In major industry news, the UK's largest residential installers of windows and doors, Safestyle UK, have chosen Liniar as their new supplier. Here is the statement they have just issued: Change of PVCu profile supplier Safestyle UK plc (AIM: SFE), the leading UK-focused retailer and manufacturer of PVCu replacement windows and doors for the [...]
Letter to the Editor from Giovanni Laporta: As a designer and innovator, I am aware that inspiration comes from all sorts of places, and what I want to share with you is a prime example of this. I recently got my “new-look” bank credit card through the mail and thought, “Wow, they are so [...]
It has taken some time, and a lot longer than many would have liked, but it finally looks like manufacturing lead times are back to pre-pandemic levels. It has been one of the most serious problems our industry has had to tackle in recent decades. However, as one problem passes, another one comes along [...]
As you may have seen on social media this past week or so, you'll know that the industry has a brand new composite door supplier; Portico Doors. Formed by the popular industry duo Tony and Charlotte Craggs, Portico Doors looks set to join an already bustling part of the sector that continues to grow [...]
There is no doubt that we're headed into much tougher times. I cannot remember an economic outlook being so unstable. When it comes to the economy, instability and uncertainty aren't exactly remedies for what ails it. However, where there are problems there are also opportunities, and within fenestration one of the major opportunities right [...]
Back in March of this year, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that energy-saving measures such as insulation and heat pumps would have their VAT lowered to 0%. They were already at the lower rate of 5%, but would now enjoy zero VAT rates in a bid to encourage homeowners to upgrade their homes. Windows were [...]
Whether you want to hear it or not, the next 12-18 months are going to be a very rough ride. The boom is firmly behind us, and the only question now is how long and how deep the coming recession will be. It’s time to party like it’s 2008. A situation like no other [...]
In the continuation of earnings season in the fenestration sector, Safestyle UK is the latest to present its H1 2022 results. On the face of it, things looks fairly positive, but a bit of digging into the results shows that headwinds are beginning to be felt, as they are across the entire sector. This [...]
Last week I published the first in a two-part special interview with Smart Ready® Director Giovanni Laporta. It gave us an insight into the man himself, his background, how he found his way into the fenestration sector and his own personal motivations. In part 2, we take a wider view of the industry in [...]
A few weeks ago I posed a series of questions to Smart Ready® founder Giovanni Laporta to get his take on himself, the industry, the past and the future. This is the first part of a two-part interview which I think gives an insight into his thought process, his opinions on the industry, as [...]
We’re about to go through a hell of a hangover from the last two years. With unbridled success in 2020 and 2021, juiced thanks to Government-funded stimuli such as furlough and grants for businesses, we will not be able to escape the after-effects. The war in Ukraine has certainly not helped global economics, putting [...]
In the latest move within the PVC recycling space to indicate that there is a serious race on now for dominance in the UK in this market, Epwin Group has announced that they have acquired Poly-Pure Ltd in a £15m deal. Here is the statement that they have provided to the markets this morning: [...]
Just as other parts of the fenestration supply chain begin to bed in some stability, we are still seeing volatile conditions in the glass part of our market, with multiple warnings that the cost of glass is going to rise further in the coming months. Inflation looks like it’s here to stay for a [...]
OPEN LETTER: On Friday [26/8/22] we learnt that we were all going to be a little less well off. Ofgem confirmed that the raising of the energy price cap will push average household energy bills to £3,549. To put that into context that’s around an 80% increase on what we were paying in April [...]
In more grim news for the UK economy, data out of the ONS today showed that inflation in July reached 10.1%, once again exceeding forecasts. A couple of weeks ago the Bank of England published some dire forecasts for the UK economy, but even those may now look underdone on the back of the [...]
Gone now are the days when we all fell over work and it didn’t matter how we came about it. 2020 and 2021 were unique years that we’re unlikely to see again for a very long time. Demand was so high that nothing else really mattered. Installers were tripping over sales, they were firing [...]
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