HARDWARE
Making the switch to
stainless steel hardware
How the lockdown has accelerated the decision for many
By Julie Holmes,
National Sales Manager, Mila
» IF THE ENFORCED
lockdown did anything
positive, it did at least give
fabricators time to take a close
look at their businesses and
identify any areas for potential
improvement. For many, it was
probably the first time in their careers
that they had been able to really take a step
back like that.
I was in touch with Mila customers
throughout and they were all using the time
as productively as possible to reorganise their
factories, look at skills matrixes for their staff,
investigate new software solutions and remote
selling tools, and review their product ranges.
In terms of products, the main objective
seems to have been to identify products which
will bring in new sales with strong margins
but which, crucially, are easy to manufacture
and fit.
From Mila’s perspective, the biggest winner
from that has been our stainless steel door
products. We’ve seen a surge in demand
from companies who have decided to finally
make the switch to stainless steel hardware as
standard in order to upgrade their product
offering. They may have been planning to do
that at some point anyway, but the decision
seems to have been accelerated by the enforced
stop to their production lines.
The big benefit of stainless steel of course
is the enhanced durability, and there is a
growing sense that stainless steel is the right
choice now, not just for the premium end
of the market where demand seems to be
strongest post lockdown, but also for the
commercial and social housing markets where
it can guarantee fewer costly remedials.
We’re seeing orders coming in from
existing Mila customers who are upgrading
to our stainless steel range from our standard
zinc diecast products, as well as from new
customers who are using a switch to our
stainless steel as an opportunity to switch to
a new door furniture supplier. That includes
big name fabricators such as Nationwide
Windows, Safestyle, Consort and Dunraven.
All of the products in Mila’s stainless steel
range are branded Supa™ and the range
includes standard and security door handles,
pull bars and escutcheons, door knobs and
pony tail knockers, letterplates and letterplate
cowls. Fully suited, they combine stylish
design with long-lasting finishes, which have
been independently salt spray tested, and
come with the reassurance of a 25-year surface
finish guarantee.
The whole range has been designed to
work in both standard and Secured by Design
settings, with standard and security Supa™
handles and standard and security grade
escutcheons available.
It also works across both contemporary and
traditional door designs, with a wide range of
pull bars alongside the conventional handles.
We offer, for example, inline, offset, D shape,
V shape, bow shape and even square pull bars,
all with a choice of lengths and finishes, for
through fix, concealed fix or back-to-back
fitting.
Mila is the UK’s leading distributor of
hardware to the fenestration sector. It
supplies innovative Mila branded products,
designed and developed in-house, as well
as market-leading brands including Siegenia,
Yale, Spilka and AXOR. More than 10,000
product lines are held in stock at the
company’s Northamptonshire HQ for next
day delivery.
Mila provides a comprehensive range of
support services to customers including
sales and marketing advice, technical
support and an in-house Test Centre.
Established in the UK in 1980, Mila also
operates in Ireland, Scandinavia and the
Baltic States. It is part of Arran Isle Ltd.
We like to think we’ve thought of
everything with this range – we even have a
fire-rated letterplate which is FD30 compliant
alongside our standard version.
What’s perhaps most important though is
that, with Supa™, customers get the quality,
ease of installation and service that they
associate with Mila, but at an affordable price
which allows them to preserve their margins.
At a time when efficiency and profitability are
paramount, that’s a winning combination.
www.mila.co.uk
48 » AUG 2020 » CLEARVIEW-UK.COM