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.