16
MARCH 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Kestrel reports year on
year growth for Kavex
Building products brand Kestrel is reporting year
on year growth in the popularity of its Kavex products.
The textured cladding
range is available in
both a shiplap and
featheredge board, and
is designed to give an
authentic look of timber
while being virtually
maintenance free.
Available in five colours, the
textured cladding product is
suitable for all buildings but
has a particular appeal to
those with character properties who want a traditional
look without the upkeep of
wood.
Kestrel sales and marketing
director, Simon Reynolds,
said: “The Kavex textured
cladding range is proving to
be extremely popular with
both speculative house builders and installers.
“One of the advantages for
installers is that the shiplap
version of this product comes
in a 300mm option, making it
faster to install.”
Simon added that the trend
for foiled, painted timber
effect windows had led to a
growing demand for Kavex.
As a result, Kestrel expanded the Kavex colour range
include white, sand, light
grey, light blue and cream in
both shiplap and featheredge
varieties.
Along with the 300mm
width, Kavex also comes in
a more traditional 150mm
shiplap option, while the
featheredge version comes in
a 270mm width.
With its growing popularity
in the UK, Kestrel is now
opening up a new market for
Kavex in Norway.
The manufacturer has
partnered with a distributor
close to Oslo and believes the
quality of the product makes
it a great fit for the Norwegian market.
“The beauty of Kavex is that
it can stand up to an extreme
climate like Norway because
it doesn’t rot or need painting,” Simon added. “Along
with its durability, Kavex has
an A+ environmental rating,
fast installation time and 20
year guarantee.”
The expansion into the
Norwegian market comes
after Kestrel reported a
record OTIF (on time in full)
delivery rate of 99.8% in the
UK, which it attributed to exceptional teamwork by staff
both at its Scunthorpe site
and in the field.
For more information visit
www.kbp.co.uk
PROGRESSION THROUGH
ONLINE PLATFORM
‘the exclusive Members area of
the website offers GGF Members a
comprehensive menu of benefits’
The GGF expressed
delight as the Federation’s online presence
continues to grow at a
considerable rate with
January, showing a
25% increase in unique
users and sessions
against the same period in 2014.
Last year, the GGF’s website www.ggf.org.uk, showed
over 20% growth year-onyear with almost 120,000
people using the site and
over 150,000 visits.
Nigel Rees, GGF Group
Chief Executive commented:
“The GGF has come a long
way in the last few years
with regard to our online
profile, and our website statistics are clear evidence of
our investment in this area.
We will continue to develop,
where possible, to ensure
our Members and our many
other audiences get clear
and up-to-date information
on our activities.”
Since 2011, the GGF’s
online pr esence has seen
the launch of a new website
and a multitude of developments that showcase the
GGF’s technical expertise
including; technical microsites, downloadable technical
publications, the GGF Energy Savings Calculator plus
CE Marking flow charts and
templates.
In addition, the GGF
website also contains a
digital news service that is
updated every week and a
monthly digital magazine
for GGF Members. Both of
these features are housed in
the exclusive Members Area
of the website which offers
GGF Members a comprehensive menu of benefits
from Members only publications, Group and Committee
updates (minutes, agendas
and meeting dates), a GGF
contacts list and access to
the GGF image library and
Media Hub.
This rapid but structured
online development has
seen the GGF benefit considerably as the following
2014 statistics show.
• 523,215 unique page
views – an increase of
14.5% v 2013
• 152,551 sessions – an
increase of 22% v 2013
• 119,760 unique users
– an increase of 23% v
2013
• 95,467 new visitors to
the web site in 2014 – an
increase of 23% v 2013
• 22,208 unique searches of
the GGF Directory – an
increase of 69% v 2013
• 14,145 downloads of
technical publications
• 2,587 twitter followers
and over 600 LinkedIn
connections
• 261 enquiries to join the
GGF via the web site - an
increase of 59% v 2013
James Lee, Head of GGF
Group Marketing and Communications commented:
“The GGF has taken the
lead in many respects by
embracing digital technology and using it to great advantage. The Federation has
shown it is not afraid to try
to develop online features
to improve communications
to the GGF Membership and
to a wider audience.”
The GGF’s online plans for
2015 include developments
that cater for its many key
audiences and in particular Members can expect
expansion in the Health and
Safety, Technical Publications and Public Affairs sections. In addition the GGF
will be launching a new
way for non-Members to get
Technical Information as
well as aiming a new online
offering to homeowners.