As the industry approaches this downturn and recession, you’re going to hear a lot about 2019 and “pre-pandemic” figures. We knew 2020 and 2021 were simply bizarre years in the business world. Demand was sent artificially high as a result of lockdowns and Government stimulus. The Black Swan event forced people to rethink how [...]
Although not as constant as last year, the raw material prices continue to edge up. The latest being glass prices. PVC resin prices appear to have become more stable of late and the cost of aluminium has fallen from record highs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Raw material prices plateauing is one thing, the [...]
That’s a bold statement I know. PVCu still makes up around the majority of the residential market. For example, there is around double the number of PVCu fabricators compared to aluminium fabricators. I believe that the status quo is beginning to change. The pace of change within the sector is happening at a rapid [...]
Six leading fabricators of products in the home improvement sector have called for a halt to the ongoing practice of pushing price rises at the top down the supply chain. Central Window Systems, Conservatory Outlet, Listers, Roseview, Prefix Systems and SolarFrame have joined forces to urge firms in the sector to work together to [...]
Open letter from Rob McGlennon, Deceuninck UK Managing Director: ‘22% of homeowners intend to make home improvements in the next 12 months’*. That’s up from 16% in the final quarter of 2021. Why do more people intend to make home improvements now? Well, it’s because they’re concerned about rising energy costs, and want to [...]
In the grand scheme of British summers, this one hasn’t been too bad. Since June we have had prolonged dry spells, a decent amount of sunshine and very little rain. In fact, many rivers and lakes are at levels well below average. The grass is more like hay and the ground is solid. Now, [...]
This week, much of England and Wales is set to be hit with record heat. As of writing, London is forecast to hit 40 degrees, something which forecasters only a few days ago said was only a remote possibility. Where I am in Wakefield, we are due to hit 36 degrees on Monday and [...]
When it comes to smart tech of any kind, it is the tech that provides a tangible benefit to daily life. Smartphones are an obvious example. Smart lighting and heating that learns your living patterns so as not to overdo it on the utility bills. When it makes a genuine difference to how people [...]
Think about this for a moment. Fenestration, which by definition is the arrangement of windows and doors in a building, is literally everywhere. Every home. Every office space. Every pub. Every cinema. Every skyscraper. Every Government building. We are surrounded by our industry at every turn. What a remarkable thing that is. What is [...]
ASSA ABLOY has announced that they have acquired Caldwell, manufacturers of fenestration hardware. This continues the growth of ASSA ABLOY as a business. This is the statement they provided on their website: ASSA ABLOY has acquired Caldwell, a manufacturer of fenestration hardware for window manufacturers. "I am very pleased to welcome Caldwell into the [...]
The last two years have seen many of us become order takers, rather than salespeople. Demand was so strong and overwhelming in many areas that all we had to do was turn up to work and collect the sales as they came in. We are very much not in the same place in the [...]
The worst of the pandemic is behind us. Demand has slowed significantly compared to the past two years. Lead times from fabricators for most products is back down to a handful of weeks. You could say we’re pretty much back to normal. On that basis, poor customer service, and the excuses they come with, [...]
Last week, Alex Dutton from Brisant Secure came to see us at our place to begin our journey with Ultion Nuki. This is Brisant’s newest iteration of smart lock and one that has been designed to be even more installation-friendly, and provide more compatibility with a range of existing smart home systems. I will [...]
I was shown an advert from a Facebook forum by a friend of mine the other night. It was advertising a fitter's position at a company. The wage was £50,000 per year, with van and labourer supplied. That’s a hell of a generous deal and perhaps signals an effort to obtain a new fitter [...]
Happy trickle vent day! As of today, June 15th 2022, the newly revised Building Regulations for England have come into force. The debate around trickle vents today has been as strong as ever, with questions still being asked about compliance, who is liable and help being sought from various industry bodies. In response to [...]
Whether we want to talk about it or not, the UK economy is on the brink of something bad. Inflation is out of control, the cost of living is soaring and the chances of the UK falling into recession are already highly likely. This isn’t a UK problem. The US, EU and other Asian [...]
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