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Bystronic Enters PVC Market with Acquisition of Intra in Canada

The Bystronic glass Group recently took over the Canadian technology company, Intra Product Development. Now called the Bystronic Solution Centre the company develops technologies for the cost-effective manufacturing of PVC windows.

Bystronic glass will therefore be in the position to offer its customers a complete solution concept from glass cutting through to finished windows. As a result, Bystronic will strive to maintain superior standards and aims to provide total solutions in the manufacturing of architectural and automotive glass.

Claus Rieger was appointed General Manager of the Bystronic Solution Centre, in addition to his positions as General Manager of Bystronic Inc. and Manager of the USA/NAFTA Market Region. Other members of the Management Team are the previous Intra owners Stephen Field and Michael Glover.

Left to right: Michael Glover, Claus Rieger, Stephen Field

The Bystronic Solution Centre is now working together with partners in the glass and window industry to create innovative production methods for PVC windows.

The newly-developed Fusion Assembly™ and Friction Corner Welding™ manufacturing techniques will be launched on the American market next year.

Claus Rieger comments: ‘We are firmly convinced that the production process we have developed will have a permanent effect on the production of windows for the residential market. This new technique will make it possible for our customers to reach a significantly higher level of productivity with less material, fewer machines and a higher degree of automation. On the bottom line, this means more than significant cost reductions. At the same time, our customers will be able to achieve their individual design requirements with new materials’.

Once Fusion Assembly™ and Friction Corner Welding™ have been launched in the USA, these techniques will be expanded into other market sectors including Europe.

Conzzeta, whose shares are quoted on the SWX Swiss Exchange, is an industrial holding company with activities in the areas of Machinery and Systems Engineering as well as Consumer and Industrial Products (foam materials, sporting goods, paints and varnishes) and property management. The Conzzeta Group companies, with around 3000 employees, generated revenues of CHF 1014 million in 2004. The Glass Processing Systems business unit, which operates under the name Bystronic glass, generated revenues of CHF 154 million in 2004.

Bystronic is a global supplier of total solutions for the economical, application-engineered manufacture of architectural and automotive glass. With its system solutions, technologies and services, the company says that the brand stands for ‘lasting customer benefit, reliability and the best products on the market’.

Web: http://www.bystronic-glass.com

Pilkington Activ™ Cleans Up: Huge TV and Press Campaign

Pilkington Activ™, the world’s first self-cleaning glass, will be splashed across the television screens, breakfast and coffee tables of more than 30 million people in an advertising campaign designed to drive homeowners through the doors of double glazing companies throughout the UK.

Breaking from the middle of February and running through to the end of April — targeting home owners as they begin the process of choosing their new replacement windows and conservatories as the weather improves — the TV, newspaper and magazine advertising campaign will be supplemented by a special website and public relations activities that guarantee reaching Britain’s top home improvement spenders.

The campaign — which enjoys the catch phrase ‘Keep Up World’ - shows that Pilkington Activ self-cleaning glass is a remarkable, labour-saving idea that works and in fact, if everything worked as well as Pilkington Activ the world would be a much better place.
The messages and media selection clearly target more affluent UK homeowners with disposable income to spend, and who are house-proud and see home improvement as good use for this disposable income. The customers profiled also hate to spend their precious time on household chores, and resent the hassle of trying to find a new window cleaner. Research has shown that 60 per cent of this target audience would consider specifying Pilkington Activ in their homes.

Pilkington is embarking on the strategy as the company adds more variants to the Pilkington Activ product family, and distribution is in place to cope with the current and anticipated take-up of the product. The £2 million campaign - the company’s biggest advertising and promotional campaign and the most powerful to be launched for flat glass for more than a decade - includes a £1m TV spend that will reach 27 million adults, plus advertising in national press and home interest titles that will channel interested consumers to a dedicated website to find a local supplier. The website is a key element of the campaign, as Internet usage grows to more than 28 million adults — 60% of the population — with 14 million online every day. Research also indicates that home improvers make great use of the Internet when choosing suppliers, especially conservatories.

'We are embarking on this campaign now to capitalise on the recognition that already exists for our self cleaning glass, the family of Pilkington Activ products, and the wide distribution we now have for the product,' explained Matt Buckley, Marketing Director of Pilkington Building Products UK.

'In particular we are very ambitious for Pilkington Activ Blue which, with its self cleaning and cooling properties, is especially attractive for use in conservatory roofs,' he added. 'But more than anything, as Britain’s biggest glassmaker we believe that we can create interest in this exciting product — and therefore create margin opportunity for the market generally — by promoting a product that we know captures the interest of homeowners, and adds tangible value.

'I hope that window and conservatory manufacturers and installers will take advantage of this opportunity, and prepare for the sales boost that it will provide. I urge companies to familiarise themselves with Pilkington Activ, and equip themselves with the literature that is widely available, to prepare for what we believe will be some excellent sales opportunities.'

A wide range of literature, advertising templates and point of sale material is available to enable companies to take full advantage of the Pilkington ActivTM advertising campaign. 'Ultimately our campaign will be fully successful if companies make the most of the advantage that we believe this will provide them,' said Matt.

The dedicated web site can be found at:
www.keepupworld.com

SGG Bioclean as Seen on TV!

As the number of Home Improvement programmes on TV grows, the trend for ‘self-build’ housing continues to climb. Programmes such as Channel 4`s Grand Designs inspires a number of maverick, visionary, determined (and sometimes foolhardy) individuals to take on the challenge of building their ‘dream home’.

Recently featured on Grand Designs is a prime example of such a project. Set on the Devon coast, the owners of this seaside house wanted to make the most of the stunning sea views - and decided to make the south-facing elevation completely of glass. The two key criteria for this wall of glass were: to avoid heat loss, and to not have to spend endless hours cleaning dirty windows.

Saint-Gobain Glass UK recommended the use of SGG Planitherm Futur N, their advance performance low-e glass to retain as much heat as possible, and SGG Bioclean self-cleaning glass. Bioclean was suitable for this situation, because it uses UV light to break down dirt on the glass, then rinses clean when it rains or is sprayed with water.

Susan Fitzpatrick, Product Manager for Saint Gobain Glass UK says, ‘This was a great team success. The float glass was from our Eggborough plant, the huge double glazed units were manufactured by Solaglas Leeds, specialists in oversized units and the external and internal glass balustrades were supplied by Solaglas Bristol.

Look out for a feature on the house in the January edition of the Grand Designs magazine, or contact Saint-Gobain Glass UK for further details on SGG Planitherm Futur N or SGG Bioclean.

http://www.saint-gobain-glass.com/uk/b01.asp?product_id=1229

Euroglaze Secures £250,000 for Future Investment

Rehau fabricator Euroglaze has announced expansion plans for 2006 with a 3000m2 extension to its Barnsley factory, fully equipped with new machinery.

Long renowned as a trade fabricator, Euroglaze is now also looking to strengthen its position in the commercial marketplace by increasing its capacity in Rehau's S706 70mm system to 3000 frames per week.

The company says that it is confident that it can maximise the opportunity which exists in both the replacement and new build commercial sectors and has secured an IFG2 (Investment for Growth) grant of £250,000 to enable it to do just that.

Martin Nettleton (pictured), Euroglaze's Managing Director, says: ‘The IFG2 grant represents almost 30% of the first phase of our planned investment of £800,000 in a project valued overall at more than £3m.

'It is the maximum which can be awarded under the terms of the scheme. It was awarded after intense scrutiny of our existing business and our future plans and as such is a huge endorsement of our strength and potential.’

The IFG2 grant is available to businesses in designated development areas investing in job creation enterprises.

Euroglaze expects to begin construction of its factory extension early in 2006 and will use the grant to purchase new machinery including machining centres, multi-head welders and cleaners and production flow management systems.

Unique Signs up with Deceuninck

Deceuninck has signed up Lincoln-based Unique Plastics as a stockist of its Deeplas range of cellular products and roofline.

During the switchover period, Deceuninck provided a high level of support and advice on its comprehensive range and back-up package. This included access to the company's online order management system, SynergeBuild.

On making the change to Deceuninck, Director of Unique Plastics, Nigel Fosdyke said: ‘We have always been very impressed by the performance of the Deeplas range and the early trial jobs provided some excellent results.

As a result, we decided to sign up with the company. We have been delighted with both the technical excellence of Deceuninck and its backup support, in particular SynergeBuild. It is a superb ordering system with access to accurate stock levels and account management functions.’

In a bid to provide the ultimate convenient 'one-stop-shop' for its customers, Unique Plastics offers a fully stocked trade counter with a full range of Deeplas products and associated ancillary items.

For more information on Unique Plastics telephone 01522 531277 or email uniqueplasticsltd@yahoo.co.uk.

Contract Glass Hits the Jackpot

If you have been into a fish & chip shop, public house, nightclub or amusement arcade over the last year, the chances are you may have come across Contract Glass's unique work at some point.

Ever since the installation of its waterjet cutting machine (one of the fastest growing machine tool processes in the world), Contract Glass has been making gaming machine fronts at a considerable rate, managing to turn out well over 150,000 in under one year.

With 15 years of specialised glass processing expertise under its belt, Contract Glass has always attracted a wealth of diverse clients with extremely specific needs and requirements. And since introducing the waterjet cutting machine to its shop floor, Contract Glass has been able to take on more intricate and complex work with a guaranteed promise for a faster, more cost effective turnaround.

Working with a specialist screen printing firm that prints the transfers that fit behind the end product, Contract Glass was chosen because of its precision-processing skills, which is a fundamental requirement in gaming machine front production. Each front has to be specially designed to house a multitude of electronic components, and for the machine to function properly these need to be fitted perfectly, which requires pinpoint accuracy when it comes to marking out; a job perfectly suited for the waterjet cutting machine.

Each bespoke design is given to Contract Glass, which is then uploaded and programmed into the cutting machine’s computer as a set of coordinates that controls a robotic motion system. Once this has been done and the glass pieces have been set up, the machine can then cut multiple parts in a single pass, due to its numerous cutting heads that continuously fire out supersonic waterjet streams at the pressure of 60,000 psi.

Commenting on this project, Contract Glass's managing director Tony Towler said: ‘This is such a great project for us. Not only does it add another string to our bow and showcase our capabilities, but it is also a good opportunity for us to put the waterjet cutting machine to the test. We are currently turning out approximately 12,500 fronts a month at the moment. Some of the designs we receive are extremely complex and although we are more than capable of producing them by hand tooling, the time in which it would take to complete the numbers required doesn't bare thinking about... this is where the waterjet cutting machine comes into its own. The speed at which it cuts is incredible, and with the elimination of secondary finishing means that we are a valuable link in the production chain.’

http://www.contractglass.co.uk/

Go West Young Man!

Calibre Windows Ltd of Plymstock has been appointed as the aluplast Approved Window Centre for the Plymouth area.

‘As the only window manufacturing and installation company in the south west to qualify for the government's Quality Mark scheme, Calibre Windows has proved its commitment to quality and value and is a welcome addition to the aluplast network of approved window centres’ says aluplast Regional Sales Manager Pete Cobb.

(Left to right) partners George Poad and Russell Fenton receiving their aluplast Approved Fabricator certificate from aluplast commercial director Alan Fielder

Calibre Windows has been providing quality windows and doors to the good people of Plymouth for many years and is now offering the Durham chamfered window and door system from aluplast. ‘Our appointment as an aluplast Approved Window Centre is testament to our reputation and our track record of treating customers as we ourselves would like to be treated’ says Calibre Windows director George Poad, ‘aluplast is among the top four systems extruders in Europe and enable us to provide the kind of customer care and attention to detail that can only come from a local specialist with the backing of an international giant. Who could ask for more?’

Contact: Alan Fielder
Tel: 07771 856928

Sash UK Completes Five Year Programme for Chester Residents

The Chester and District Housing Trust (C&DHT) has fulfilled its promise to residents that 'every Trust tenant who wants it, shall have double glazing within 5 years', with thanks to South Yorkshire based window fabricator, Sash UK Ltd.

The programme of window repair and replacement began in 2001 when Sash completed phases 2, 3 and 4 in record time, saving residents' weeks of upheaval and saving the C&DHT 5% of the forecasted budget.

Based on its performance, Sash UK was then invited to become a partner of the C&DHT with a remit to repair or replace windows on 850 properties each year for three and a half years. Despite this being a very tall order, the work was completed in August this year (2005), two months ahead of schedule.

‘Results from our surveys have shown that over 90% of residents that returned the questionnaires are satisfied with their new windows,' said Commercial Director Brian Oxley. ‘We are very pleased with these results and hope that Chester residents feel the benefits of their new windows this winter.

‘The general wellbeing of residents was our main priority throughout the refurbishment programme. We wanted to make sure that the work was carried out to the highest standards as quickly, cost effectively and with as little disruption as possible,’ Brian added.

All window installers, contracted by Sash, worked to a set of guidelines developed by Sash and the C&DHT with the resident's best interests in mind. And more importantly, Sash made sure that residents had a warm and safe environment to live in while work was being carried out to their home.

Tenants were contacted in advance, so they knew exactly which windows would be replaced and when, allowing them to vacate a room but at the same time ensuring that at least one room was left untouched. In cases where all windows were replaced on one day, residents were asked to move furniture to the back of their home, away from the area where work would take place. This considerably cut down the length of any disruption caused.

By working closely with residents through the C&DHT, Sash was able to find out any concerns that residents had and find a way to overcome them.

‘Thanks to the effort and teamwork of the people at Sash, the C&DHT, Chester residents and the installers, the refurbishment programme has been a great success and proof of what can be achieved if everyone works together,’ said Brian. ‘Based on our experiences over the past five years, Sash hopes to work with the C&DHT again in the future’ he added.

Tel: 01226 719997
Web: http://www.sashuk.com

Hawthorn Secures Three Year Partnering Deal with North Glasgow

Sheerframe approved fabricator and installer Hawthorn Windows has won a GBP500,000 window replacement contract with North Glasgow Housing Association, its first for this Registered Social Landlord (RSL).

Glasgow-based Hawthorn Windows, which offers an extensive range of high performance windows, doors and conservatories, has already started the first phase of the contract at Possilpark, Glasgow. The work is expected to take 194 days to refurbish 194 properties and will involve the replacement of over 2,000 timber windows as part of the Association’s home improvement programme.

Using L.B. Plastics’ Sheerframe 7000 system, Hawthorn Windows will manufacture and install fully reversible woodgrain PVC windows to provide comfortable homes which offer maximum energy efficiency for residents. The refurbishment programme is part of North Glasgow Housing Association’s work to ensure all its housing provision meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standards by 2015.

Established in 1976, North Glasgow Housing Association was originally founded to prevent further decline in the area and establish a healthier, positive future for its residents. The housing association currently manages homes for around 3,000 households throughout the area.

Director of North Glasgow Housing Association, Robert Tamburrini, said: 'The installation of these new windows will help provide many of our tenants with warm, dry, safe homes. Hawthorn Windows has a superb reputation and this work is already making a big difference to the look and feel of tenants’ homes.

'But the partnership is not just about improving homes. It will also make a significant contribution to the wider North Glasgow economy by guaranteeing a local employer a substantial amount of work over the coming months.'

The second phase of the window refurbishment programme commences at the beginning of Summer 2006 in the Springburn area of Glasgow.

For further information on the Sheerframe window system from L.B. Plastics, telephone 01773 852311 or visit http://www.sheerframe.co.uk.

Social Housing - Fabricators To Work Together?

Kömmerling fabricators are considering working together to make the most of the tremendous potential offered by the social housing window market.

While Kömmerling's reputation in the UK has been built on trade windows, the downturn in the domestic market - which now stands at almost 80 per cent saturation - means many fabricators are looking to social housing as a way of consolidating a long-term future in PVC-U.

But as this rapidly growing market represents a considerable change for some of Kömmerling's long-standing manufacturers, its social housing consultant, Julie Adkin, recently presented a special seminar attended by 11 customers. It detailed the fragmented market sectors, highlighting how to put a strategy together, targeting the right people, with the correct approach.

National Sales and Marketing Manager Dan Whalley says: ‘Kömmerling's outstanding environmental qualifications put our fabricators in an enviable position to tap into the tremendous potential offered by both the replacement and New Build sectors of the social housing market. But the correct approach to the appropriate social landlord specifiers is essential.’

While demonstrating the massive potential in both refurbishment and new build, the presentation showed the considerable differences in approach needed for success, depending on whether the target is a Local Authority, Registered Social Landlord (RSL), ALMO (Arms Length Management Organisations) or Private Finance Initiative Housing Revenue Account.

Delegates learned that the overall window requirements of social housing landlords range from replacement schemes under the Government's ‘Decent Homes Standard’ - which is driving a huge refurbishment programme across the country - to an increasing number of New Build developments.

Julie Adkin highlighted the different approaches needed for each individual type of social landlord, explaining that just over 2-million homes were currently in Local Authority ownership - including those maintained by ALMOs - with a further 2-million owned and maintained by RSLs. And around half of the RSL homes have been transferred from Local Authority housing stock, while the remainder are owned by housing associations which were set up largely in the 1970s.

Says Dan Whalley: ‘Since the Decent Homes initiative began in 1997 over £21-billion has been invested in social housing, leading to more than one million homes being refurbished with new windows, kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems. But while there are many opportunities for window fabricators, it means they must also be capable of handling contracts requiring large numbers of windows - and that may mean embracing changing business practices.’

One of those new business practices was put forward at the seminar by Julie Adkin. Because of the high volume of windows needed for many social housing contracts, she suggested fabricators could work together in partnership with each other to guarantee an on-going supply. ‘Some of these contracts have huge, mass purchasing programmes, and it's essential that companies are geared up to meet these long-term requirements.’

Vinod Gopal, Managing Director of Everglade Windows, who attended the seminar, says working with other fabricators on major social housing projects, is something he has already considered. ‘Sometimes it is impossible for one manufacturer to supply all the windows needed for these large scale contracts in the time-scale. But working together, fabricators will have the joint capacity. And the specifier would know that the Kömmerling windows will all meet the stringent quality requirements.’

* ‘Kömmerling can provide regular, detailed market information including the long-term plans of individual Local Authorities and RSLs, enabling fabricators to undertake specific targeting, ensuring the correct approach for the individual type of landlord, who is able to specify our customers' windows.’

Newstead Installers Skip for Joy

Newstead Trade Frames says that in a difficult market, installers have to streamline their businesses and cut down on any extra costs. While many larger companies can do this easily and still maintain the same service as before, smaller businesses don’t always have the same resources. Hiring skips, for example, is just one more expense for installers on the front line – so Stoke-on-Trent fabricator Newstead Trade Frames now offers all local installers use of its skips for free.

‘Bigger companies often have their own skips, but smaller installers often don’t have the money or the space,’ observes Adrian Locker, Managing Director of Newstead. ‘Hiring skips may not seem like much of an outlay, but it’s things like this that eat into profits. We have two twenty yard skips available on our premises for any of our installers working in the area. All they have to do is drive onsite, unload, and drive off. It’s just part of the Selling Made Easy support package we offer – if we can make life easier for our customers, we will.’

Tel: 01782 641 642

Paragon Backs Sold Secure

Paragon Trade Frames has become the latest fabricator to benefit from the GU Ferco Sold Secure scheme.

Based in Worksop, Nottingham, Paragon manufactures frames for trade clients and double glazing installers, incorporating GU gearing, shoot bolts and espagnolettes. Managing Director, Stuart Hair, explains: ‘We use GU products because they are extremely reliable and the company provides excellent after-sales support. Problems are few and far between but if they should occur, GU is very quick to resolve them.

‘We joined Sold Secure to give customers better back-up and support. They can be sure their frame hardware has been supplied and fitted by a reputable company and they have more than one source of point of contact for help. We have also achieved British Standards 1279 and BS7412 for our upvc frames in conjunction with GU gearing,’ adds Stuart.

‘It is this 'fit and forget' policy, backed up with a concrete promise from GU, that has made us the UK's leading hardware manufacturer.’ says the company. Hundreds of fabricators throughout the UK have now signed up for the Sold Secure scheme which has recently been enhanced with an initiative that guarantees all members a free five-year parts and labour warranty on a range of GU products, subject to certain terms and conditions. The scheme is operated in conjunction with Lock Solutions, a specialist organisation which provides a national 24 hour emergency lock repair service.

‘In the very unlikely event of a GU/Ferco product proving to be faulty due to product failure, a mobile engineer from Lock Solutions will undertake a site visit and repair or replace the faulty item. If the failure is due to product manufacture rather than installation, GU will replace the product and cover the cost.’ explains Ian Ward, GU's marketing manager.

The service is another incentive for new customers to join this independent, non-profit making scheme which covers a broad cross section of security products from safes to car alarms. Now run by the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA), it was originally set up by the police in 1992 with the backing of the Home Office.

GU Ferco says that it was the first manufacturer of multi-point door locks and casement window locks to submit its range to Sold Secure for testing. Its products are currently the only ones in the marketplace allowed to carry the Sold Secure symbol, proving that they have been independently tested to withstand forced entry and attack. These tests are based on information and break-in techniques used by actual burglars and gathered from the MLA, police and insurance companies.

Offering a Sold Secure product gives customers peace of mind and the almost certain knowledge of an insurance discount from the ABI (Association of British Insurers). ‘Choosing a Sold Secure product gives customers confidence they have a tried and tested lock that's built to foil the most determined criminal,’ says Ian Ward. ‘Our fabricators can boost sales opportunities by offering added value products backed by high profile marketing support, not to mention enhanced warranties and insurance incentives.’

Tel: 024 76217927

Johan Molin Appointed President and CEO of Assa Abloy

The Board of Directors of Assa Abloy and the President and CEO, Bo Dankis, have agreed, on the Board's initiative, that Bo Dankis will leave his position in the Company.

Johan Molin has been appointed as the new President and CEO. He took up the position on 1st December 2005. Since 2001 he has worked as President and CEO of the Danish industrial group Nilfisk-Advance. During his time at Nilfisk-Advance, Johan Molin has led a successful turnaround of the company, which has sales of SEK 6.4 billion and is a world leader in industrial and commercial cleaning machinery.
 
Between 1983 and 2001 Johan Molin worked for the Atlas Copco Group, most recent as President of Industrial Air Division in Belgium, a business with sales of SEK 5 billion and 2,700 employees. Johan Molin is 46 and has a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.
 
'Bo Dankis has been part of Assa Abloy's management since 1997 and has been responsible for many important achievements for the Group,' says Chairman Georg Ehrnrooth. 'The Board continues to have full confidence in Bo Dankis, but believes that the Group now needs a leader with a different profile. Both income and growth continue to develop as planned. With Johan Molin as CEO there are good opportunities for increased organic growth. Our strategy remains unchanged, but we believe that the combination of knowledge of both conventional technology and advanced new solutions that exists in the Group gives us the potential to raise the business to a new level.'
 
'Our Leverage & Growth programme will be completed as planned during the fourth quarter,' Ehrnrooth continues. 'Our efforts to reduce costs by means of productivity improvements and enhanced supply management continue according to plan, and we do not expect any new restructuring provisions.'

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