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 . 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 that 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 . 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 ? 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 . And beginning from that standpoint of course Safedoors has no peers . Safedoors Sales Director Lorna Rose 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 are 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

‘ maintain control of the buying process at all times ’

them with excellent service – we invented the product – and we are all very proud that we were in first ,” adds Lorna . 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 . Lorna explains : “ The Safedoors Door Selector allows the installer to maintain control of the buying process at all times . It is controlled via a log in that offers the choice of revealing or hiding prices . Recently we have added the facility to use a ‘ Digital Photo Visualiser ’ which allows the customer to see how their choice looks against their own home – and change it if they don ’ t like what they see .” 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