Clearview National June 2016 - Issue 175 | Page 42

DOORS&WINDOWS

Choosing the best door
»»SAFEDOORS IS THE TRADE BRAND
of the UK composite door manufacturer that
has been making doors for more than three
decades. As the market for residential doors
becomes ever more competitive, the company’s
Lorna Rose says that being in first means the
company works harder to stay ahead…
“Overall the glazing sector of the home
improvement market is enjoying an upsurge
though it remains fragile; replacing windows
in a saturated market continues to present a
challenge, although homeowners are waking
up to the significant improvements in the
performance of new windows compared
to those installed even just 10 years ago.
Conservatory sales are growing and bi-folding
doors continue to bring much needed profits
for installers throughout the UK.
“However, residential doors, especially
those manufactured using modern composite
materials, continue to excite homeowners
thus bringing a ray of sunshine to the market.
Although hardly new, Safedoors’ sister
company, Permadoor, introduced composite
residential doors almost 30 years ago, many
homeowners are only now realising the
improvements that can be made to their
homes simply by replacing their main external
doors.
“It is always worth reviewing just
why composite doors continue to excite
homeowners: they look good and offer the
customers almost countless customising
options to make them truly their own and
suited to their property; weather performance
and durability is way ahead of original timber
doors and even the moulded PVCu units,
which were often installed as part of an
incentive for a customer to sign on the night
for a house-full of windows; and of course
security is a highly significant issue.
“Despite being in at the very beginning of
composite residential doors, Safedoors has not
stood still, continuing to evolve and innovate

42 » JUN 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

in order to maintain its place at the head of
the market and, it has to be said, to remain
ahead of some highly competent competitors.
The market is awash with companies offering
composite doors which, whilst presenting
installers and, in turn, their homeowner
customers with great choice, also brings with it
some issues in respect of quality and long-term
support.
“So how can the smart installer sift through
the dozens of composite door brands that
jostle for their business? Which is the best
door, the least likely to require callbacks
and in turn therefore, which are likely to
yield the best profits and greatest customer
satisfaction?
“Ironically the answer is similar to that
which has been given to thousands of
homeowners whenever they ask the question,
‘How do I choose a dependable and honest
supplier of replacement windows for my
home?’ The answer given invariably is,
‘choose a firm that has traded successfully for
a number of years and which enjoys a good
reputation’. And so the story goes for choosing
a great composite door supplier…reputation is
everything!”
Lorna says that being the first in the market
with a product brings certain pressures, “I
understand that ultimately we will rise or fall
on the strength of our products, our customer
service and the way that we support our
customers to develop their businesses. If we
are not up to scratch there ar e plenty of others

out there to pick up any business that we leave
behind and they won’t be sentimental about
it.
“But Safedoors has a heritage and
reputation for producing great products and
backing them with excellent service and we
are all very proud that we were in first,” adds
Lorna. “We have to maintain the edge, as we
invented the game.”
Safedoors offers both a foam cored GRP
skinned door in its Diamond range and, at a
premium price point, an engineered timber
core product with a thermoplastic skin offered
as its Platinum range. All Safedoors products
are backed by a range of accreditations,
something that Lorna says is crucial for
homeowners as well as professional specifiers,
“Using the Internet most homeowners
are incredibly well informed these days.
Not only do they look for the appropriate
accreditations, they understand their
significance. Not having Secured By Design,
for example, will lose sales.”
Both ranges are available with a huge range
of options, with some superb marketing
materials and an online Door Selector
available to help customers make the choice.
Much has changed since Safedoors made
its first composite door 30 years ago. But
something that hasn’t is the company’s
commitment to supporting its customers and
in turn their customers.
www.safedoors.co.uk