It’s that time again! Time to review some of the posts that I covered this week on DGB and a few other industry nuggets that I didn’t get chance to report on properly. So first things first, lets start with Monday’s subject…

Is This The Best Windows And Doors Have Ever Looked?

I started off the week by asking a simple question: are the current crop of windows and doors being sold right now the best looking there has ever been? Given the quality and sheer funky-ness of what is being installed right now, it was my opinion that surely these have to be some of the best looking fenestration products the industry has ever put it’s name to.

People really are bored of white. When PVC was first launched, white was very much the main choice. A bit like when Ford launched their Model T car. They said you could have any colour you wanted, so long as it was black. OK perhaps it wasn’t as extreme as that, but when to came to colour choice, it wasn’t exactly a buffet. Now, thanks to major advancements in foiling and spraying technology, it really has changed what we’re installing.

Not everyone agreed with my point of view however. Fellow industry commentator Kevin Ahern had this to say about the subject:

Is This The Best Windows And Doors Have Ever Looked?

NO

Far to much ‘bling’ , superfluous product and really tasteless style choices that sales people use just to be different.
Not even to mention warranty issues of a lot of the stuff that gets thrown out there.

I like Kevin. I’ve never met him in person, but he rarely agrees with what I write on here, which is in no way a bad thing! It gets the debate going. Nevertheless, I disagreed with his points on Monday’s post. Suppliers really are squeezing every bit possible out of their products right now and the results are looking fantastic.

Over time I think they will continue to look better and better. PVC will continue to look more and more like their timber counterparts, and fusion systems like ali/timber or PVC/ali will further push the boundaries of what is available.

The Industry Is Facing A Devastating Youth Crisis

A subject that continues to grow ever more important to me, on Tuesday I tackled the impending youth crisis that I believe could cripple our industry in just a few years time. We are already suffering from a skill shortage, add this problem to the mix and current issues will seem small compared to what could occur.

I go to my fair share of industry events throughout the year. Some big, some small. All however have one worrying characteristic: no young people. I see mostly people over 40 years of age. Nothing wrong with that of course, but I never see people younger than them ready to take their place. I never see young fitters being trained up. I don’t see any young surveyors. I don’t see many young people at all. Whenever I walk into a room at these gatherings I feel even younger than I look. There is simply no youth coming through in our industry and that really is going to be devastating.

Greg Johnson, MD of Warwick Slider who I mentioned in that post went on to comment:

DGB, many thanks for the inclusion in this post. It is a great topic and one that I hold close to my heart. As I mentioned to you, we have great camaraderie within the industry, you only have to look on twitter to see fellow tradesman, fabricators, even competitors helping each other out. Whilst a challenging industry it is a great one to be apart of, I would love to see a younger generation introduced so they could be a part also.

Greg I think is an exception to the rule in our industry. I am the same age as Greg, yet I don’t see any others our age when we attend any sort of industry shin dig. Anecdotal evidence from others also reassures my fear that there is a distinct lack of young blood coming in to replace those leaving the industry.

If things fail to change quickly, I predict dire problems in about 5-10 years.

Kolorseal, More Than Just Colour Specialists

Wednesday saw me write an article for DGB residents Kolorseal. Every tends to know them as colour specialists. But a few out there perhaps don’t know they are also a very well stocked parts and ancillaries supplier too.

Their range of Eurocell products forms part of a wider trade counter which is on hand to supply tradesmen and businesses with those all important extras as and when they need them. And because it’s Kolorseal, all of the items in the Eurocell range and trade counter can be sprayed to your requirements. A handy service given some of the weird and wonderful colours our industry seems to be churning out these days.

The demand for coloured products is only going to increase in time, which means for businesses like Kolorseal, their profits should be on the up over the next few years. But the demand for coloured ancillaries is also going to rise. That’s where a service like the one provided by Kolorseal is going to prove useful to many an installation business.

Value Doors UK Opens Up To The Roller Shutter Door Market

Thursday saw another sponsored post go live on DGB. This time it was the reporting that DGB residents Value Doors UK had been hand selected as one of only two UK businesses to start supplying and installing Garolla roller shutter garage doors. Quite an achievement for the business I think you’ll agree.

The fact that Value Doors UK is one of only two businesses in the country to be chosen to sell these products is significant. It’s significant because the roller garage doors were only previously available from Garolla themselves. So for the business to go put their faith in Value Doors UK to go out there and sell it on their behalf is indeed a show of high praise.

Sales director of Value Doors UK, David Wilkinson said “We’re proud and privileged to be one of only two external suppliers of Garolla products. This is another successful step in our expansion as a business and we feel this partnership will be hugely beneficial for all parties involved.”

This would have been a very proud moment for the team at VDUK. Garolla products were only available direct from themselves. Now a very limited deal has been struck which should bring benefits to both VDUK and Garolla. It’s always nice to see businesses branching out and trying new things. This success follows on from their #SBS success a couple of weeks back.

Synseal Teases Mysterious New Product

Friday saw the reporting of a very sleek looking new product due to be revealed on November 1st by systems company Synseal. A very limited post on Twitter directed you to a website and a product called Warmcore. The site design and photography was definitely to be admired.

What makes me think this will be a hybrid of PVC and aluminium? Well, other than that quick flash of detail on their Facebook page, I think that when it comes to innovation, we might have squeezed out all that we can out of single material systems for the time being. Perhaps its now time to explore properly what can be achieved by combining more than one material.

At Fensterbau this year we saw a timber/PVC/aluminium product. A bit advanced for the times maybe? Or just some very forward thinking? Both I’d say, but one thing is for sure, the industry is about to see a lot more hybrid systems come to the market over the next few years. We’ve had composite windows for a little while now, but it’s fair to say they haven’t taken off in the way some thought they might. However, given this new Warmcore teaser and the effort Synseal have put into their initial releases, it looks like this might be a product we all have to sit up and take note of.

Website screenshots:

Other than speculating at what it might be, it looks as though we’ll just have to sit tight and wait until November to find out exactly what Synseal have up their sleeves. I for one was impressed by the very limited visual offerings. First impressions are always made visually, I just hope that what we have seen lives up to the expectations some of us might be building up.

Elsewhere in the industry…

  • PIGS (People in Glazing) had their latest evening of festivities in London on Thursday evening. No doubt a few sore heads and dry tongues on Friday morning!
  • The BFRC released a statement regarding changes to measurements of thermal conductivity, riveting I know! If you want to read more, click here.