Leading commercial installer, The Window Company (Contracts), is one of the first businesses to sign up to the brand new ‘Good Business Charter’, which has been launched to encourage better business practice in the UK.

Backed by both the CBI and the TUC, the new Charter is the brainchild of Richer Sounds boss and ethical entrepreneur Julian Richer and will accredit only those companies that can prove they treat their staff, customers and suppliers well.

For The Window Company (Contracts), it is the perfect fit. Chairman David Thornton explained: “We have built a successful business on the very principles which underpin this new charter – from paying a real living wage to our staff, to paying our suppliers promptly.

The Window Company (Contracts) continues to set the pace in the commercial installation market with news that it has just been accredited to the very latest occupational health and safety standard ISO45001: 2018.

Developed to replace OHSAS18001, ISO45001: 2018 is designed to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions.

The Window Company (Contracts) has reinforced its commitment to the charitable foundation run by its client MOAT Housing with a second donation of £10K.

The Chelmsford based commercial installer, which is partnered with MOAT on its window and door replacement framework for properties across Essex, London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, is giving more backing to the MOAT Foundation’s community hubs.

The company’s original £10K donation in November 2018 helped to fund the opening of a brand new community hub in Maldon, Essex, and this additional £10K will now allow the hub to scale up the range of services it offers to local residents. This includes everything from job clubs and digital skills workshops to activity sessions for the elderly and young children.

Award winning commercial installer The Window Company (Contracts) proudly boasts that it has the best trained workforce in the industry, with a comprehensive individual training plan in place for every member of its team.

So determined is it to set the very highest installation standards in the industry that it has put together a CPD for clients to help them get the most from every window and door installer they work with.

The first client to benefit from the CPD was Moat, which is partnered with The Window Company (Contracts) on the window and door replacement framework for its properties across Essex, London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Moat sent a team to The Window Company (Contracts)’ Chelmsford premises recently to try out the CPD for themselves.

When the first Kommerling frames came off the production line at Genius PVC Trade Frames in Norwich, they were headed directly for a large scale commercial refurbishment project being carried out by The Window Company (Contracts) for Chelmsford City Council.

David Thornton, chairman of the award winning* commercial installer, went along to see the frames for himself and to congratulate Pete Dyson and David Eagle, the two men who are the brains behind Genius, on their new venture.

He said: “We had worked with Pete and David and their production director Steve Wood before when they were at one of our existing suppliers and had always been impressed with how they operated and how they looked after customers. As soon as they announced the launch of Genius, we were keen to work with them again and, at the same time, to add another Kommerling fabricator to our list of partners.”

We’re incredibly proud of the efforts of our very own Katie Thornton, Director of Compliance and Administration at The Window Company (Contracts), who received a personal letter this week from Sir Gerry Berragon, CEO of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, congratulating her on the work she has done as chair of the Employer’s Trailblazer group.

This group has been responsible for developing a brand new suite of fenestration apprenticeship standards which will be used for decades to come to train thousands of individuals in fabrication, installation and eventually curtain walling as well.

It has been a momentous effort carried out over more than 18 months developing new standards which will work for both employers and apprentices and which we think will make a major contribution to this industry’s efforts to increase the skills base and attract new, young recruits.

The Window Company (Contracts)’ extensive experience in the schools sector helped the award winning* installer secure the replacement window contract at Loyola Preparatory School in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

Recommendations came not just from other nearby schools, but even from other subcontractors who had seen the company’s fitting teams in action and had been impressed with the standard of work.

As a result, Loyola’s bursar Maria Rosario had high expectations of what the company could deliver on the contract and was delighted when they lived up to those. She explained: “From the outset, The Window Company (Contracts) made us feel that we were in very safe hands.

Duarte Dias is the newly appointed Yard Manager at award winning commercial installation specialists The Window Company (Contracts).

Working with his assistant George Clements, he is ensuring that the 500 plus frames which the company fits every week are all fully prepared on time and ready for despatch to site, and that all incoming and outgoing deliveries at the Chelmsford HQ are managed with the kind of supreme efficiency which has become The Window Company (Contracts)’ trademark.

Duarte has extensive experience in the window and door industry, including as a branch manager at a PVC-U trade counter outlet. He is implementing some organisational changes designed to make stock quicker and easier to access and is already drawing up plans designed to further reduce waste and maximise recycling.

Retrieving ladders from the roofs of vans used to be an occupational safety hazard for almost all window fitters and many other onsite tradespeople. Award winning commercial installer The Window Company (Contracts) has come to the rescue however and introduced a new ladder system for its vans which eliminates that risk once and for all.

Working with a specialist provider, the Chelmsford based company is now equipping all its new vans with a pneumatic lifting and lowering mechanism for rooftop ladders which means that fitters never need to climb onto the top of vans again. They just release the obligatory safety catch and then they can raise or lower the ladders with a pole.

The industry seems finally to have recognised that it needs to step up its focus on skills and training if it is to continue to attract new talent and compete in a post Brexit Britain.

As a business which arguably has the best trained workforce in the industry, I would question why it has taken so long.

We joined the elite group of installers holding the Kitemark for window installation based on BS8213-4 way back in 2016 and continue to invest around £100,000 a year in training, via a mix of in-house and external training courses and in the production of our own training manuals and standardised Toolbox Talks procedural documents.

The 1000th Moat home has received new windows, installed by The Window Company (Contracts) since the commercial specialist was appointed to the window and door replacement framework at the start of last year.

The lucky residents in the landmark 1000^th property were delighted to receive flowers and chocolates to mark the occasion, telling The Window Company (Contracts): “We cannot thank you enough for the way we have been treated. Yours is a very considerate company with very pleasant employees.”

Fittingly, the 1000^th property was in Maldon, Essex where Moat have more homes than in any other local authority area, and where a Moat Foundation Community Hub opened last year, part-funded by a £10,000 donation from The Window Company (Contracts).

Last week several of the team headed to the NEC for the latest instalment of the fenestration industry’s very own exhibition. The FIT (Fabricator and Installer Trade) Show is designed to showcase the very best the industry has to offer in terms of new products and provide a platform for networking and knowledge acquisition and once again it did that really rather well.

The first FIT Show was held back in 2013 and since then it has more than doubled in size and successfully relocated to the NEC from its original home in the Telford Exhibition Centre.

This time around, the organisers had made skills and training a key focus in response to the industry’s widely acknowledged skills shortage; and had even created their own Skills Thursday with a whole range of seminars taking place on the final day and plenty of signposting to help businesses find the right training route. This was broadly welcomed and some of the seminars were well attended but it was a shame to see so many empty seats at many of them when the topics were really useful.

We’ve just started work on a multi-million pound contract to install Schueco windows, doors, curtain walling and louvres in the brand new HKR development in Hoxton, developed by LBS Properties and being built by Tolent Construction.

A mixed use development with 66 urban apartments, commercial office and retail space, HKR will be a bold new addition to the Hoxton skyline when it opens later this year. Created by Hawkins Brown Architects, it will feature a grid of toned weathering steel frames across the whole 10-storey façade punctuated with fritted glass.

David Thornton, Chairman of G-18 Installer of the Year The Window Company (Contracts), asks whether the reality of recycling in PVC-U actually lives up to the hype.

If you’re working in the commercial sector as we are, then you’re under a whole raft of obligations when it comes to recycling. We’re legally required to handle and dispose of waste safely and responsibly of course, and public sector clients increasingly want us to demonstrate new ways in which we’re becoming more environmentally sustainable. Undoubtedly, we don’t just need to be doing the right thing, but we need to be seen to be doing it as well.

The big area of focus for us currently is PVC-U recycling, which has long lagged behind timber and aluminium, but which is now making concerted efforts to catch up. If you have a look online or glance through the trade magazines, you would think that our task would be fairly easy.

Award winning* commercial installer The Window Company (Contracts) has welcomed the decision by the FIT Show organisers to stage a free seminar on mental health at this year’s event.

The company’s chairman David Thornton says that it’s an acknowledgement of the fact that lots of employers in the fenestration industry are aware that they need to do more to support the mental health of their workforce, but don’t necessarily know where to start.

He explains: “This looks like a really timely initiative – anything which encourages a wider conversation about mental health in our industry and helps to break down any lingering stigma is good news. We have already started to do a lot of work on this and have incorporated mental health and wellbeing into our health and safety policies, but we’re very keen to see what new tools we can use to support our teams even further.”

When The Window Company (Contracts) completed phase one of the window and door replacement project at Hatcham College, the school’s Business Manager Mary Williams, was impressed with the company’s whole approach. She said: “We knew that we could trust everyone on the team and, with one project manager responsible for everything on site, they were very easy to work with. Nothing was too much trouble and we would definitely work with them again.”

The Haberdasher’s Askes’ Federation school has been true to its word, and the award winning* commercial window and door installer has now completed the second phase of the impressive CIF (Condition Improvement Fund) funded replacement scheme at the school for 3-18 year olds in South East London.

As the current holder of the G-Awards Installer of the Year title, commercial specialist The Window Company (Contracts) is embracing the opportunity which that presents to set the very highest standards for all those operating in the window and door sector

Key to that is its approach to corporate social responsibility and, as a result, it has become involved in several new initiatives designed to provide employment and training opportunities for young people.

First amongst these is the appointment of two ex-service personnel into full time roles at The Window Company (Contracts). Recruited through the MoD and Right Management’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP), both have recently left the army. One will be prepping the windows and doors ready for delivery to site, while the other will be out on site working with the company’s fitting teams.

Award winning commercial installer The Window Company (Contracts) attributes much of its success to being able to manage projects more efficiently than just about anybody else.

As part of its commitment to staying ahead of the competition, it has just appointed Patrick Holt as an additional Contracts Supervisor, to help ensure that both its refurbishment and new build projects continue to run on time and on budget

Patrick has worked in the construction industry for his entire career – progressing from labourer to assistant site manager, and is bringing all of that real world know-how to the new role. His particular focus is on identifying ways in which The Window Company (Contracts) can utilise new technologies to improve its performance still further and enhance the experience for clients and residents it works with.

We’re writing a regular column in Glass Times looking at some of the industry’s big issues from an installer’s perspective. Our first article asked the question –

What would the fallout be for installers if one of the industry’s big players suddenly went out of business? And, how can installation companies protect themselves from that perceived threat? – however unlikely it might seem.

In any industry which likes to network as much as ours does, rumours will always circulate both face to face and online about the relative health of various fabricators and systems houses. While I’m almost sure that none of those rumours are true, high gearing, over capacity and low margins in PVC-U in particular mean that installers can’t afford to discount the prospect altogether.

The G-18 window and door Installer of the Year has extended its premises yet again to keep pace with its continuing expansion.

The Window Company (Contracts) has now more than trebled the size of its Chelmsford facility since it first won the Installer of the Year title back in November 2014.

The latest office extension will accommodate a growing contracts management team, who are responsible for commercial installation projects across London and the South East.

Chairman David Thornton said: “We built our reputation in the social housing sector but increasingly we’re winning contracts in education, health and commercial new builds. In response to that, we’re making all the investments we need in our people and our premises to make sure we have the capacity to maintain the same outstanding levels of efficiency and customer service.

Yara Lewisham is a brand new mixed use development combining 4,000 sq ft of office and retail space on the ground floor with private student accommodation on the floors above. Built on the site of an old industrial unit near to Ladywell Station, it is the latest example of the ongoing regeneration taking place in this part of London.

The 5-storey development with feature brick facades includes aluminium windows and glazed shopfronts installed by the award-winning commercial specialists The Window Company (Contracts). All are in Smart System’s Alitherm range, including close to 200 windows fitted in the 92 en-suite and studio student rooms.

Because Yara Lewisham is located next to the mainline railway line into London Bridge, The Window Company (Contracts) recommended high performance acoustic glass throughout to ensure that the necessary decibel reduction levels were achieved for quiet studying.

Award winning commercial window installer, The Window Company (Contracts) has joined forces with Basildon Borough Council in an innovative scheme aimed at giving private homeowners the chance to upgrade their homes to match council owned properties being refurbished around them.

Together, they are offering homeowners access to the same windows and doors being installed as part of the council’s ongoing replacement programme, at the same low unit price and with low interest finance available if required. The move is designed to address the familiar issues of homeowners being left behind when energy efficient, high security windows and doors are installed in council owned properties, and individual houses which have not been upgraded standing out in the overall streetscape.

Representatives from The Window Company (Contracts) were at the opening of the new Moat Foundation Community Hub in Maldon to see just what a difference their £10,000 donation will make to some of the most vulnerable groups in and around the Essex town.  

The award-winning commercial window and door installer donated the money when it was appointed to Moat’s window and door replacement framework last year, to support its charitable Foundation. It has now been used to help set up and furnish the hub and provide the IT equipment needed to deliver everything from job clubs to digital skills workshops and employability sessions.  

There are more Moat homes within Maldon than in any other local authority area and a significant older population whom it is hoped will be able to benefit from the services and activities being planned at the hub

As another year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on all that we have achieved in 2018, and think about the challenges which lie ahead in 2019.

For us, it’s been a year of amazing highs – being accepted onto the LHC windows and doors framework for the first time, becoming the first company in the UK to achieve a Gold rating in the GGF’s GLASS health and safety scheme, and winning a record third G-Awards Installer of the Year title.

That’s been down to the incredible commitment of our entire team of course, who have not just worked harder than ever before but smarter too, implementing new process and service initiatives to make us even more efficient, and even more responsive to customers.

We’re making extra room in our trophy cabinet this week after we picked up the highly prestigious G-Awards Installer of the Year trophy at this year’s very own industry Oscars.

Remarkably, this is the third time in just five years that we have won this award and it is a huge tribute to every single member of the team here that we have been judged to be the best of the best once again.

What makes this award particularly special is that it is awarded only after a rigorous assessment by a panel of independent judges and a site inspection by a technical specialist from the Glass & Glazing Federation.

Just twelve months after it installed windows and doors in a brand new extension at Demelza Hospice Care for Children’s Eltham hospice, The Window Company (Contracts) has been helping the charity out again by repairing and refurbishing all of the fire doors at its hospice in Sittingbourne, Kent.

Demelza provides specialist care and emotional support for children with terminal conditions, whether in family homes across East Sussex or in the family hospices in Sittingbourne and Eltham. Demelza can help families and their loved ones enjoy their time together, for as long as they have.

With fire safety currently under such intense national and local scrutiny, The Window Company (Contracts) has ensured that all 110 doors in the children’s hospice now meet the most up to date requirements.

When Rehau launched its co-extruded PVC-U window and door profile at the start of this year, we were quick to see the potential.

Part of the established Rehau TOTAL70 range, this is a new profile which wraps virgin material around a recycled core. It is a more sustainable alternative to traditional PVC-U profiles, but without any compromise on finish, colour, performance or durability.

While we are not seeing any great clamour for eco-friendly PVC-U windows from many of our clients as yet – their main focus is on how we collect and recycle the PVC-U windows we remove – we do think that it’s important for us to have this product in our range so that we can help to drive demand.

A giant cheque for £10,000 was presented by the team from The Window Company (Contracts) to Moat recently to support the latest project being undertaken by its charitable arm, Moat Foundation.

The donation is an integral part of the pledge made by The Window Company (Contracts) when it was appointed to Moat’s window and door replacement framework in the autumn of 2017 to support the housing provider’s social value activities.

Alongside this, the specialist commercial installer is also providing work placements and supporting community events to benefit Moat residents within the wider region covered by the framework, which includes Essex, London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

I’m thrilled to announce that we have been nominated in the Installer of the Year category at this year’s G-Awards – the Oscars of the glass and glazing industry.

This is the fifth time we’ve been nominated in this category and we have twice been winners – back in 2014 and 2015, so we’ve definitely got our fingers crossed that we can make it a hat trick this time around.

Winning an award like this is obviously great for our marketing and publicity, but the boost it gives to every single member of the amazing team here to be recognised as the best of the best by colleagues in our own industry really can’t be underestimated.

Award winning commercial installer The Window Company (Contracts) has become an LHC Appointed Company for the first time, after being appointed to the public sector procurement group’s Framework Agreements for both PVC-U and timber window and door products.

From 1^st August 2018, the Chelmsford based company is listed on the Home Counties, London and East Anglia frameworks for PVC-U and on the South East England framework for timber.

This was the first time that the Chelmsford based company had tendered to join any LHC framework, so it was a significant achievement to be named on both at the first attempt.

The Window Company (Contracts) has become the first company ever to achieve a Gold rating in the GGF’s GLASS (Goal Less Accidents Safer Sites) Charter Merit Scheme, taking a giant leap into the health and safety record books.

Described as ‘the pinnacle of good Health and Safety management’, Gold is awarded only to companies who can demonstrate that a health and safety culture is embedded right across their business and that the very highest standards are adhered to at every level.

The team from the Chelmsford based commercial window and door installer has upgraded from the GLASS Charter Level Silver 3 which it received last year, having completed the final piece in the jigsaw which was to eliminate the need for its fitters to climb onto the roofs of their vans to remove ladders.

The Window Company (Contracts) has appointed a new Order Processor to ensure that it delivers a seamless service to Basildon Council, where it has recently won the window and door replacement contract.

Natalie Bell will be dedicating most of her time to this single contract, processing and inputting orders from the company’s range of specialist window, door and glazing suppliers.

With more than 10 years’ experience in the window industry, Natalie brings with her significant industry and technical knowledge and will be assisting with everything from building control queries to estimating and pricing.

Direct working delivering value for money for Moat: Just 20 weeks into its window and door replacement framework for Moat, The Window Company (Contracts) completed its 500^th installation – and presented chocolates and flowers to the lucky customer.

The specialist commercial installer is working on Moat properties throughout Essex, London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex as part of the current programme, and is delighting residents, with average KPI scores on the project running at 9.9/10.

The Window Company (Contracts) has introduced a new texting reminder service to ensure residents don’t miss out on important appointments scheduled during their window or door replacement programme.

The award winning social housing specialist, working on projects across London and the South East, phones and then sends out letters to residents to confirm when they can expect their new windows and doors to be fitted but, up until now, has only phoned to arrange appointments for surveys and snagging repairs.

Analysis has shown that these are the appointments which are most likely to be missed so The Window

22nd May was the date of the industry’s very first Glazing Summit, hosted by Purplex and Insight Data up in Solihull.

Once again, I attended with both my The Window Company (Contracts) and GGF hats on, and I would have to say, from both perspectives, I was very impressed.

With no FIT Show happening this year, it was a really positive move to give the industry a forum to meet and debate the key issues affecting us all, and there were certainly enough senior level people attending to indicate that many shared my view.

I visited Fensterbau for the first time this year and I can honestly say it lived up to all the hype.

The size and scale of the event were way beyond anything I’ve seen at a construction exhibition in the UK, and the quality and quantity of what was on display meant it was impossible to see everything even in the three days that I was there.

It’s difficult then to pick out just a few highlights, but I would say that the Rehau stand was particularly impressive with the most advanced smart window display I’ve yet seen.

It’s that time of year again when the trade magazines ask some of the leading figures in the industry for their thoughts on the year ahead. I’ve already submitted my comments to Glass & Glazing Products magazine for their January issue and I’ll be interested to read the thoughts of others.

With so much uncertainty in the economy at the moment, thanks largely to Brexit of course and the fact that we have a minority government, my comments centre around how difficult it is going to be for SMEs like us to make any major decisions.