Clearview Midlands June 2014 - Issue 151 | Page 24

INDUSTRYNEWS FREEFOAM CLADDING DRIVES NEW OPPORTUNITES FOR INSTALLERS Freefoam, a leading manufacturer of a wide range of innovative products for the building industry in UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, has recently seen an increase in enquiries and opportunities for installers and stockists of its Fortex cladding range. Demand and knowledge for home improvement products is increasingly being driven by consumers who now have easy instant online access to products and information. Freefoam has seen a significant increase in searches for the Fortex range with cladding terms fast becoming one its most popular search terms. This interest and increase in traffic is also converting in to stock and installation enquiries. Ricky Lovell from Precision Roofline, supplied by Prestige Plastics in Evesham commented “As Freefoam Registered Installers we recently picked up on a Freefoam enquiry with a brief to replace traditional hanging tiles for a more contemporary look using the Fortex cladding. We found the product easy to fit, light to handle Before After and it certainly transformed the frontage of the clients home. The work has opened up a new side to our roofline business and we’ve subsequently carried out several more similar projects for other residents in the area who like the look and can see the benefits of using a hard wearing low maintenance cladding. We are now actively promoting the range to existing and new customers, using the product to grow our business” Fortex® cladding features an attractive textured wood effect and comes in a range of subtle contemporary colours, available in weatherboard and double plank formats. Designed to make storing, handling and fitting quick and easy, the weatherboard cladding weighs just 3.15kg per 5 metre board - four times lighter than cement fibre board. Fortex also comes with significant environmental credentials with the Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) ‘Green Guide To Specification’ giving PVC cladding an A+ rating when fitted with standard insulation products. Colin St John, General Manger commented, “Manufacturing new innovative products is what Freefoam is all about. The Fortex cladding range is a good example of how stockists and installers can easily increase their product offering and extend their business to meet new consumer demands.” IT’S A FIT-UP FOR ‘FACE OF FIT’ PHOTO WINNERS This set of dodgy-looking ‘Usual Suspects’ are actually the crew from GT Window Products who have just got clean away with a pair of tickets to the exclusive FIT Show Gala Dinner after winning the show’s Face of FIT photo competition. And, of course, their faces in front of thousands of their peers throughout the industry! Their Usual Suspects ‘selfie’ came out top in the competition and will be used extensively on the show’s official programme and other marketing material but many of the entries were so good that no fewer than four others will also win two tickets each as joint runners-up. Social networks have been buzzing with all kinds of comical, quizzical and spoof photos since the organisers launched the competition, aimed at getting visitors and exhibitors really involved in the show. Tony Hancock, General Manager of GT Window Products, the Tewkesbury-based hardware manufacturer and second-time FIT Show exhibitor, said, “We won the competition at the first FIT Show, we have 24 JUN 2014 won again now and we will definitely be going for the hat-trick next time...unless anyone thinks they are good enough to stop us.” And now, as well as GT Windows’ movieinspired rogues’ gallery, prizes also go to long-established sash window trade fabricator Roseview Windows of Olney, Bucks; installer Andy Howarth and wife Lisa who are ADH Glazing of Reed, near Burnley; Dungannon Window Co of Co Tyrone, also a longestablished sash fabricator and a FIT Show exhibitor; and St Helen’s-based profile bender Arcoframe, which will also be exhibiting. As well as the FIT Show itself, the black-tie Gala Dinner on the night of the 11th will feature dining, dancing and cabaret hosted by award-winning stand-up comic and ventriloquist Nina Conti as well as a tantalising ‘World Cup Surprise’ and the announcement of this year’s winners in the Master Fitter Challenge, with prizes totalling over £10,000 up for grabs to reward the most skilled in our industry. ‘we’ll definatley be going for the hat-trick’ For anyone not lucky enough to win a pair, tickets for the Gala Dinner are going fast but a few may still be available on www.fitshow. co.uk. To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com