Renegade Conservatory Guy

Old Roots; New Routes

It is clear that my previous letter published on the Fenestration News website, together with the weekly blog from the ‘industry debate’ on the Glazine, have stimulated a degree of debate amongst a selection of individuals not originally invited to Combe Abbey.

Some of the comments have been constructive, other less so. Let’s be clear, the industry is not in crisis, but it does have problems. And who is to blame?

All of us!

Having considered all the opinions from the debate itself and elsewhere, my position is as follows:

Obviously, my first concern was that a lack of key individuals and installers would mean that the debate would not be representative. I’ve thought long and hard about my letter, and feel I was probably off the mark a bit. I now feel that it was less important whether other industry heavyweights were present, and far more important that no representatives of the lower echelons of the supply chain were represented.

It is vitally important that any future debate includes installation companies, or at the very least, more fabricators who can speak for the installers.

But in the end, it is not debate but ACTION that is required. My gut feeling is that we’ll all keep talking and because we’re essentially in competition with each other – nothing good will happen.

However, if the industry is ready for radical change for the better I suggest something along these lines:

Another meeting takes place but on a larger scale. All the major extruders, hardware companies, glass producers, software companies, sealed unit manufacturers, frame manufacturers, conservatory roof manufacturers, a few forward thinking installation companies and a selection of PR and trade magazine editors should attend. Richard Schwarz, Sam Kennedy and Mike Rigby have done a good job creating the spark, and should be encouraged to continue their good work.

Prior to that meeting, individuals put their name forward to be considered for election to a ‘Double Glazing Trust’. More than anything the industry needs leadership and if, between us, we can democratically elect individuals to better represent and promote our industry then good will come from it.

The Trust should be funded by all major suppliers in the industry – a small percentage of each company’s turnover to be agreed. This organisation will be created to better advertise and market the common unique selling points of our industry as a whole. If the media portrays our industry in a negative way, this organisation should fight back and argue the positives. It would not interfere with the work of the GGF, BFRC or other industry organisations.

The organisation’s remit would be to change perceptions, and make us all proud to say we are in ‘double glazing!’

As an industry we are morally obligated to push Energy Rated Windows, and by doing so we can make a difference, while driving demand and profits for all of us. Climate change could be the biggest ever opportunity for our industry.

For conservatories, we will all benefit if consumers understand what a great investment a conservatory could be, whether it has an Ultraframe or K2 roof.

The most important issue we need to address is stimulating demand from the right type of customer. I’m not talking about necessarily trying to increase volumes, but increasing demand for the quality products we can offer.

By increasing demand profits will return to all parts of the industry, and only then can we seriously consider investing in serious amounts of training, research and development.