is what they said: It [...]
That sounds an odd question. In the world of business, you never stop selling. It’s literally what you exist to do. But as we all know, we are operating in extraordinary circumstances. And in the various conversations, I have every week with you find industry folk, the idea that we need to put a [...]
Where is the next step in the evolution of entrance doors? The composite door has been the biggest innovation in the entrance door market over the past two decades. It has transformed the door market from something pretty pedestrian into something that is now seen as a sexy purchase by homeowners. But the composite [...]
The price pressures on the supply chain only continue to grow as Pilkington has announced that they are going to reintroduce their Energy Surcharge, which was dropped in 2014. Glass has been one of the fenestration sector materials most affected by the current supply chain problems and has seen some of the most dramatic [...]
The "pingdemic" and supply chain problems have seen UK growth dribble to just 0.1% in July. This was after June saw GDP growth of 1%. Though COVID restrictions were lifted in July, rules on self-isolation did not change until August. It meant that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people had to spend [...]
We knew the road back from COVID and Lockdown would be bumpy but the challenges we and the window and door industry have contended with in the past year, have far exceeded our expectations. It’s been incredibly tough, everyone’s expended a massive amount of energy, and people are tired, if not exhausted. Trying to [...]
The price of pretty much everything continues to go up, putting pressure on the argument that inflation is only going to be a temporary story. Last week the price of aluminium on the commodity exchanges spiked 14% to reach multi-year highs. We operate in a global supply chain and this spike is only going [...]
Saint-Gobain has sold two of their European glass processing companies. One in France, to a former manager of Saint-Gobain, and one in Germany. This is the official statement from the company: SAINT-GOBAIN DIVESTS CERTAIN GLASS PROCESSING BUSINESSES IN FRANCE AND IN GERMANY Saint-Gobain announces the sale of the French company Aurys, which specializes in [...]
The one question everyone is asking is when the supply chain will return to normal. For over a year our sector has had to cope with steep and constant price increases, product delays, shortages and ever-extending lead times. But there is a way, even two, for the supply chain to return to normal. Reduction [...]
This is a letter to the Editor from Certass: Dear Jason The recent industry news that GGF Group has collated data from its knowledge hub into a ‘Glazing Market Knowledge Report and is charging for copies may well rightly raise some alarm bells with local SME Installers. When your data becomes a product, that [...]
See the featured image above? That is what the supply chain feels like to me right now. The UK fenestration sector is in a mess. Not through lack of demand. The exact opposite. With stress levels going beyond acceptable, lead times being measures in months and not weeks, prices going up constantly, how did [...]
Our sector, like others, always looks for new products and niches where we think there could be major potential for growth. Whilst it's always exciting to be on the lookout for something new, it's easy to forget what is already available and what existing products still have huge potential. For me, this is where [...]
Fenex, the fenestration sector’s first virtual and hybrid expo, is happy to announce that Hannah Howdle has returned to fenestration and joined the growing Fenex team as Client Relationship Manager. Hannah was part of the trade counter team that built up Truemans in Sheffield. One of the great success stories of the last ten [...]
The Construction Products Association (CPA) has released the results of its industry-wide consultation on the new Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI). The 65 page report – downloadable at www.buildingsafely.co.uk – details feedback from 35 trade associations representing the views of many thousands of member firms across the supply chain, and 180 individual provider [...]
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