Clearview National August 2016 - Issue 177 | Page 76

ALUMINIUM Aluminium made easy »»CUSTOMADE IS HELPING its network of installers to tap into the enormous potential of aluminium with an outstanding new offering that makes pricing, quoting and promoting aluminium easier than ever before and slashes aluminium lead times to just two weeks. ‘REAL Aluminium’ delivers everything the installer needs to promote and sell the most extensive range of aluminium windows, doors and lantern roofs available from a single supplier.The move will help installers to make the most of the universal popularity of aluminium and take advantage of the greater profit margins it brings. Customade has also developed a comprehensive and personalised marketing support package for installers, which includes the UK’s first retail brochure dedicated to the full range of aluminium products. Gareth Thomas, Sales and Marketing Director at Customade Group, explains:“Aluminium is predicted to grow by around 40% in the domestic market and is fast becoming the material of choice for desirable home improvement products like bi-folds and lanterns. Despite the boom in aluminium, installers are constantly plagued with unreliable service levels, long lead times and complicated pricing models, which lag way behind PVCu. That’s why we set about creating a solution to help PVCu installers to successfully enter the world of aluminium with complete confidence and enhance their profits. “The concept of REAL Aluminium is to simplify everything - quoting and pricing aluminium is easier than ever before and there’s an impressive range of products to choose from.The profiles and components are held in stock in four colours, white, grey (7016), black (9005) and dual grey on white, at Customade, so lead times are much faster than average at just two weeks for products within the REAL range.” Customade has made a string of strategic investments to make REAL Aluminium the most comprehensive range available. A purpose built 34,000 square foot factory in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, exclusively manufactures the range of aluminium windows, bi-folding doors, sliding doors, French doors, residential doors, composite doors and lantern roofs.The factory holds more than 100 miles of aluminium extrusions in white, grey black and dual grey/white. As well as increasing production speed and capacity, the new factory has safeguarded Customade Group’s OTIF (on time in full) record of 99%. www.real-aluminium.co.uk COLLABORATION CREATES WINNING VIEWS »»FOLLOWING GLASS Living UK Ltd successfully winning the contract to manufacture and install all the glazing for the bespoke house in Yorkshire, Kestrel Aluminium Systems helped it to deliver a home with idyllic views. Designed to maximise the views of the glorious countryside, allowing natural light to flood into the brand new home, the architect responsible specified high quality aluminium windows and doors with slim sight lines. As with most bespoke projects they present their challenges, one of which was a strict deadline to ensure that the build continued to progress at the expected rate to avoid setbacks and costly time penalties. Finding themselves with time pressures to make the house watertight and ready for the second fix stage, Glass Living UK Ltd turned to its trusted aluminium supplier, Kestrel Aluminium Systems, to supply the glazing systems. Multiple windows were required with a mixture of fixed and opening vents, designed to frame and maximise the views from the rooms. To ensure a 76 » AUG 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M uniform look was achieved, the fixed vents were made to the same dimensions as the doors. The Kestrel Folding Sliding Doors were specified with a flush track to offer ease of access to the outside and to create a cleaner and neater aesthetic. The popularity of the Folding Sliding Door system has been driven by the opportunities they provide in properties like this. Framing a view, opening up walls, allowing the outside in and creating light bright modern spaces. Installing French Doors using the rebate door system offers a flexible approach to living as the homeowner can utilise either doors to gain access to the outside. All of the products installed achieve U-Values of a minimum of 1.6 W/m2K. Matthew from Glass Living UK Ltd commented: “By allowing us to order only the material we need to complete an installation Kestrel Aluminium Systems helps us to keep our costs to a minimum and reduce material wastage and these savings allow us to offer a competitive price.” [email protected]