CLICK HERE FOR NEWS ARCHIVE

Hunter Douglas Acquires Timberblinds

Hunter Douglas has, through its Turnils affiliate, acquired Timberblinds, a Dallas, Texas based fabricator of window coverings and interior shutter products. Terms were not disclosed.

Timberblinds assembles and distributes its products primarily in the southern U.S. It has 330 employees and had sales of USD 30 million in 2002. Operations and management will remain unchanged.

This acquisition will enable Turnils to solidify its distribution in the private label segment of the U.S. window covering market.

Hunter Douglas has its Head Office in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and a management office in Lucerne, Switzerland. The Hunter Douglas group is comprised of 154 companies with 64 factories, 90 assembly operations and marketing organisations in more than 100 countries. Hunter Douglas has approximately 15,000 employees and had sales in 2002 of EUR 1,692 million.

The shares of Hunter Douglas N.V. are traded on the Dutch, Swiss and German Stock Exchanges.

Rehau Finance Director Comments on the Euro

In an article in The Financial Times last week, Derek Wood, Finance Director of Rehau UK commented on the pros and cons of this country signing up the euro. 'On a personal basis, I'd be pleased if Britain went into the euro', he said. 'It would make our business easier, particularly as we are part of a large European company with operations across the continent. Also, more of our customers, particularly in automotives, are asking to be paid in euros, and so having the single currency in the UK would reduce our financial risks'.

The article in The Financial Times (10th July) continued to quote Mr Wood as saying that the money Rehau invests in the UK all comes from retained profits of the UK rather than being channeled from its German headquarters. 'We are continuing to invest because the market is bouyant and as a company we are expanding'.

The FT article was part of a wider look at inward investment, which found that the number of foreign takeovers of UK companies declined last year and the overall number of inward investment projects fell from 764 to 709.

Kenneth B. Moll & Associates Investigate Injuries and Deaths Caused by Silica Exposure

Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd. is conducting a nationwide investigation into whether companies, such as 3M and U.S. Silica, failed to protect workers from silica exposure, causing serious injuries and deaths. Individuals that work in certain industries, such as sandblasting, construction, mining, masonry, demolition, glass manufacturing, and railroad construction, are at the greatest risk of developing silicosis, a disease of the lungs.

According to the Chicago-based firm, out of the 2 million U.S. workers at risk of developing silicosis, nearly 100,000 are employed as sandblasters. Sandblasters are exposed to the projected streams of silica sand that they use to clean irregularities and remove paint from certain surfaces. Individuals that are also at a high risk of developing silicosis include those that work in metal production, machinery blasting, transportation equipment and structural metal blasting, painting, shipbuilding, oil production, iron/steel milling, and refineries.

Silica is known to cause cancer, silicosis and other diseases. Silicosis, the most common silica-related disease, is a fibrosing disease of the lungs that leads to breathing difficulties and often death. The disease develops when silica enters the lungs and causes the formation of scar tissue, which reduces the oxygen intake level in the lungs. Silicosis, which can develop from brief exposure to high levels of silica, or from prolonged exposure to low concentrations of silica, suppresses immunity to infections, and increases susceptibility to illnesses, such as tuberculosis. Symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, chest pain, and fever, according to the firm.

Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd. is focusing its investigation on whether companies failed to adequately warn individuals of the adverse health effects of silica exposure, failed to instruct on the safe handling, labeling and storage of silica, and failed to provide adequate protective equipment, such as respirators, to prevent workers from inhaling silica dust.

Attorney Arlene N. Farolan believes that, 'it's appalling that these companies could have easily implemented safety measures to prevent injuries to these workers, yet knowingly failed to do so.'

Contact: Arlene N. Farolan, Esq.
Tel: 312-558-6444
Email: mailto:lawyers@kbmoll.com

Pilkington Sells Aerospace Division to GKN for £42m

Pilkington plc has entered into an Agreement for the sale of the whole of the issued share capital of Pilkington Aerospace Limited and Pilkington Aerospace Inc. to GKN plc at a price of £42 million. The consideration will be paid in cash.

Pilkington Group Chief Executive, Stuart Chambers, said. "This disposal is consistent with our strategy of concentrating on our core Building Products and Automotive businesses and strengthens further the Group's financial position."

Pilkington Aerospace Limited (based in Kings Norton, Birmingham) and Pilkington Aerospace Inc. (based in Garden Grove, California) are primarily involved in the design and manufacture of high performance glass and plastic composite transparencies for aircraft.

The transaction is subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals in, inter alia, the United Kingdom and the USA.

http://www.ultraframe.co.uk/trade.html

Eurocell Building Plastics Opens First Branch In Wales

Eurocell Building Plastics has recently opened its 52nd branch, but more importantly the company's first in Wales. The 6,500sq.ft purpose built centre on the Ocean Park Industrial Estate in Cardiff represents a further capital investment from Eurocell Building Plastics.

David Phillips, with over 20 years in the industry, is the new divisional manager responsible for the already strong customer network servicing Gwent, South, Mid Glamorgan as well as the SW M4 corridor. 'Although it has taken Eurocell Building Plastics some time to enter the Welsh Market it was essential that we did so with gusto including the right team and infrastructure. We have that now and will look to grow further in 2004.' said David Salt, Eurocell Building Plastics.

Offering both the new-build, replacement and the strong Welsh DIY markets a comprehensive range of PVCu building products, Eurocell manufactures a quality product range at competitive prices. The product range includes Eurocell Roofline fascias, soffits together with windowsills, boards, trims, cladding, Soudal silicones, and tools as well as Eurocell’s Pinnacle traditional and modular conservatory roofing systems. Products are consistent and all Eurocell roofline and cladding products have BBA approval and are manufactured in accordance with ISO 9002.

'It is important that we have a strong presence in Wales to serve the growing plastics market. Our network of centres has been a considerable success and Cardiff should continue along the same theme.' said David Phillips.

Eurocell Cardiff: 02920 486 879
Eurocell: 01773 842 100

Sound Proofing Regs Fall on Deaf Ears

The construction industry is still largely in the dark about the recently revised Part E Building Regulations, according to Tarmac Precast Concrete.

Research commissioned by Tarmac into current trends and developments in partition walling systems showed that many builders are unaware of the change in the minimum decibel level ratings, but were clued up about thermal values.

'We all know that Building Regulations are extensive and constantly changing but this significant development in noise reduction requirements certainly seems to have slipped through almost unnoticed,' said Ian Coates, general manager of Tarmac's soon to be launched Speediwall partition walling system.

Knowledge of Part E was highest among office-based staff specifying and buying material, but was less extensive among those on site.

'We were surprised by these findings since, aside from the regulatory aspect, noise levels are a subject frequently covered in the consumer media,' said Coates.

Tarmac says sound reduction is one of the key benefits of Speediwall, which is being introduced to the UK later this year.

'Speediwall has been designed for the construction of non-load bearing walls in apartments, industrial and commercial buildings, offering a speed of installation comparable with stud partitioning but with the sound reduction qualities of block walling,' said Coates.

The Tarmac research covered a cross section of builders and contractors, including those involved in the construction of flats.

New Planet Discovered in Bolton

The latest branch in the Planet network opened on Saturday 8th February in Bolton and serves customers from north Manchester across to Bury, Rochdale and parts of Oldham. Bolton is the third branch under the ownership of Leyland and came 11 months after the opening of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire in late March 2002.

From signing contracts to opening the doors, it took just seven weeks to get the new 6,200 square foot megastore ready for customers. Featuring seven conservatories plus a window and door gallery the store is located close to the town centre in a busy retail area. Press advertising to attract showroom traffic began on February 6th. This major refurbishment project included lining and skimming the internal walls, installing a new suspended ceiling, new lighting and complete refurbishment of office and customer facilities. The new showroom is under the control of Chris Mitchell, Sales Director and Hazel Peacock, Showroom Co-ordinator who will see four new salesmen added to their team. They will be supported by two newly appointed Sales Co-ordinators Georgina Gregson and Linda Barnet.

Chiltern Showroom next for Steve...
Steve Thornton, a surveyor based in Leyland, seen preparing the internal layout of the new Bolton showroom. With Bolton finished and work on Norfolk started mid February, Stevens’ next project is to apply his talent for making the showroom an enjoyable experience for the customers to Planet Chiltern.

Tel: 01772 452225
Web: http://www.planetpvc.co.uk

Plastics: The Sustainable Option

Construction is one of the biggest uses of plastics in the UK with an overall market of one million tonnes. By far the biggest single plastics material used is PVC.

Plastics materials are used in windows, doors, conservatories, flooring, wall coverings, skirting boards, wiring, pipes, roofline products, sanitary ware, cladding - the list is endless. To imagine a building without plastics is extremely difficult. Plastics are invaluable to the construction industry because they are strong yet lightweight, impact resistant, weather resistant, easily formable, provide ease of installation and do not rust, rot or need regular re-painting. There is also much scope for tailoring plastics materials to suit a situation and they lend themselves well to new and innovative building technologies such as prefabricated structures and modular buildings.

Recently architects, specifiers and consumers are more concerned than ever with the environmental impact of construction products and their contribution to a sustainable future. Much is being made of the expression 'sustainable construction' and it is rapidly becoming an abused term. There is a kneejerk tendency for people to think that natural materials are sustainable and man-made materials, classically plastics, are not sustainable. In respect of plastics, nothing could be further from the truth.

Plastics are made from oil and the common misperception is that oil will run out and therefore plastics have no future. However, plastics consume less than 5% of the barrel of oil. Basic petrochemical feedstocks on which plastics are based are not going to be exhausted in the foreseeable future. Oil reserves continue to be discovered and even oil wells previously thought to be exhausted continue to be revisited and tapped again with more efficient extraction techniques. Even the possibility of using renewable feedstocks such as vegetable and crop matter are opening up. In the UK we have a particular advantage in that we have access to oil and gas feedstocks in the surrounding seas and also the geology of the country lends itself to the extraction of raw materials for the production of additives e.g. calcium carbonate fillers. In addition the processing of plastics is a relatively energy efficient process compared to other materials.

There have been scare stories circulated about some chemicals used in plastics but these have usually been found to have a spurious scientific basis. Plastics are used in medical applications and have been found to be suitable for intimate contact with body fluids. PVC products in the medical sector are crucial in the production of blood bags and surgical tubing and have proven to save lives.

Whilst people might associate plastics with short life applications for example packaging, many plastics applications, particularly in construction, are long life with a proven lifespan of decades. Plastics pipework installed over 50 years ago still functions with absolute reliability. PVC windows have lifespans of over 30 years with little maintenance required.

Two examples of sustainability in practice are the highly popular building materials: PVC and EPS.

PVC
The industry recognises with the popularity of plastics in construction, ultimately with the demolition of buildings, a significant amount of plastics waste will need to be managed. As an example, the PVC industry has demonstrated its commitment to sustainable development. The industry united in March 2000 to meet the challenges of sustainable development by the signing of the Voluntary Commitment by the PVC industry in Europe and formally presenting it to the European Commission. In the Voluntary Commitment, the PVC industry pledges to make improvements in PVC's raw material manufacture and processing, to review the use of various additives and committed to ambitious recycling targets for end-of-life products. This includes a commitment to recycle 50% of the collected available PVCu window, pipe and roofing waste by 2005 and flooring waste by 2008. This, along with other commitment targets, is to be audited by an independent Monitoring Committee involving EU Institutions so the process and achievements can be open to public scrutiny.

The subtleties of the situation are well illustrated by the case of PVCu windows where recyclability is a key environmental benefit. The relative youth of the UK market has meant that little waste has actually arisen yet. The market began in the late 70's compared with the 1950's for Germany so it is only now that we are beginning to see quantifiable waste arisings.

The industry has also responded to the concerns of its stakeholders and agreed to phase out the use of lead stabilisers by 2015. Not only those within the industry argue the case for the sustainability of plastics in construction, independent third party commentators have also validated this.

* 'I am pleased that the PVC industry already has a voluntary commitment setting out a programme of precautionary measures to address potential risks and encourage industry to meet the challenge of sustainable development.' (Michael Meacher MP, Minister for the Environment in the DEFRA press release prefacing the DEFRA Life Cycle Analyses of PVC and Alternatives March 2001)

* Reports published by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1996 and 1998) which concluded that: 'The balance of evidence suggests that there is no alternative material to PVC in its major product applications that has less overall effect on the environment.'

* An Environmental Guideline Report published by the Dutch Foundation for Building Research (April 1996) and officially sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of the Environment, which lists PVC as an environmentally preferred material for almost all applications in housing construction."

EPS
EPS (the generic term for expanded polystyrene) has been used successfully for many years to insulate walls, floors and roofs of domestic as well as commercial buildings. Any waste EPS produced during manufacture is reground and recycled back into the manufacturing process. In addition only 2% of EPS is polystyrene (the rest is air) so it's a highly efficient use of a raw material. Representing less than 0.1% of crude oil usage, EPS saves 200 times this amount through the insulation it provides.

Behind the plastics in construction industry, there is a wealth of research being carried out in the large scale international chemicals and plastics industry supporting construction products manufacturers operating at the interface with the customer. The industry has a sophisticated appreciation of sustainability issues and has a culture of continuous improvement. Customers can expect ongoing enhancements of environmental benefits.

Strategic Review of BWF Timber Window Scheme Provides Blueprint for Future Success

Members of the British Woodworking Federation’s Timber Window Accreditation Scheme are pushing for even more rigorous policing of the Scheme, the commitment of more resources to market research and a reduction of the initial cost of entry to encourage technically qualified, smaller companies to apply for membership. 

These  findings have come out of a far reaching strategic review carried out by the Timber Window Scheme, seven years into its campaign to fight the cause of timber windows.

The review was based on three main criteria: Technical, Marketing and Operational, with Scheme Product Manager, Adam Frankling interviewing the Members over a period of months at the end of last year and the start of 2003, as well as using secondary sources for further information and research.

With interviews lasting up to four or five hours in some cases, the review centred around a series of core questions which gave Members the encouragement to voice their opinions and criticisms. Everyone was given the opportunity to highlight problems and put forward ideas.

'The response was excellent,' said Adam Frankling, 'with no punches pulled and a lot of good ideas and opinions put forward. What encouraged us most of all was the positive attitude our Members have and what criticism there was was invariably constructive, which made the review all the more worthwhile.

'We’ve had seven years of success, which has helped to increase sales for our Members and to raise the quality of output and the profile of timber as a window material.

'Although what has been achieved since 1996 has been exceptional, we are also well aware that more can always be done, hence this strategic review.

 'In taking it on, we have been forced to look in-depth at where we are now, what changes need to be made and what we should do to maintain the dynamism of the last few years, so that we can increase the strength of our case and counter the competition that is lined up against us.'

Adam Frankling and his colleagues at the BWF believe they have come away from this project with a blueprint for success.

The Scheme Members will shortly receive a full report outlining the findings and analysis and setting out the direction and initiatives for the foreseeable future.
'The drive has really come from the Members,' said Adam Frankling. 'it’s their Scheme, and it’s clear they want to make the most of it.'

Tel: 020 7608 5050
Web: http://www.bwf.org.uk

Simec's Vertical Arriser Proves Hot at Vitrum

Shown for the first time in Milan, the 2.5m Vertical Arrising machine by Simec is now available in the UK from the Thermoseal Group. The machine on display at Vitrum was sold to a client in Canada and already underway is another machine capable of handling jumbo size glass sheets and is part of a huge i.g. production line capable of producing units up to 3.2m high and 6m wide.

The Simec Vertical Arriser is thought to be the quickest of its kind currently available with a cycle time of only 10 seconds for a piece of glass 1m x 1m (all 4 sides, i.e. 8 edges). The machine has a unique high speed belt change over mechanism, with four grinding heads (which are all immersed in water) and the unit itself is only 2.7m long. It can be incorporated into a fully automatic washing and arrising line with an overal length of only 17.45m. It can be installed to work with any existing production lines or with any other washing machinery.

Another unique feature of the Simec machine is the way in which the diamond impregnated cross belts are rested gently against the glass edges, rather than pushed against it, which is more common in such machines. This results in a much smoother arris, without any compromise in speed of throughput. It means that the machine can also accept miscut glass, or glass with very jagged edges, while other similar machines can only accept glass with near-perfect edges.

The Simec vertical arriser is also unusual in that it can accomodate a wide range of glass thicknesses - from 3mm to 20mm - while still operating fully automatically. It can also be adjusted to provide a chamfered edge of between 0.5mm and 1.5mm. The narrower chamfer is proving popular with double glazing companies who just want the machine to take rough edges off to reduce handling accidents.

Contact Mark Hickox at Thermoseal for information on the full range of Simec glass machinery now available in the UK (0121 331 3950), or look at the website at http://www.thermosealgroup/simec/simec.html

Official Branch Opening for Newdawn Customer

Newdawn and Sun roof stockist, Peninsula Plastics welcomed the Mayoress of Oldham, Cllr Valerie Sedgwick to the official June opening of its new branch in the town.

The Mayoress performed the opening ceremony by cutting a ribbon across the trade counter to applause from staff and customers.

The new branch in the Neville Street Industrial Estate, Chadderton, supplies trade customers with the full Newdawn conservatory roof range from a conservatory crest to a fully fabricated pre-assembled roof.

Conservatory roof manufacture will still be carried out in Birkenhead with regular daily deliveries to the branches. Customers receive same day or next day deliveries throughout the area, or they can collect during normal business hours.

Peninsula Plastics was established in April 1996 by Managing Director Neil Tilly and has existing trade supply outlets in Merseyside and Stockport. It stocks a full range of plastic building products and ancillaries to a wide customer base in the North West.

The new branch is the latest phase of long-term expansion plans to open several branches throughout the region in the next few years.Peninsula Plastics has stocked the Newdawn range for the last seven years and Managing Director Neil Tilly is convinced it’s the right product for them.

'The Newdawn roof is definitely the best-looking roof on the market, but for us, it’s the product range that’s important.

'Our customers range from builders and traditional joinery manufacturers to large PVCu window installers, so being able to offer a conservatory roof system to suit every customer is vital. Newdawn fits perfectly into our product mix,' adds Neil.

Newdawn’s National Sales Manager, Alan Cockayne, comments: 'We congratulate Peninsula Plastics on the opening of its new branch and wish the company every success for the future.

'Offering a comprehensive and versatile product range is key to our long-term success and that of our customers. We have also implemented a number of product innovations and customer service improvements to reflect our ‘world class’ approach to business,' adds Alan.

Contact Louise Kotka
Tel: 01789 764444
Email: mailto:sales@newdawn-sun.co.uk

SFS Implores Industry to Pay for Progress

Fabricators who continue to seek development on the cheap are harming the industry – and ultimately jeopardising their own futures. That’s the warning from Nigel Wood, hardware product manager at hinge and fastener company SFS intec Ltd.

His remarks follow the announcement that Renew – Mike Rigby’s brainchild for the joint development of the window industry - had fallen at the first hurdle.

Renew had criticised hardware and profile systems companies for their unwillingness to participate actively in it’s scheme, and implied that the industry was 'too busy and too short-sighted to think about the future'.

'On the contrary,' says Nigel Wood, who heads the UK hardware team at the Swiss owned SFS intec. 'It is exactly businesses like ours who are driving the future hope for the industry by investing in major development programmes to bring on advances in window technology which will provide the sales opportunities for fabricators in the future.'

The solution, believes Nigel Wood, lies in convincing fabricators that they should be expected to pay a premium for enhancements in component product quality. 'The whole window industry is notorious at developing improvements, and then giving them away, rather than allowing them to command the premium which their benefits warrant.'

He believes that the innovators should not be afraid to pass on the cost of their product developments to the fabricator.'The fabricator should welcome such a move. In turn, they can sell the benefit, and enhance their own margin. In the end, it comes down to the fabricator being willing to demand that the end user pays for the benefits they receive from, say thermally enhanced glazing or extra security hardware or even a more aesthetically pleasing door hinge.'

Instead, he fears, too much of the industry remains enslaved to a price-driven approach, to the detriment of everyone in the supply chain, including the ultimate customer, who risks being left with a product that has been designed down to a price instead of up to a performance specification. 'What will result is an industry in which effective product development is stifled,' he says.

His comments come as SFS, which alone still invests over £20 million every year in product design, development and enhancements to manufacturing facilities worldwide, launches its latest enhanced door hinge range which features a number of concealed and semi-concealed hinges new to the UK market and designed specifically for the commercial sector.

Despite the suggestions about lack of co-operation between companies at the top of the industry, SFS intec works closely with a number of major profile systems companies, in both the UK and Europe, designing specially adapted fasteners and hinge products to suit individual profile suites.

A new brochure, detailing the complete SFS hinge range, will be available later in the summer.

Email: mailto:bric@sfs.ch

Council Residents Have their Say

Austenitic hardware by Securistyle has been specified by Wirral Borough Council, which has been working with residents to refurbish 76 houses and flats in Upton on the Wirral. Throughout the project, two resident representatives have taken their place on the core team and have been involved in the decisions and voting on all aspects of the work.

The specifiers and residents were offered a demonstration of window hardware by Securistyle to illustrate the role hardware plays in ensuring the safety and security of all residents, as well as to provide cutting edge advice on hardware specification issues.

Vivienne Taylor, Northern Specification Sales Manager at Securistyle commented, 'Residents now have more of a say in the work that is carried out on their homes. issues such as child safety, security and emergency egress are forefront in their minds. It is important to us that the needs of the residents are being met and the aim of these demonstrations is to assist specifiers in explaining the role of hardware to tenants.'

Partnering the council in the project, contractors Bramall Construction approached window fabricator Sash UK Ltd to produce a window specification. Sash, which has been a Securistyle customer for over 20 years, chose the austenitic Defender standard, restrictor and egress easy clean hinges, the Vector Excluder locking mechanism and Virage handles in white, but with a green button for any emergency escape windows.

Commercial Director for Sash, Brian Oxley, said: 'Securistyle's product range helped us tailor the specification to suit each different requirement for this project. The council and residents were particularly interested in emergency egress provision and keen to use as many wide-opening windows that could be readily identified, as possible. However, restricted hinges were used on upper windows, wherever they were deemed appropriate.

'The use of austenitic stainless steel, which we as a company have adopted as our standard, will mean an extended lifespan for the hardware which should lead to even greater long term savings for the council,' he added.

Contact: Maria Fatica
Tel: 01242 221200
Web: http://www.securistyle.co.uk

Picture : Tenant representative John Martin (Left) and Dave Wynn, project manager at Wirrall BC

Total Glass – Total Satisfaction at Mach II Speed

When reviewing the marketing and business strategy of a company, major factors that have to be considered are consistent product quality – providing specifications that attract customers and develop customer satisfaction; cost effective production processes that do not involve major retraining or capital investment; and increased profitability.

Talking to Paul Ierston, the operational Director at Total Glass in North Kirby, Merseyside, Maco was pleased to find that the company had provided the solutions.

'Since moving over from the Maco Mk1 Shootbolt Espagnolette, a product which has otherwise given us untroubled satisfaction, to the Maco Mach ll Shootbolt Espagnolette, we have been impressed at the results. We have seen an increase of over 33% in production using the same two fabricators and maintaining the same 40 hour week. Our production has gone up from 1350 to 1850 frames per week and we have done this with no new machinery and no new staff, we just removed the need for cropping the Shootbolt Espagnolettes by switching to the MachII system'.

Total Glass has also joined the Maco Secure Scheme which is a marketing tool supported by Maco, giving homeowners greater confidence in their windows knowing that should their security be breached they can claim up to £1000 of their insurance excess. Paul Ierston says, 'Customer satisfaction is improved all round, and we are delighted with the support we get from Maco with quality promotional literature as well as a very secure product for our customers, it has helped us increase business and improve our company image in a busy market place'

Contacts:
Total Glass Ltd: Stuart Waring, Sales Manager, tel: 0151 549 2339
Maco UK: Craig Bryant, telephone 01795 433911
Web: http://www.macouk.net

Major Kirklees Programme gives Winlock a 300,000 Handles Order

Winlock Security has been successful in a bid to supply almost 300,000 window handles to seven contractors, as part of a huge, three year PVCu window replacement scheme for Kirklees Metropolitan Council, valued at around £30 million.

Managed by the Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing lnvestment Team (KNH), the three-year contract is due for completion in 2006 and involves seven fabricator and installation contractors manufacturing and installing replacement windows in 16,000 properties. All contractors will use the Custodian espagnolette handles from Winlock.

An average of 4,000 to 5,000 properties will be fitted out per year at a cost of between £8 -10 million during the first year.

Commenting on the selection of Winlock as the sole provider of handles for the PVCu project, supervising officer, Michael Kimmings of Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing said: 'We decided that all seven window contractors would fit the same handles and locking mechanisms, identicaI vents and the same hinges. This policy is intended to optimise our long-term maintenance programme.

'We have encountered problems with locking mechanisms on some old handles fitted to existing windows. We discovered that the problems were usually caused by the fact that the mechanism itself was acting as a stop to the handle and thereby was prone to being over-wrenched.

'When we examined the Custodian we were impressed with both the handle's strength and the fact that a positive stop was fitted in two positions which helps prevent the problem and save us unnecessary maintenance. After short listing two handles for final consideration, we felt the Winlock handle offered us the best value. Other key factors in our final choice were the guarantees we were offered and technical back up,' explained Mr Kimmings.

Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing lnvestment Team, an 'Arms Length Management Organisation' (ALMO), was awarded £145 million by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to drive through major improvements to its properties as part of the Government's 'Decent Homes' target for 2006. Aside from the window replacement project, other improvements in the properties in Kirklees will involve kitchens, bathrooms, doors and central heating.

Kirklees Metropolitan Council has set up an ALMO Management Board with 18 members deciding where money is spent in the area. Six of the Board are members of Kirklees Federation of Tenant and Resident Associations (KFTRA). KFTRA's publicity officer, Sandra Gledding who is also secretary of the Tenants & Residents Association for Chinewood Estate in Batley - where the window replacement project is well underway - said: 'The windows and handles have been very well accepted by residents. The Custodian handle has a good full grip feel to it with a large push pad. They are comfortable and easy to operate.'

For Winlock, sales and marketing director Philip Swann said: 'Custodian has enjoyed considerable success since its Launch in 2000 and we are delighted that Kirklees has chosen it for such an important project.'

Contact: Philip Swann
Tel: 01952 680178
Email: mailto:sales@winlock.uk.com

Picture: Winlock's Dave Duddleston with Kirklees Housing Team's Michael Kimmings and TA publicity officer Sandra Gledding

25 Successful Years for Central Glass

Over 300 people joined Macclesfield based Central Glass at the recent opeing of its new Hulley Road showroom as part of the company's Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Trading in both the commercial and domestic sectors, Central Glass has built up a strong client base over the past 25 years. In celebration of this success and to officially open its new showroom the company held a series of open days commencing with an official opening by the Worshipful the Mayor of the Borough of Macclesfield, Councillor Joan Barnes, followed by events for trade and local customers.

Commenting on the celebrations, Ken Webster, Joint Managing Director of Central Glass said, 'I think the fact that we have been trading for 25 years is a testament to our commitment to quality products and excellent service. In addition to the new showroom we have also invested in our factory, taken on a number of new staff and teamed up with HW Plastics to fabricate their exciting new Elite 70 system. I am confident that with all of this going on, the next 25 years will be just as successful.'

From Left to Right: The Worshipful the Mayor of the Borough of Macclesfield, Councillor Joan Barnes with Ken Wheeler and Graham Ward, General Managers of Central Glass at the official opening of the Central Glass new showroom

CLICK HERE FOR NEWS ARCHIVE

RETURN TO HOME PAGE