Letters

Q-secure guarantees finished windows, doors and patio doors, including aluminium bi-fold and lift/slide elements, against break in for 10 years after installation. If an intrusion occurs as a result of hardware failure, VBH will pay the customer up to £8000 direct. Fabricators can become Q-secure Approved Manufacturers by committing to gear their Q-secure products with hardware from VBH’s basket of approved products. Crucially, the basket contains hardware from a number of top brands, including greenteQ, Yale, AGB, Roto, Maco and Securistyle. Companies installing Q-secure windows and doors are Q-secure Approved Installers. All Approved Partners are listed on the newly updated website. Consumers looking for window and door companies can easily find a selection via the post code search button. VBH are driving consumers to the website to generate leads for the network. Marketing Manager Gary Gleeson says “There’s a glut of business out there just waiting to be had. Everyone is concerned about security, whatever the economic climate. By offering a free 10 year security guarantee as part of their sales pitch, Q-secure Partners have the edge over competitors who sell on price alone. After all, prospects can see that the Q-secure network must be supremely confident in the performance of our products if we’re promising to pay up to £8000 if they fail. That peace of mind is priceless.” All the hardware on the approved list has been tested to relevant UK and/or European standards, and the range has recently been refreshed by the addition of new products including greenteQ ClearLIFT lift/slide door hardware and the ArTech tilt and turn system from respected Italian manufacturer AGB. Gary adds ”A big attraction to fabricators who sign up as Q-secure Manufacturers is that they are not pinned down to one single hardware brand. For example, they can currently choose window locks from 3 top makers. This means that they can tailor their windows and doors to their own preference. Q-secure covers everything so there are no nasty surprises if someone does make a claim.” For more information on how to join the Q-secure network visit qsecure.co.uk, Tweet @vbhgb or @vbhgreenteQ, or call 01634 263300.

The annual campaign, which this year is themed ‘You call it home, we keep it secure’, aims to raise awareness around the importance of home security. Offering advice, breaking down technical jargon, and debunking myths for homeowners across the UK, NHSM helps to drive demand for security products and installation services nationwide. Paul Atkinson, Sales and Commercial Director for Yale commented: “At Yale, NHSM has become a highlight of our calendar each year because of the good it does for homeowners and for the industry. It’s truly a great initiative to be involved with. Taking place in October, the campaign coincides with the onset of the clocks going back and darker winter evenings – which is a pivotal period for security sales and a time when many people consider upgrading their doors and windows. NHSM gives us the perfect platform to talk directly to homeowners about what they actually need to make their home secure, and while doing so are able to boost awareness for our fabricator and installer partners.” Week one of the campaign in particular presents a prime opportunity for door fabricators and installers, as it takes a deep dive into door locks. Dubbed ‘You call it home, we keep it locked’, security experts will be providing insight into the best standards, products and practices of a variety of door locks on the market. This provides an ideal opportunity to up-sell British Standard security solutions, such as the TS007 compliant Yale Platinum 3 Star cylinder and TS008 compliant letterplate. However, the opportunities don’t end there. Week five’s ‘You call it home, we keep it protected’ aims to shine a light on dark nights and how burglar activity can change with the shorter days. Arming homeowners with the stats and knowledge they need to make the changes required to keep their homes secure. While other weeks include a focus on smart security, safes, and CCTV and alarm systems. Visit www.homesecuritymonth.com or email info@homesecuritymonth.com. For the latest updates about Yale DWS, visit www.yaledws.co.uk or call 01902 366800. For product information and updates, follow @YaleDWS on Twitter.

Feel free to get in touch with your views on the industry, legislation, government, or even the newspaper.

chris@glassnews.co.uk

Dear Editor, I may be a lone voice, but, having spent so many years building Euroglaze into one of the most efficient fabricators in the UK, I’m struggling to understand why there seems to be a growing consensus around the idea that the market now needs to be reeducated to accept longer lead times. I accept there are supply issues at the moment, on glass, hardware and particularly on coloured profile, which are obviously impacting on many people’s ability to get orders out the door. However, these are just temporary and shouldn’t, in my opinion, be used to justify any kind of inefficiency moving forward. I’ve read comments in the press and online over recent weeks that it would be better for the market if installers, who generally have a few weeks’ work booked in, accepted lead times of 7-14 days. This, it is argued, would give fabricators more time to ramp up volumes, eliminate mistakes and get their quality consistently right which, in the long run, would benefit their customers. Frankly, I just don’t see any justification for that position. Why should installers have to adapt their business model to accommodate the deficiencies of their supplier? At Euroglaze, we are still offering our standard Rehau white windows on a 3 and a half day lead time, with almost zero errors. As long as we have the components in stock, there’s a maximum 90 minutes of operator interaction required to make that window. Using Kanban lean production methods, we know exactly how many windows we can make in a day and we can set a daily cap based on that capacity, without any work in progress backlog. Post lockdown, and in response to the surge in demand, we’ve restructured our entire operation onto a continental shift pattern which has doubled our capacity with just a 25% increase in manpower. We tell customers as soon as they place an order whether any items are out of stock so that there are no nasty surprises when they get their delivery and we give them a guaranteed lead time. We’re not the cheapest in the market obviously, and nor we would want to be if that meant compromising on either quality or efficiency. We do save our customers’ money though, because they know that their orders will be right first time and they won’t have to struggle with missing items, rejects or remedials. The pandemic will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on this industry, but it doesn’t have to be entirely negative. If it forces manufacturers to become more efficient and puts an end to the race to the bottom on price, then it will be installers, who are the lifeblood of this industry, who will ultimately benefit. Yours sincerely Martin Nettleton, Managing Director, Euroglaze