Clearview South November 2013 - Issue 144 | Page 85
installersupport
A wealth of opportunities Customer conference highlights
Trade fabricator Emplas, has showcased
the very latest in product innovation,
industry leading service and the commercial
returns that they deliver, at the Emplas
Opportunities Conference.
Attended by almost 200 installers and
industry representatives, the bi-annual was
held on October 17th at Sywell Aerodrome,
Wellingborough, a new venue from previous
years, selected to accommodate exceptional
demand.
The event was opened by Ryan Johnson,
Emplas’ Deputy Managing Director, who
introduced proceedings, which began with
a presentation from Epwin Group Systems
Division’s and former British Plastics
Federation Windows Group chair, Jon
Skinner.
He started with a somewhat sobering
analysis of market contraction, quoting D&G
Consulting’s 2013 report, which suggested
that the PVC-U window industry had
contracted in manufactured volumes from
335,000 tonnes in 2003 to 204,000 this
year.
He reported that during the same ten year
period the number of fabricators had dropped
from 6,000 to 1,700. This contrasted with
an increase in the number of installers in
business, now estimated to have grown to
more than 15,000, highlighting the fierce
competition in the retail sector.
NICHE APPEAL
Skinner, however, argued that despite this,
opportunities remained significant pointing
to the consumer appeal of coloured and niche
products including flush casements, vertical
sliding and fully reversible windows. He also
pointed out that the industry is going to enjoy
a period of growth in both 2014 and 2015.
He warned, though, that the window
industry needed to get better at pricing
products, particularly coloured products, if
it was to reap meaningful return. “I’m not
here to lecture you but price it [colour] right.
Colour costs to manufacture and people
understand that”, he said.
Alongside growth in composite door sales,
he suggested inline sliding doors were enjoying
a renaissance thanks to increased reliability
over and above bi-folding doors, giving them
renewed popularity in the new build sector.
To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com
BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE
CONSERVATORY SECTOR
Ultraframe’s Joe Martoccia was next to take
the stage. He painted the same picture of
market contraction with conservatory sales
falling from 240,000 in 2006 to 80,000 this
year. Putting figures to one side, his tone,
however, remained upbeat.
He said: “We haven’t been providing the
right product, we have been pushing the
same old white boxes. Consumer research
shows that householders want thermal
efficiency, they want the right colour, the
right aesthetic.
“There are a world of opportunities to
drive growth and drive demand. If we do
there is an opportunity to triple the market
and get it back to where it should be.”
To help achieve this growth he pointed to
opportunities in the replacement market,
which he suggested could climb as sky high
as the Spitfire and the Tiger Moth, which
put on an aerial display outside. He said
that there are 3 million conservatories to be
replaced in the UK and that the industry
should be attacking the 100,000 single
storey extensions being built every year in
the UK.
UNPARALLELED PRODUCT
OFFER AND SUPPORT
Jody Vincent, Area Sales Manager for
Emplas, highlighted innovations from what
has to be one of the industry’s largest product
ranges at Emplas, covering everything from
composite doors, to new and exclusive
window handle ranges and of course,
the Northamptonshire-based fabricator’s
conservatory offer. Jody also launched the
unique and innovative Emplas Customer
Information Manual, an on-line 700 page
document with a wealth of technical and
practical information.
Emplas’ Sales and Marketing Director,
Mike Crewdson, profiled the company’s
extensive and award winning customer
support and customer marketing programme,
including everything from dedicated window
tape to over-printable brochures and lead
generation. He then launched a new website
service for Emplas customers which provides
a brand new, up to date website heavily
subsidised by Emplas.
PRODUCT INNOVATION
After the break Stephen Laing of Pilkington
AG took attendees through the latest
innovations in glass and triple glazing, and
announced free retail literature courtesy of
Emplas. This was followed by Kris Matthews
of First Degree Systems, who took guests
through the benefits delivered by Emplas’
£100,000 investment earlier this year in new
online ordering, instant quotations and order
tracking software and systems.
The final speaker of the day was Tim
Clemmett, Business Development Manager,
Distinction. He gave an overview of the
buoyant composite door market, highlighting
the offer and retail support available to its
customers through Emplas, together with
the new Emplas 68-page Composite Door
Brochure.
www.emplas.co.uk , email info@emplas.
co.uk or call 01933 674880
NOV 2013
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