Sponsored article from Eurocell:
As we move into 2023, market conditions continue to prove challenging – but the opportunities for new business and sustained growth are clearly there for fabricators who are ready and able to provide the right offer to customers.
New build programmes continue to spring up around the country, providing the opportunity to win significant and sustained work by building partnerships with larger contractors and their sub-contractors.
On a smaller scale, many homeowners are looking to add garden rooms to their properties to create extra space and allow them to better enjoy the British summer.
To harness these opportunities, however, it is vital fabricators select the best and most appropriate partners to enable them to deliver the best possible overall service to their customers.
Whether you are a small, family business servicing mainly local domestic customers, or a larger fabricator dealing with both residential and commercial contracts, the need to set yourself apart from the crowd is critical to winning and retaining business in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
That makes the choice of supplier partner an absolutely critical one. While high-quality products are of course a prerequisite, product quality on its own will not cut the mustard for fabricators seeking – as they should – to offer premium added value to their customers. Fabricators should always examine carefully what other services and support a supplier partner is prepared to offer, and how much that partner is prepared to invest in a long-term partnership.
Product availability is of course critical, so check whether your supplier can get items to you rapidly. Our world-class supply chain service will bring items to fabricators at agreed days and times using its own vehicles, ensuring uninterrupted operations. In fact, our customer order delivery performance, measured as On Time in Full (OTIF), is consistently exceeding 98%.
Meanwhile, any product made by a fabricator will only ever be as good as the equipment in which it is made. The leading suppliers will invest not just in top-quality equipment for their fabricators, but in the expertise to ensure they can get the best out of it. All Eurocell registered fabricators have access to a dedicated engineer who will ensure their changeover is completed rapidly and efficiently, through a comprehensive change-over programme incorporating a full tooling audit and machine programming. Moreover, the same machinery software used by a fabricator will be supplied to run Eurocell profiles, maintaining the efficiency of the production process by allowing precision planning and optimum material usage.
Furthermore, machinery is regularly upgraded to enable fabricators to maximise their productivity, diversify their offerings and provide an optimised service to customers. For example, several Eurocell fabricators have received new saw centres recently, allowing them to cut profiles to size and increase capacity and facilitate growth.
The engineering support does not begin and end there either: each fabricator receives ongoing access to an account engineer providing training and practical support throughout their partnership with Eurocell.
The assistance available extends into the provision of ongoing technical and specification support for fabricators, as well as any contractors and installers working on their behalf. This covers product testing for BSI / CEN solutions; complete product specification support including calculation of wind loads and U-values and the provision of sample specifications for bespoke project designs.
Eurocell’s dedicated new build team can even help train installers to maximise efficiency on-site. On-site toolbox talks are also provided to help ensure both builders and installers deliver the best possible installation.
The support available from Eurocell extends well beyond purely engineering and technical aspects, however. At Eurocell, we want fabricators to ‘grow with us’ – expanding their business and securing their long-term futures. And we recognise that can only be achieved through a holistic approach to supporting their businesses.
Each fabricator, therefore, has access to a dedicated account manager to work with them to develop their business, from support with daily requirements to overarching strategic planning. The account manager will even liaise with Eurocell customer service and senior management on behalf of their fabricator, enabling them to get on with what they do best. Our philosophy is ‘our team is your team’ and this is a testament to this approach.
Central to business growth is, of course, lead generation – and that is an area where Eurocell is uniquely placed to deliver for its fabricators.
As a market leader for PVC-U solutions, Eurocell has forged strong relationships with many premier housebuilders who have first-hand experience of Eurocell systems and are keen to specify them on their new developments – enabling Eurocell to provide leads in line with the growth aspirations of individual fabricators.
Eurocell also develops a continuous flow of specialist CPD modules for specifiers, which has itself become a constant source of new commercial opportunities. As a business, Eurocell also identifies installer prospects in your local area, then canvasses and converts them into leads on behalf of our fabricators, while also promoting conservatory roof systems (CRS) which are another area where we can provide leads. Here, quotes can be provided in less than one hour, with flexible delivery options to suit individual fabricator needs, with technical support whenever and wherever needed. Finally, as a business, we continue to invest to drive awareness of our brand and demand, resulting in a consistent flow of leads from homeowners seeking new and replacement windows, doors, conservatory roofs, and garden rooms.
The ‘Grow with us’ ethos extends to other aspects of our operations too. We recognise that for us and our fabricators to continue to thrive in the long term, the need to innovate is critical. As a business, Eurocell invests some £5 million each year in new products, but equally, we invest in researching and understanding new markets – where our agile culture means we can move quickly to create the best products and solutions to meet market needs. This itself provides opportunities for fabricators to expand the range of products they manufacture and enables them to regularly offer new, high-quality, and supremely efficient systems to their customers.
Finally, it’s important to reference the benefits fabricators can gain from our sustainability focus, which includes Eurocell Recycle, which not only takes the hassle out of removing your waste but also means you receive payment for the waste. Eurocell Recycle enables us to recycle old products at the end of their life into new PVC-U profiles and we process approximately 44,000 tonnes of PVC-U waste annually, equivalent to around 3.4m window frames.
At Eurocell, our UK-wide network of fabricators is integral to our success and every action we take is geared toward driving their expansion and competitiveness through a mutually rewarding, long-term collaboration.
To learn more about the range of products and support available for fabricators from Eurocell, visit https://www.eurocell.co.uk/growwithus
Andy McDonnell, Managing Director, Eurocell plc
To get weekly updates from DGB sent to your inbox, enter your email address in the space below to subscribe:
By subscribing you agree to DGB sending you weekly email updates with all published content on this website, as well as any major updates to the services being run on DGB. Your data is never passed on to third parties or used by external advertising companies. Your data is protected and stored on secure servers.
