There are many, many successful people in our industry. There are those that have been in the window game for many years and a very good living out of it. So do those that have made it all the way to the top and influenced the industry over the past few decades have a responsibility to reinvest their experience and possibly cash back into the industry?

I’m sorting of asking a question of you all here, but I have my own thoughts on the matter. If those that have done very well out of the industry, I do believe that they should pump something back into it. That doesn’t necessarily have to be money, but it could be something like initiatives to help unemployed youth, invest in better research and development departments or help lobby our industry bodies and even the Government to push issues to the advantage of the fenestration sector.

At the minute, I just cannot see what the top dogs in our industry are doing to help improve conditions within the industry. Before any of you start, yes I know that the major bosses are employers of hundreds and thousands of people, giving staff a vital income – which is fine, keeping these people in jobs is important. But what I am arguing is that now some of our biggest figures have built their empires, they should be giving something back to help boost our industry, which in turn would actually boost their own businesses indirectly.

Maybe the idea of charity and selflessness by the very highest in the sector is silly. When I come to think about it, there remains far too much greed and self interest. It is the reason why half the major companies in the industry are owned by a handful of people and why the industry overall is heavily fractured and seems constantly incapable of working together.

I guess what I would like to see in the future are the bosses of all the major companies either working together or on their own, to contribute towards the health and prosperity of the industry and not just their own pockets. I do believe that those who make it big have a responsibility to look after the health of the industry that they have done so well out of.