Conservatories to 'come in from the cold'? -
Government reviews exemptions from the Building Regulations

Proposals that could bring an end to poorly-built and badly-insulated conservatories and curb the activities of the companies who build them were published by the Government today.

Many conservatories, porches, covered ways, covered yards and carports have been exempt from Building Regulations since 1985. The consultation will ask the public and the industry whether the exemptions should remain - or be removed.

By bringing them under regulatory control, the Government aims to ensure that investing in home improvements like conservatories can be done with confidence, and the knowledge they are designed and constructed in accordance with Building Regulations. The proposals do not affect current planning procedures.

Local Government Minister Alan Whitehead said:"This is a welcome and timely consultation on whether certain classes of structure should continue to be exempt from Building Regulations. Bringing conservatories within the Building Regulations would mean better conservatories, less heat loss and putting cowboy builders of conservatories out in the cold.

"Investing in home extensions, like conservatories and porches, can be an expensive and regrettable experience, and many individuals have suffered at the hands of the unscrupulous builder. Often the problem does not come to light until the property is up for sale. These proposals aim to ensure that this experience becomes a thing of the past.

NB
The Building Regulations 2000: Proposals for amending Schedule 2 - Exempt Buildings and Work - Class VII - with reference to Conservatories, Porches, Covered Ways, Covered Yards and Carports is available on the DTLR website at: http://www.safety.dtlr.gov.uk/bregs/conindex.htm.

Or Click here for more detail on this website

Double victory for ASSA ABLOY boat, arriving first in Auckland

At 17.20.46 GMT, 06.20 local time, ASSA ABLOY was the first boat to cross the finish line of leg three in the early hours of January 4 in Auckland. The gold and blue boat enjoyed a fast spinnaker run down the Hauraki Gulf approaching Auckland, the City of Sails. With Kiwi Richard Mason at the helm, the jubilant team crossed the finish line under full bright yellow spinnaker, accompanied by many spectator boats. As a tribute to Peter Blake the whole crew wore red socks coming in to Auckland and the smiling team members showed the red socks with pride during the arrivals ceremony.

As a tribute to Peter Blake the whole crew wore red socks
Photo by Thierry Martinez

ASSA ABLOY had a lot to be proud of. First for winning “line honours” in the Sydney – Hobart race, followed by confidently sailing to victory of leg three in the Volvo Ocean Race. In addition race veteran and most senior sailor of the fleet, Magnus Olsson, celebrated his 53rd birthday with finishing first.

Despite injuries and ill crew onboard, ASSA ABLOY sailed an impressive leg. Navigator Mark Rudiger wrote in his last mail from the boat, just before the finish line: “We haven´t really changed our sailing style very much, we just didn´t have any bad breaks, and were able to realize our potential that has always been there. We´ll take this and build on it with the expectation of continuing up the ladder.”

Skipper Neal McDonald and his crew were confident when they chose the most northerly route after Hobart, which resulted in winning the leg: “From where we were it didn’t feel like a gamble at all. I think that looking at it, it was more of a gamble going south, we stayed on the rhumb lines and they went away from it. Leaving the fleet as we did was perhaps a risk, we always wanted be north though and north was where we were.”

“For days and days our weather guys in Sydney were telling us that the northerly would win through and if you try to buckle up in the south you’ll lose. We had that in our mind when we left.”

ASSA ABLOY kept their lead all the way from Hobart, but had a few nervous moments coming around the north tip of New Zealand. “Things were most tense when we came round the cape at the top, we completely ran out of wind and parked for a long time. We kept our heads cool and continued sailing hard. That was the toughest point – mentally and stress-wise. Everybody was tired at that stage as we had people down,” said McDonald.

Follow their progress at:
http://www.assaabloyracingteam.com

Original Offer

ASAHI GLASS DECIDED TO MAKE A PUBLIC TENDER OFFER FOR SHARES IN GLAVERBEL S.A.

Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. ("AGC"; headquartered in Tokyo; president: Mr. Shinya Ishizu) decided to make a public tender offer to purchase all the ordinary shares held by public shareholders in its consolidated subsidiary, Glaverbel S.A. ("GVB"; headquartered in Belgium; chief executive officer: Mr. Luc Willame), in order to enhance integrated global operation of flat glass line of business (building and automotive) of the AGC group.

AGC has been undertaking a management strategy called "Shrink to Grow" for concentrating its resources into selected businesses, and flat glass line of businesses are positioned as one of its core businesses. The world's flat glass industry, however, is in the midst of increasing consolidation on a global basis as well as the drastic global reorganization and consolidation in its customer industries. In such circumstances, the AGC group and the GVB group came to a conclusion that, for maximization of the enterprise value of the group as a whole, it would be the most effective measure to establish integrated global operation, which would enable the group to operate more efficiently being oriented to the customer's needs, and to mobilize technological development on a global basis and to create a global vision shared among the management and people.

GVB, the second largest flat glass producer in Europe having 15 float glass furnaces, is positioned as the center of flat glass line of businesses for the AGC group in the region. AGC made equity participation in GVB in 1981, and presently holds approximately 55% of the shares in it. In order to accomplish the strategic measure as mentioned above, AGC decided to make a tender offer for approximately 2.5 million shares (approx. 35%) held by public shareholders, subject to a necessary approval from the relevant authority, intending to achieve 100% shareholding in GVB.

The AGC group has been operating its flat glass line of businesses (building and processed glass for building, automotive and industrial applications) under a co-operative management structure among the three regions, i.e. Asia/Japan, Europe and North America, each being managed by AGC, GVB and AFG Industries Inc. / AP Technoglass (for flat glass / automotive glass, respectively; both headquartered in U.S.A.; AGC's shareholding: 100%), respectively. After a successful completion of the tender offer, the group will merge its existing operations and management structure in order to consolidate its position of Glass World leader and will reorganise them into two global strategic business units ("SBU"s) by April 2002 as target :

* One global flat glass SBU, managed by Mr. Luc Willame, CEO of Glaverbel, with headquarters in Brussels. This SBU will manage all worldwide AGC activities related to production and processing of glass for building and industrial applications.
Estimated turnover will be 3,519 million EUR (JPY 380 billion).

* One global automotive glass SBU, managed by Mr. Jay N. Strong, President of AP Technoglass, with headquarters in Tokyo. This SBU will manage all worldwide AGC activities related to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and to automotive replacement glass (ARG).
Estimated turnover will be 2,037 million EUR (JPY 220 billion). An Executive Committee, chaired by Mr. Shinya Ishizu, AGC President, and co- chaired by Mr. Luc Willame will be created in order to supervise the development of the total glass business

GVB is presently listed in the Brussels stock exchange ("Euronext Brussels"). AGC plans to apply for de-listing from the stock exchange after a successful completion of the tender offer.
In addition to the purchase of the ordinary shares through the tender offer at the price of EUR 145 per share, AGC is to purchase all the outstanding convertible bonds of GVB, and so forth. Therefore, it is estimated that the total amount for the purchases is approximately EUR 470 million.

Company profile of Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.
Name : Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.
Head office : Tokyo, Japan
Factories : Japan
Representative : Mr. Shinya Ishizu (President)
Share capital : JPY 90,472 million (approx. EUR 838 million)
Shareholders : 48,525
Sales : JPY 1,313 billion (approx. EUR 12 billion) (on consolidated basis)
Products : Construction glass, automotive glass, display glass, electronic materials, chemical products, ceramics
Established : in 1907 (date of incorporation June 1, 1950)
Number of employees : 48,809 employees (on a consolidated basis)
URL : http://www.agc.co.jp/english/
(note) Major figures shown above are based on the consolidated financial statement for the year ended on March 31, 2001.

Company profile of Glaverbel S.A.
Name : Glaverbel S.A.
Head office : Brussels, Belgium
Factories : Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Spain and Russia
Representative : Mr. Luc Willame
(Vice-Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer)
Share capital : EUR 199 million (approx. JPY 21.5 billion)
Shareholders : AGC (55.04%), Public (35.39%), and GVB (9.6%)
Sales : EUR 1,699 million (approx. JPY 183.5 billion)
Products : Float Glass, coatings, fabricated glass for building, automotive glass, mirror, etc.
Established : in 1961 (AGC's equity participation in 1981)
Number of employees : 12,547 employees (on a consolidated basis - 17,400, including Russia)
URL : http://www.glaverbel.com
(note) Major figures shown above are based on the consolidated financial statement for the year ended on December 31, 2000.

Company profile of AFG Industries, Inc.
Name : AFG Industries, Inc.
Head office : Kingsport, TN, USA
Factories : USA, Canada, Mexico
Representative : Mr. Roger Kennedy
(President and Chief Executive Officer)
Share capital : USD 505.3 million (approx. EUR 555.8 million)
Shareholders : Asahi Glass America, Inc. (100%)
Products : Construction glass
Established : in 1978 (AGC's equity participation in 1988)
Number of employees : 5,064 employees (on a consolidated basis, excluding AP Technoglass)
URL : http://www.afgglass.com/
(note) Major figures shown above are based on the consolidated financial statement for the year ended on December 31, 2000.

Company profile of AP Technoglass
Name : AP Technoglass
Head office : Florence, KY, USA
Factories : USA, Mexico
Representative : Mr. Jay N. Strong (President)
Products : Automotive glass
Established : in 1985
Number of employees : 1,551 employees
URL : http://www.aptechnoglass.com/
(note) Major figures shown above are based on the consolidated financial statement for the year ended on December 31, 2000.
Note:
For the convenience of readers only, yen and EUR figures in this report have been translated into each other at the rate of JPY108=EUR 1.00, the prevailing rate on September 30, 2001.

Solvay acquires Cova

Following the announcement of 16th July 2001, Solvay SA and Hindrichs-Auffermann AG have now concluded the arrangements for the acquisition of Cova Products Limited by Solvay. This will be a two step process:

i) The H-A Interiors division will be demerged from Cova Products Limited into a new company, H-A Interiors Limited, with effect from 14th December 2001.

ii) Solvay SA will acquire Cova Products Limited on 14th December 2001.
Hindrichs-Auffermann AG will retain ownership of H-A Interiors Limited.

Trading with Cova Products Limited should carry on unchanged. There are no changes to the company details.
Companies trading with H-A Interiors Limited should establish a new account in the name of H-A Interiors Limited (if this has not already been done) and to begin invoicing in the name of H-A Interiors Limited with effect from 17th December 2001.

The details of H-A Interiors Limited are:
H-A Interiors Limited
Station Road
Cramlington
Northumberland
NE23 8HN
Telephone: 01670 718200
Fax: 01670 736799
Company Registration: 4161031
VAT Registration: GB 772 6930 02
Any queries should be directed to customer’s regular contacts at the Cramlington office.

Knock! Knock! Who's There? -
Not the company you expected!

'If you want to sell to the window industry,' say Windowbase, 'just make sure you are knocking on the right door! One in four companies have moved, changed their activity or went out of the business in the past year.'

Tracking companies is as difficult as ever, is shown by Windowbase's third annual analysis of major industry changes. Over the past year, 642 companies in the window & conservatory industry have failed or otherwise gone, 780 new companies are actively trading, and 632 companies have changed location. Out of a current industry database of 8835 recorded companies, that means that anyone using company information over a year old could be wasting one-quarter of their efforts. The equivalent figure over three years is nearer 60%.

In addition to these are changes of the senior contact person, phone or fax numbers; any of which can prevent your message getting through. Even the Windowbase research team report that it is difficult to keep up with the changes. 'Over the past three years.' Mike Davis reports, 'we have seen 1791 companies go, 1561 change premises and have tracked down 1995 new companies. Just think, that's 12 failures, 10 moves, and 13 new companies each week! And that simply ignores those who came and went within that period! Anyone selling to the lndustry and doing their own research must be supremely confident of their own abilities.'

The 'Volatility Index' - an index of industry change - based on measures of these changes, stands at 24. 1 for the past year, slightly lower than the year before, but fabricating shows the greatest volatility. The index of 38 for PVCu fabricators given both by failures (15% of those in last December's data were not there at the end of 2001) and by new fabricators - often from installers starting to make - is on a par with last year's figure. It only just beats the 35 recorded by timber window and conservatory makers, mainly caused by a number pulling out of the fabrication of windows, doors and conservatories.

Regionally, the picture is different from last year: South West and West Midlands show the biggest changes, the Northern region (also high last year) shows the biggest number of failures. Northern lreland and the East Midlands were seemingly more stable, while the least proportion of identified failures was in Scotland.

Promoting themselves as the industry's 'research department', Windowbase can supply the company information on a regular basis with quarterly updates or just for one off usage. For those who need to keep up to date, information on the numbers of recorded companies by activity and by region is freely available on their website: www.winbase.co.uk

For further infomation, contact:
Mike Davis 01706 644 308 or email: info@winbase.co.uk

LAIRD SECURITY HARDWARE - new brand, famous quality

Laird Security Hardware is the new brand title for the combined strengths of two of well known names in the window and door industry, Cego Frameware and Feneseal.

The launch of Laird Security Hardware creates a new one-stop-shop able to deliver the complete hardware requirements of the UK window and door manufacturing industry.

Bringing together the complimentary strengths of these two operations will form a dynamic new commercial entity. Cego Frameware is one of the UK's foremost replacement hardware manufacturers celebrating 75 years of providing hardware products whilst Feneseal is a young customer driven provider of innovative hardware solutions recognised especially for its high security Saracen products.

Peter Rowlands Managing Director says, 'We have planned the launch of Laird Security Hardware for two years bringing people together as one combined sales and technical team. At the same time a substantial investment has been made in design, testing and production. A whole new range of products will be launched at Glassex in March. Our aim is to extend our "best in class" position even further.'

Laird Security Hardware has its head office at Tipton, West Midlands and manufacturing plants in Essex, Cheltenham and Telford. The company employs more than 400 staff in the UK.
lnvestment in the latest CAD design facilities has been complemented by expanded UKAS test facilities designed to secure PAS23 approval shortly to add to the PAS24 and BS7950 accreditation already held.

Additional automated diecast plant, press equipment and ionic coating capacity has been installed. The Tipton distribution centre has been doubled in size and equipped with advanced stock control systems.

LAUNCH OF ARCHITECTURAL GLAZING SERVICES from Solutia

Solutia is launching a new service for its customers. Glass professionals, specifiers, architects, structural engineers, interior designers and consumers will now be able to contact Architectural Glazing Services (AGS) for information on any of Solutia's products related to glass used architecturally.

Manufacturer of the Saflex polyvinyl butyral (PVB) used in laminated glass, Solutia has sponsored the Laminated Glass Information Centre (LGIC) since its inception in 1990. The LGIC has been incorporated into the AGS, which will continue to provide generic information about architectural laminated glass, as well as covering Solutia's wide range of glass related products.

Those interested in Solutia's glass related products will be able to requestinformation by calling Solutia's dedicated information line on 01633 275 110.

Callers can request technical information, as well as information on specific Solutia products. They will also have the opportunity to find out about the latest standards and building regulations governing the use of laminated glass in the UK, in addition to innovative applications for Solutia's products.
For glass, architectural and engineering industry professionals, Solutia has developed a specialist website. At www.vanceva.com visitors will be able to view the full range of Solutia's products and begin designing with them in the online studio, and they can also request samples and order online.
Solutia has been a leading supplier of PVB for use in architectural glass for over 60 years.

All of Solutia's architectural glass related products are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also have the increased security, safety, solar and sound properties people rely on from laminated glass.

Email: solutia@dhu.be

Roger Deceuninck receives
'Kravat van Commandeur in de Kroonorde'

Roger Deceuninck, president of the Board of Directors of the Deceuninck Group was awarded the 'Kravat van Commandeur in de Kroonorde' by Mr. Paul Breyne, Governor of West-Vlaanderen during a staff party. This award was in recognition of his great qualities and his many business and humane contributions and achievements.

Roger Deceuninck (born 1924), together with his two brothers Michel and Lionel joined the small Deceuninck family business at the end of the fifties. At this time the company activity was spray moulding plastic objects and was the first company to install an extrusion machine, for extruding shapes in PVC in their shed in Roeselare.

In the beginning the company developed spectacularly under the management of the three brothers. Roger Deceuninck was responsible at the time for administrative and commercial tasks and he travelled throughout Belgium and France in order to promote and sell the forms. In 1974, the company became a Limited Liability Company with Roger Deceuninck at the head. Step by step he evolved along with the growth, gradually surrounding himself with well-chosen staff. During all these years he led the company expertly. With a good balance of short and long-term vision he guided the company onto the Brussels stock exchange.

Since then Deceuninck has become an integrated group of world renown, specialising in the compounding, design, development and extrusion of plastics systems and shapes for the building industry and the recycling thereof. The company operates in 32 countries, has 20 branches (production and/or sales) and employs 1686 staff worldwide, of which approximately 540 are in Hooglede-Gits. Deceuninck is number three in its sector world-wide and foresees a consolidated sales of 355 million euros for 2001.

Today Roger Deceuninck is President of the Board of Directors of the Deceuninck Group as well as director of the branches of the Group both in Belgium and abroad. During his extraordinary career, Roger Deceuninck has contributed widely to the social welfare of his region by providing employment. He has also always been readily accessible for his employees in spite of the extraordinary development of his group and his personal success.

During the biannual staff party, organised by Deceuninck, Roger Deceuninck was awarded the ìKravat van Commandeur in de Kroonordeî by Mr. Paul Breyne Governor of West-Vlaanderen as a tribute to his great qualities and his many business and humane contributions and achievements.

Ege Profil hit by floods

On 17 December 2001, 90 companies in the Ataturk Organize Sanayi industrial zone of Izmir were flooded as a result of a particularly heavy downfall. Ege Profil AS, the Turkish subsidiary of Deceuninck, was among the companies hit. Sales, however, are barely liable to suffer.

The damage to Ege Profilís finished products is minimal. Loss of turnover for 2001 will be less than 1%, which accounts for less than 0.1% of group turnover. The loss in turnover will be compensated for in the beginning of 2002. All possible damage will be covered by Deceuninck's insurance policy.

All means were taken immediately in order to limit the impact of this event. Now that the water has receded completely from the factory, the priority is to lay out a detailed list of damages suffered. Once necessary repairs have been carried out, production can start up again - and this will take place as of January 2002.

Ege Profil is market leader among Turkish extruders of PVC-U window and door profiles. These profiles are marketed under the brand name Ege Pen. In 2000, Ege Profil realized sales of over 25 million euros. The company employs 200 people and has a market share of over 10% in its sector.

Spectacular year of Growth for John Fredericks

2001 has been a spectacular year of growth for John Fredericks Plastics, one of the UK's leading trade fabricators of PVCu windows, doors and conservatories.

The company which has just had a £12 million venture capital investment by Baring English Growth Fund and Northern Venture Managers, is now turning over some £18 million - more than five times its turnover of a decade ago.

Sales at the Yorkshire-based company have increased by 15 per cent in the last 12 months and John Fredericks is now manufacturing almost 3,000 frames a week.

Latest Schirmer Corner Cleaner at Fredericks

Employing more than 220 staff, John Fredericks has also invested more than £850,000 in new machinery over the last few months to further improve its service and quality. The latest additions to the company's state-of-the-art technology are a new SV-800 machine to improve corner cleaning and an additional Schirmer fully automated cutting and machining centre. The machines, which are fully operational at the company's Huddersfield headquarters, have already increased John Fredericks' production capacity by 25 per cent.

Mark Dicconson, sales director of John Fredericks, commented: 'John Fredericks has seen phenomenal growth over the last 10 years and we have successfully established ourselves as a leader in our field. Our strategic investment over the last few months has strengthened our position and we have further investment planned for 2002 aimed at increasing our levels of production, quality and service so that we can continue to offer the installer market exclusive access to first class products and service.'

Contact: Mark Dicconson
Email: mdd@johnfredericksplastics.com
Website: www.johnfredericksplastics.com

Edstrom on a High at Everest

Corby based, van accessory and component specialists, Edstrom of Sweden Ltd has completed supply of various components for an eighty vehicle contract for Everest Windows. lnstalled to long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter vans, versatility had to be literally built in. Based on over twenty five years of experience both in the UK and Europe, Edstrom personnel were able to design, develop and produce solutions to a range of specifications set by Everest management.

Side mounting plates developed by Edstrom allow an external glass carrying frail to be fitted or removed as required. Used in conjunction with the company's adapted roof rack, the frail can easily be swapped between vans so Everest's twenty five depots could each have just one carrier.

Nearly four metres long and two metres high, the frail, fitted with fully adjustable load clamping poles, is strongly constructed using light-weight materials. Its universal design makes it suitable for use on most makes of long wheel base vehicles.

Each vehicle in the new fleet has been fitted with Edstrom's tough and crash tested roof rack fitted with an extra long pipe tube, an internal frail and central tunnel through the cab bulkhead at floor level. This provides storage for the demountable roof access ladder and allows trims, mouldings and other long lengths to be carried in safety.

Everest's Ray Pycroft commented, 'Edstrom responded to our demands in a professional manner offering a great deal of advice and assistance. Using their experience and design skills, they expanded our demountable requirement to a degree where we have improved versatility in our new fleet'.

Safety and security is a further benefit with Edstrom's ranges of frails, racking,
shelving, workshop equipment, storage systems and accessories for vehicles in the light commercial sector. The company's products are TUV quality approved and have been crash tested to EC 17:07 standards at the independent vehicle test and development facility at Millbrook in Bedfordshire.
For further information contact : Richard lssitt
Tel: +44(0)1536 203040
Fax: +44 (0) 1536 400047
Email: info@edstrom.co.uk

Glaverbel invests EUR 34.71 million in a new coater at Lodelinsart

The Glaverbel Group is investing in a new coater at its Lodelinsart plant in Belgium (Charleroi). This new system will upgrade production of coated solar control glass, sold to large construction projects around the world. It will replace one of the two existing coaters, and will be operational by June 2003. Additional investments include the installation of glass processing equipment and the reorganisation of the plant to optimise the production flow. The total investment amounts to EUR 34.71 million (BEF 1.4 billion).

The investment is secured by an industrial relations agreement with the union organisations. As such, it represents the consolidation of 40 or so jobs, accompanied by a rationalisation of the work rosters with a view to higher productivity. The restoration of the industrial relations climate at Lodelinsart has further encouraged the Group to expand its output of products with high added value from this plant. Glaverbel Lodelinsart is the only plant in the Group to supply high-tech solar control glass for large architectural projects around the world, such as the Tate Gallery in London, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the China Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong, the Carlton Hotel in Singapore, Dubai International Airport, University Square in Sidney, and others.

THE FLAT GLASS SECTOR AND COMPETENCE
BASED QUALIFICATIONS

The Glass Qualifications Authority (GQA) based in Sheffield has reported that the flat glass sector is registering more and more individuals on its National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).

GQA covers the whole of the glass industry and over the last few weeks over 500 individuals have been registered on its qualifications. Over 95% of these are from the flat glass sector.
The new flat sector registrations are dispersed over 100 companies and include household names with up to 20 registrations and very small companies with one or two registrations.

GQA recognises that new young workers are being registered via the industries Modern Apprenticeship Framework to attract LSC funds to contribute to their standards based training activity. However many established workers e.g. fabricators, sealed unit manufacturers, installers, surveyors and glaziers are also being registered on GQA NVQs. In many cases there is a clear and declared link to the companies construction subcontract activities e.g. the CSCS card and the MCG initiative (to ensure that only safe and competent individuals work on their contracts). The majority of the other registrations relate to companies that will be influenced by the new Building Regulations – Part L that will become effective in April 2002.

Over 100 NVQs have been awarded in the same time period and over 97% of these have been awarded to flat glass sector companies.

Some flat glass sector companies are clearly preparing for survival and growth in 2002 and beyond and to be able to prove the competence of their workforce.

Further information on GQA qualifications can be obtained from their website www.glassqualificationsauthority.com or by ringing their office on 0114 272 0033.