Renegade Conservatory Guy

It’s clear that recession is continuing to bite in the double glazing industry, and I predict that there will be a lot more casualties before things get better.

The latest news items this week include:

The final closure of Plastmo

The credit crunch has been blamed for the business failure, just months after workers were told their jobs had been saved. About 150 workers at the Moulton Park-based factory were told in April their jobs were safe after the company was bought from the receivers by Eurocell.

But on Monday, Eurocell announced it planned to close the factory and move all its work to Derbyshire.

A spokesman for the firm said: “Eurocell has announced it intends to close production facilities at Northampton and transfer manufacture to Alfreton in Derbyshire.

“The Plastmo brand will continue, and a new customer service office will be established at Northampton, retaining the commercial staff currently working at the site on Moulton Park.”

The firm’s spokesman blamed the current economic climate on the move, adding: “Eurocell acquired the ongoing business interests of Plastmo Profiles Ltd in April and has successfully secured its trading position with customers.

“However, the economic downturn in the construction industry and significant ongoing investment required at the Northampton plant has meant the manufacturing site is no longer commercially viable. In addition to the commercial staff being retained, some other positions will relocate to Alfreton.”

Latest Plimsoll Report

According to the latest Plimsoll analysis 4452 jobs could go as situation worsens for double glazing companies.

The unwelcome news for the window & door industry coincides with the British Chamber of Commerce survey which suggests unemployment could rise by up to 300,000 over the next 12 months as the UK economy experiences a “prolonged and bumpy landing.”

By providing an individual analysis of each of the UK’s leading 1000 companies, it has assessed each company’s chances of survival and the steps each could take to charter a path through these choppy times. The analysis found that:

……so who’s next?

I’ve lost count of the companies who have gone bust or restructured over the last 18 months. Rumours are rife about many of the larger fabricators who are struggling to adjust their overheads to cope with weakened demand and lower margins.

I predict that many of these firms will probably struggle through for the next few months, but December, January and February will see large scale ‘restructuring’.

Companies that wish to avoid this fate need to refocus, slim down and not be frightened to innovate, because the flip side to all this bad news is that there are major opportunities for those that survive.