Clearview National December 2016 - Issue 181 | Page 29

Annual Review Bearing the fruit of investment »»IN 2012, ALUK GROUP ACQUIRED Blyweert Beaufort, a brand that had operated in the UK for 20 years designing and manufacturing high performance windows and doors. In 2013, it was rebranded as AluK (GB) to benefit from the international recognition of the brand. Although AluK in the UK is part of the much larger AluK Group, the group philosophy is to hand autonomy to the local company to develop products and services that suit local market needs. Russell Yates became Managing Director of the UK and Ireland business unit in 2012, having previously developed the company’s aluminium systems in his role as Technical Director. GEARING UP FOR VOLUME Aluminium has always been popular in the commercial sector, however, the last 4 years have also seen a great shift in specification of aluminium systems for the trade and residential sectors, resulting in AluK’s larger growth. Although the organisation was able to predict upsurge, the supply chain infrastructure had to undergo an intense period of heavy investment and development to accommodate the volume required to meet demand. Russell explains, “We have invested heavily to increase our capacity and production, particularly where our product colours are concerned. A few years ago, the colours requested were predominantly black, white and brown. However , nowadays homeowners are more tuned into design trends and desire a broader colour palette. “Due to a lack of investment in the subcontractor supply chain, we made a significant outlay internally to manage this change in offering, with a selection of the most popular colours as standard plus a major investment in in-house powder coating plant and increased thermal break capacity. “In regards to products, bi-folding doors have certainly been big news this year and have made the end user more receptive to aluminium as a material overall. We have seen a big increase in demand for lift and slide doors in addition to bi-folds and sliding doors, as design savvy homeowners and architects seek ways to maximise the light going in to their buildings.” PROTECT AND GROW AluK has worked closely with its customers to develop its new product offering. The past 12 months of research and development are now bearing fruit with the launch of 5 new products towards the end of this year and early next year, supported by an investment into its current facilities upgrade. “Although we are expanding as a business and growing our product portfolio, our focus is not to saturate the market but to develop our existing customer base and help them to grow. Taking on too many fabricators in a region causes conflict of interest and ultimately devalues your product when customers are forced to compete on price. Instead we have taken the major decision to protect the customers we already have.” To accommodate the increased demand, a new site for AluK’s UK headquarters was identified in May and following intense negotiations acquired in September. The investment will enable an increase in production capacity and state of the art visitor centre which will house the AluK Academy alongside larger R&D and test laboratories for further product development. The company has also undergone a divisional restructure, which has doubled the size of its sales operations, specifically targeting trade and residential and commercial sectors. To further support their customers, AluK opened its London Design Studio on Worship Street near Liverpool Street station in March this year. A COMMITMENT TO COMMERCIAL The AluK Design Studio is a space for collaboration, networking, education and interaction, bringing AluK’s range of curtain walling, window and door systems to the heart of London and the international architectural community. The 4,000 sq ft space showcases among other products, a large selection of sliding and bi-folding doors as well as double height curtain wall displays. “The space has been developed and opened up to our customers to use as their own, with a large number having already made use of the opportunity. The studio has also played host to a variety of industry events in association with RIBA Journal,” comments Russell. “We have also been working very closely with architects to develop data models for use in 3D design software to fulfil their BIM requirements.” FOCUSSING ON FIT “2016 has been a seminal year for AluK and the company landscape is very different now compared to 2015. The focus now is on exhibiting at the FIT Show 2017, where we will showcase a range of exciting new products,” Russell concluded. W: www.aluk.co.uk, E: [email protected] C L E A RV I E W-U K . C O M » D E C 2016 » 29