20
MARCH 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
GGF Looks Forward To British
Reception At Fensterbau
With the GGF joining
forces with NürnbergMesse to exhibit at
fensterbau/frontale
for the first time, the
Federation is looking
forward to working with
the organisers to provide support and hospitality for GGF Members
there.
In addition, all companies
attending are invited to
join the GGF for the British
Reception, to be held at
the end of fensterbau day
2 (Thursday, 27th March)
on the UK Pavilion stand to
discuss industry issues and
network with colleagues
and friends from around the
world. The new GGF collaboration with the organisers
NürnbergMesse promises to
increase the profile of the
GGF and the UK industry at
the show.
The GGF will be in the
UK Pavilion stand number
4A.431 at fensterbau/frontale, which takes place at
Nuremberg Exhibition Centre on 26-29 March, a date
not to be missed.
Welcoming the GGF’s
involvement, Elke Harreiß,
Project Manager of fensterbau/frontale 2014 at
NürnbergMesse added, “It is
fitting that the leading trade
federation in the UK has a
strong presence at the highest profile trade show for
the fenestration industry.”
Stockport Firm Building
For Fifty Per Cent Growth
Building, maintenance and refurbishment firm, FT Finley, has appointed
Steve Parrington (pictured) as Managing Director to lead its ambitious
strategy to grow the business by 50
per cent before 2019.
The appointment comes as the Stockport-founded business kicks off plans to
deliver a five-year sustainable growth plan
that will increase turnover from £10m to at
least £20m.
Mr Parrington joins the firm from housing and regeneration specialist, Keepmoat,
where he was area director and a member
of the company’s board for 10 years.
He brings more than 35 years’ experience
in the social housing and construction
industries to the role and has previously
managed multi-million pound projects from
leading bids to building strategic partnerships.
He will be focusing on expanding FT
Finley’s business by working closely with
existing clients whilst increasing its presence across Merseyside, North Wales and
Cheshire, as well as diversifying the company’s offer to increase activity in the wider
construction industry.
The business’ former managing director,
Jason Finley, will now assume the role of
senior executive director and will lead on
day to day activities across the board.
FT Finley will continue to invest across its
team and infrastructure, providing training opportunities and evolving its quality
assurance and health and safety standards
throughout 2014.
Steve Parrington said: “With strong family
values and a focus on the best quality service as its backbone, FT Finley has developed into a very successful and sustainable
business, and a key player in the industry.
“With a turnover of £10m and ambitious
growth plans, the company is now entering
a new phase and I’m very excited about
joining the team to achieve this vision to
develop the business and manoeuvre into
new markets throughout the region and
beyond.“
Jason Finley, senior executive director
from FT Finley, said: “Steve’s appointment
marks a new era for us, and the beginning
of significant growth for the business. His
experience and skills will help drive the
necessary changes to move us forward
while delivering the same, dedicated service
that has seen FT Finley flourish over the last
40 years.“
More space,
more sales
and more
staff for VEKA
customer NE&C
Boosting local economy
Sunderland-based VEKA fabricator NE&C (North East & Cumbria)
Windows and Doors has created a
number of new jobs and is growing
its product range after moving into
a larger factory with support from
Sunderland City Council.
This family-owned company manufactures
a range of PVC-U and aluminium windows,
doors and conservatories for the commercial and residential sectors. To meet demand
and bring its design and manufacturing
operations under one roof, the business has
expanded into a 16,000 sq ft unit at Glover
Industrial Estate in Washington from two
smaller units on the city’s Pattinson Industrial Estate.
Five new jobs have been created as a result of the move.
Since the business was started a decade
ago by Managing Director Ed Ramshaw
and his wife Heather, who is the company’s
Financial Director, NE&C has grown from a
turnover of £250,000 to over £1.3m and a
staff of four has increased to 21.
Heather said: “That figure will continue
to grow. We’re not looking at a cap on how
many people we employ now that we have
a factory to grow into in the future.
“In the last 18 months, we have created a
glass production unit and introduced new
designs. We are trying to build our portfolio
with everything under one roof. We started
with PVC-U frames and now are into the
production of bi-fold doors. We are also
looking at conservatory roofs in the future.
We pride ourselves on the quality of our
design, manufacture and service which
means we produce everything in-house and
can offer a more competitive price to our
customers.”
Ed Ramshaw added: “We have a great
management structure in place. All our
managers are experts in their fields, ensuring the best advice and service. You are
only as good as the people you work with
and we are proud of all of our staff who
have assisted us with the move into a far
bigger facility.
“We are confident about the future and
we have a marketing strategy to continue to
grow in 2014/15.”
The business has just won a tender with
Sunderland City Council and is also part of
the Buy Sunderland First scheme, run by
the council to ensure local companies have
the opportunity to bid for Local Authority
work, keeping money generated in Sunderland within the local economy.
In addition to its North East and Cumbrian
heartland, NE&C supplies to construction
companies, the private and public sectors,
trade and residential customers across the
UK. The company is now launching a new
website, www.neandcltd.co.uk, to reflect the
additional services it provides.
Sunderland City Council provided support and advice to NE&C throughout the
relocation.
Heather paid tribute to the authority. She
said: “Sunderland City Council was fantastic.
We’ve worked with the Business Investment
team on previous projects and we have a
great relationship: they are easy to get on
with and very helpful.
“I have, in the past, worked in other areas
and with other councils but Sunderland is
the easiest to deal with.”
Colin Torley, VEKA’s Sales and Marketing
Director added: “We are delighted to have
seen NE&C grow so significantly and move
to an impressive new factory. VEKA shares
the company’s confidence that it will grow
even further and create more jobs in the
near future, and we look forward to continuing to work with NE&C for many years
to come. Their expansion will undoubtedly
be a boost to the local economy and they
should be very proud of themselves.”
VEKA plc, 01282 716611, www.vekauk.
com, [email protected].