Weekly Email News for the Glass, Glazing and Fenestration Industries
17th February 2004
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Let's Get Interactive
Our Glassex build-up continues: this week we have final details of the (excellent) Seminar Programme which will take place in Hall 6 of the exhibition. This has been heavily influenced by current issues which face the GGF sub-committees, but also contains a number of unmissable presentations from some significant industry players. This week we also introduce our unique Interactive Floorplans, which help you to locate the position of company stands while also offering a one-click link to a description of their Glassex presentations.

Click here or on the Logo to see the latest prime jobs from Ten Human Resources: 9 new positions this week!

Veka plc, the manufacturer of PVCu profile systems and building products, has produced a new brochure detailing the extent of its commitment to the protection of the environment.
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Eurocell Profiles Ltd, based in Alfreton Derbyshire has launched its new Specifier Guide, to add to the current range of literature.
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Ultraframe has redesigned, updated and reissued its Essential Guide to conservatories, which will now be produced twice a year.
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Pilkington has recently updated its 'This Is Pilkington' brochure which contains revised information about the Pilkington Group and its two business divisions.
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The Reglit Glass Architecture Newsletter is the first in a series of communications aiming to inform the company's customers of some of the many projects that it has been involved with
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Selectaglaze, the secondary glazing specialist, has produced a new and definitive Product Guide incorporating details of the most recent developments
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Glass and Glazing Federation Regional Chairmen gathered together recently at the GGF’s Head Office in London to discuss the Government’s Revitalising Programme and the GGF and British Glass’s Health and Safety initiative GLASS Charter.
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Plus Plan, a division of Aluplast UK Ltd., says that the company is benefiting from increased operational efficiency and enhanced health and safety practices following the purchase of 3 LPG-powered Combilift multi-directional forklift trucks.
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Alcoa announced on 20th November that Rick Williams, Alcoa's worldwide director of safety, has joined the newly convened NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel to assist NASA in its ongoing review and improvement of safety systems, operations and culture.
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On 19th January the Government published for consultation its draft National Allocation Plan setting out how greenhouse gas emission allowances will be allocated to the operators of UK installations for the first phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which runs from 2005 to 2007.
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Each year, the UK glass industry uses about £130m of energy. Action Energy has a wide range of free tailored services to help the glass industry benefit financially by improving energy efficiency.
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The BSI Group has announced that the Drafts for Public Comment (DPCs) of the environmental management standards BS EN ISO 14001 and BS ISO 14004 are now available..
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Elsewhere we see signs of a return to growth in the worldwide glass market, as the Asahi Group (which also owns Glaverbel and AFG) reverses its losses of 2002 to report a handsome profit in 2003. The diverse US group Masco, meanwhile, reports record sales and earnings from 2003 and a promising forecast for 2004, although it warns of some European disposals to come this year. Closer to home, we hear the sad news that Dale Joinery has entered into receivership with a reported £18.5m debts. More on these stories below.

Finally, we had the honour of being invited along to witness the extravaganza at Gleneagles which was the K2 Customer Conference. A good mix of business, relaxation and fun, I'm sure most customers came away with very positive feelings about their conservatory roof supplier.

Tony Higgin, Publisher
tony@theglazine.com

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Dale Joinery Collapses with £18m debts
Rochdale based Dale Joinery has gone into receivership with reported debts of £18.5m, threatening nearly 200  jobs. Managers broke the news to staff on Monday afternoon, hours after drivers were ordered not to deliver goods until cash on previous orders was collected.
[More on this Story]

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Asahi Group Back in Profit for 2003
Asahi Glass has reported its consolidated results for fiscal year ending December 31st 2003. On net sales of Y1,243bn (2002: Y1,295bn) the company has reported net income of Y53.6m (against a loss of Y3.9m in the previous year). While its glass businesses accounted for over half the total sales (Y664bn; in 2002: Y708bn), its share of the operating income fell from Y37.8bn in 2002 to Y35.5bn in 2003.
[More on this Story]

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Masco Reports Record Sales and Earnings for 2003, and Warns of European Disposals
Masco Corporation reported on February 13th that net sales from continuing operations for the year ended December 31st, 2003, aided by acquisitions, increased 20 percent to a record $10.9bn compared with $9.1bn for 2002.
[More on this Story]

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Shield Roof Customers Grow 33.6% in Fourth Quarter of 2003
Synseal says that it has seen dramatic growth in recent years, and it continues to expand. Some of this growth has come from new customers - in the final three months of 2003 Synseal set up and began trading with 76 new Shield and Global customers. These are in addition to the new Global conservatory roof customers who all came on stream when the roof was launched in 2003. Unlike Shield, Global is a roof for all systems.
[More on this Story]

M1 Trade Frames Moving on Up!
M1 Trade frames, a fabricator of Eurocell’s Ultimate 70mm window system, has announced that the company has invested in larger premises as well as new machinery to cope with the increase in demand.
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K2 Hosts Customers at Work and Play in Gleneagles and Launches Installer Scheme
K2, the UK conservatory roofing system manufacturer, played host to more than 200 customers last week as the company held its ‘Work & Play’ conference in the Five Star surroundings of Gleneagles.
[More on this Story]

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Status Fabricators Move up a Gear in Benefitting from On-Line Technology
On-line ordering through Synergebuild increased to over 70 per cent of orders received as Status Systems completed its first month of trading in 2004. This is an increase of over 20 per cent since last autumn, putting Status well on track to reach its target of over 95 per cent of total orders to be received through Synergebuild by the end of 2004.
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BRE Roof Study Examines Falls
Roofing industry experts have concluded that most falls are the result of fragile roofs, fragile rooflights and unguarded edges. The main findings of the project are being published in a BRE Information Paper - Designing Roofs with Safety in Mind - which will be available in April 2004.
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BWF Timber Window Report
The relatively buoyant state of the UK construction industry is reflected in bullish figures revealed by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) Timber Window Accreditation Scheme’s first independent report on the state of the UK’s timber window sector.
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Huge Increase in Bankruptcies
The number of people going bankrupt has soared by nearly a third during the past year. During the final three months of 2003, 10,271 people in England and Wales became insolvent, 12% more than during the previous quarter and a 28.9% jump on the same period of 2002.
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UK Company Profitability Enters Fifth Year of Decline
The collapse in profitability of UK companies continued into the second quarter of 2003, according to Experian® in its latest Corporate Health Check. The average return on capital among leading British companies across the industrial economy fell from 5.76 per cent in the 12 months to March 2003 to 5.23 per cent in the twelve months to June 2003.
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OFT Revokes Home Improvement Credit Licences
Mr Jeremy Mitchell, trading as Visions by Design, based in Hunwick near Darlington, has had his consumer credit licence revoked by the OFT. The partnership licence of Mr Mitchell and Mr Terence Stannard, trading as Renaissance Home Improvements, based in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, has also been revoked.
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Everwhite Joins the British Plastic Federation
Everwhite Plastics Ltd, a supplier of PVC-UE roofline products, has joined the British Plastic Federation (BPF). Ken Davies, Managing Director of Everwhite says, ‘The knowledge and experience offered by the BPF combined with Everwhite’s expertise and extensive investment programme, promises to make for a winning combination. We invested £2.4 million in 2003 alone, into one of the widest ranges of roofline products in the industry.
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Saint-Gobain Expands its Presence in Romania in Glass Manufacturing for the Construction Industry
In view of the strong growth in the South-East European markets, Saint-Gobain’s Flat Glass Division (Saint-Gobain Vitrage) has decided to strengthen its presence in the region by building a new float line. The new plant will be built at the Calarasi site in Romania and will manufacture high quality flat glass using Saint-Gobain's latest technological developments.
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Saint-Gobain Vitrage Acquires a New Float Line in China
The Flat Glass Division of Saint-Gobain (Saint-Gobain Vitrage) and its Korean partner Hanglas started proceedings on October 8th, 2003 to purchase a float line located in Qingdao (Shandong province) in North Eastern China.This operation was carried out through a joint venture company.
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Proos Roofing Deal Raises Procell’s Profile in Scotland
The successful partnership that has flourished over recent months between SIG Roofing Supplies Group and Premier Profiles has already been given a New Year boost with an agreement for Premier to supply Proos Roofing in Paisley, one of the largest roofing materials distributors in the West of Scotland.
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BPF’s Business Support Network Welcomes Atradius on Board
Atradius, one of the world’s leading credit insurance and credit management companies, has joined the British Plastics Federation’s (BPF) Business Support Network.
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Trelleborg Shows Favourable Trend in 2003 Financial Report
The Trelleborg Group shows a continued favourable trend in earnings and sales despite the challenging market situation in the Group's principal markets during the year. Profit after net financial items increased by 61 percent to SEK 1,091 M (677).
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CertainTeed Celebrates a Century of Building America
This year, CertainTeed Corporation, a North American manufacturer of building materials, joins the ranks of the few companies to have reached 100 years of service.
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Alcoa Named One of the Best Managed Companies by Forbes
Alcoa announced on 16th January that Forbes Magazine has named it one of the 'Best Managed Companies'.
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