Clearview National January 2017 - Issue 182 | Page 56

CONSERVATORIES

The Big Roll Out

Made For Trade is preparing to go big this year following a busy 2016 , which saw the company increase turnover by another 30 % and increase factory space to accommodate the production of the Korniche , the game changing aluminium roof lantern .
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ALTHOUGH RECENT market research has marked down the Conservatory roof market by 13 %, Made For Trade has experience a 25 % increase . Managing Director , Bradley Gaunt , says their aim now is to grow market share by growing business with existing customers and absorbing the business of those companies choosing to move away from fabrication . Key to this strategy is the roll out of Korniche . Clearview went along to the new , dedicated Korniche fabrication and training facilities to find out more …
DELIBERATE ENGINEERING
Korniche has been 2 years in the making , designed and engineered from scratch by Bradley , who has a degree in manufacturing engineering , and his brother who is an automotive engineer , specialising in chassis and suspension design for an Italian company in Turin . The duo has even gone as far as to have their own components manufactured and fabricating to tolerances of up to +/ -0.1mm , something relatively unheard of in the industry . This results in a product that achieves faster fitting , superior strength , high thermal insulation values , is slimmer with more glass and less rafters than others can achieve .
Bradley explains , “ The strong and thermally efficient Korniche has been designed to be easy and quick to install . Developed
from the ground up , with its slim sections and uninterrupted sight-lines and each component meticulously designed to complement the next , we believe the perfect blend between form and function has been achieved .
“ The decision to do a gradual roll out of Korniche , since its launch at the ‘ Fit Show ’ last year , was so that we could control the growth to maintain standards and allow us to implement the right infrastructure to support the full introduction of the product . This has allowed us to engineer out any issues before they had chance to become a problem . We have also spent time building a team of the right people to fabricate Korniche .”
It was for this reason that only 100 installation guides were initially printed , so that the process could be adapted as the product was rolled out . In fact , Bradley has assisted on most of the early installs , to provide advice and support but also to gain feedback . “ Our aim has been to minimise room for error and mistakes ,” he says .
Made For Trade is taking time to carefully test Korniche to the worst case scenario and put it through rigorous testing for BBA accreditation . This will allow the company to make quantifiable claims that can be substantiated . Bradley feels the results will prove the Korniche is far stiffer and stronger than any other lantern currently on the market .
SPEEDILY DOES IT
The beauty of the product is in its ease and speed of installation . The company recently proved this by filming the construction of a 1.5 x 3 metre lantern at the Korniche fabrication facility with a time lapse camera , taking just 27 minutes 46 seconds fully glazed . Bradley comments , “ To achieve this , Korniche has been designed to incorporate several time saving elements , which removes parts of the traditional construction and fitting processes . These include the way in which the spas bolt together using a universal 5mm Allen key , the integral glazing retainers / glass lock , the full aluminium die-cast structural lugs and end caps , the tapered washers to self-align and preload the joints and the steel Heli coils fitted to certain castings to prevent cross threading . We even pre-drill fixing holes into the eaves beams . In addition there is also a patent pending on the specially designed boss too .”
Even the way Korniche is packaged and shrink wrapped is designed to ooze quality . The box of parts is provided with all the components fitted into a custom
foam protective ‘ briefcase ’ with a cardboard separator . This has been designed to not only provide unparalleled protection in transit but also aids with installation and conveys the premium brand . “ Every aspect of Korniche is very deliberate and for a purpose ,” explains Bradley .
He concludes , “ With all this now in place , the plan is to roll out Korniche to everyone in January . We have brought an experienced Sales Manager in Trevor Hopper on board to showcase the Korniche to the industry . There has been a lot of interest in the Korniche so I believe Trevor will be very busy .” Trevor commented , “ The Korniche Roof Lantern really is a game changer that anyone in the building , home-improvement business needs to see and get on board with it !
“ The time lapse footage we filmed recently is available to view on our website , and in May we will be at the ‘ Fit show ’ again with Korniche on a stand over 290 square feet bigger than last year , where we will reveal a few surprises ! ‘ Seeing is believing ’.”
www . madefortrade . co
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