Clearview 225 - August 2020 | Page 32

Aluminium Extra 7 Things al-bet-u didn’t know about Alumate Five years ago, three men set up an aluminium company in Porth, Wales - after 12 months of careful research and preparation - hoping to bring the ‘ethos of uPVC’ to the aluminium sector. Just over four months ago that same company moved to the next valley to a larger premises, six days before a national lockdown. And if you need another figure to get your head around, here are seven things you might not know about our friends at Alumate… ALL FROM ALUMATE It could easily be argued that the relatively recent surge in popularity for residential aluminium is mostly down to the bi-fold door and the highly-sought after ‘Grand Designs’ look. There’s more to Alumate than the bi-fold door however. In fact, with a full product portfolio of doors, windows, sliding doors, (and bi-folds, of course) from AluK, and uPVC options, plus a Eurocell catalogue, including the Skypod, Alumate has all the ingredients for a complete project whether it is a one-product replacement, an entire refit, a new build, or any other job. In fact, with the huge uptake in extra living spaces - such as home offices, home gyms, home schools, home holidays(!) - a complete orangery could be specified entirely from Alumate; they’ll even order the glass for you. THE GIFT OF ‘SITE’ For fantastic fitters that have the client base and the skill-set to sell and install larger pieces such as bi-fold doors but physically can’t get the product to the project, Alumate is happy to deliver to the site in unmarked transport with no trade paperwork. This means the job is still ‘all yours’, Alumate just assists in the allimportant logistical component of getting the pieces to the right place. And, if you’ve ever had to turn down a job based on a practical implication such as not having a big enough van, you can now start to pitch for those projects hassle-free without the need to go van shopping. A LOVE FOR LOCAL A willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ for the customer, literally, when it comes to on-site delivery is juxtaposed by an eagerness to keep it local when it comes to suppliers. In fact, while ‘Buy British’ is an overall motto used at Alumate, they even go one step further - or should that be one step nearer - by always trying to choose the closest option wherever possible, even when it isn’t the cheapest. Finding the value in supporting fellow local businesses is at the heart of the material sourcing endeavours at Alumate and as the past few years have demonstrated - namely Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic - having a pool of trusted partners that are closer to home will always pay off in the long run. GROUP EFFORT ‘Strength in numbers’ is more than a cliche; there’s few of us who don’t want to know our mates have our back, even if we don’t need them all the time. Alumate is part of a larger group; including Windoor Mate Ltd and Vintage uPVC Products, and while they all work separately they have a uniform approach of ‘great product, great people, great service, great to deal with’; a ‘fourmula’ that’s very difficult to disagree with. And, as Alumate itself was born from approximately a year of extensive research and preparation, it’s clear to see that the ‘journey to today’ is a culmination of every part of the group, every member in it, and all of their experiences up until now, making it the very definition of a great ‘group effort’ indeed. 32 » AUG 2020 » CLEARVIEW-UK.COM