Outdoor Living
Two men , three moves , and a lot of bi-fold doors
In the midst of moving into their third facility in less than five years of operations , Gary Walker of Bedfordshire Windows took some time out to give Clearview the inside information on how bi-fold doors are transforming homeowners ’ outdoor living spaces …
» “ WHEN WE FIRST FORMED Bedfordshire Windows four years ago , we were manufacturing one or two bifold doors , here and there ,” begins Gary . “ At the moment we can be doing up to 10 a week . In fact , this ‘ product of the moment ’ has been so popular , that my business partner Tom was coming in to build them himself during the first few months of the first lockdown , because we were so busy with orders .”
There are few bifold brands and businesses that can dispute the fact that bifolds - both aluminium and uPVC - have opened up a whole new area of revenue for them in recent years . Even before the pandemic , kitchen extensions , garden rooms and workshops have been designed to add much needed space to people ’ s homes and filled fabricators ’ and fitters ’ order books for months on end . Of course no one could have predicted the past 12 months in any capacity , but for a nation that was already ‘ keen ’ on bifolds , the uptake during 2020 for extra living - and more importantly , working - space meant that everyone wanted a piece .
For Bedfordshire Windows , established at the end of 2017 , the zeitgeist of bifolds combined with the company ’ s clever choice of catalogue - Cortizo for aluminium and Liniar for uPVC - ex-glass and sealed unit industry professionals Gary and Tom had created the perfect formula . What they hadn ’ t planned for though was the amount of space they ’ d need for the operation ; meaning that they needed to
relocate just 18 months into the new venture . “ The first premises came about completely by chance ,” recalls Gary . “ It was set up as a window workshop but the owner had moved away . We moved in , spruced it up , and starting trading ; the first six months were slow but steady . Then it just started to fly and a year later , when some extra units became available we almost had no choice but to move into them to increase the capacity and meet demand . The second premises were about seven-times bigger in total and we thought ‘ we ’ ll never grow into this ’; fast forward another two years and we ’ ve grown out of that too . Bifolds have been a huge part of this .”
Yet , while Gary can attribute some of Bedfordshire Window ’ s rapid rise to seemingly unwavering popularity of bifold doors , with so many options on the market , it certainly isn ’ t a case of ‘ any door will do ’.
Gary explains : “ We knew before beginning our research into systems houses that we wanted to work with a company that shared our ethos of providing high levels of customer service , as well as one that offered a product range our customers would love .
“ When we contacted Liniar to learn more about the company and its products , it was refreshing to see that Liniar ’ s ethos was the same as ours . It was also reassuring that the company ’ s continued investment across the business means the product range will remain innovative and energy efficient . The company ’ s environmental policy also really appeals to our customers .
“ We started with the casement windows , then the patio doors and of course bifolds . Now , we are also manufacturing Liniar Resurgence flush windows , the most advanced system on the market . We love Liniar here . We ’ re very happy with the service we ’ ve received from Liniar from the very beginning . Most recently , we all know that 2020 has produced unique challenges for everyone in the industry . Despite those challenges , Liniar has offered constant communication throughout the pandemic , with regular , honest updates on how things were progressing .”
Bifolds certainly may be the door ‘ du jour ’ but it ’ s clear speaking to Gary that whatever the next popular product will be , they ’ ll be ready to take that on too . In his own words , “ we didn ’ t just want to sell windows ; we wanted to provide customers with the service levels they deserved and offer the type of highquality products that we ’ d want in our own homes .” And , as they fire up the machines in the third factory in four years , it seems like that method is working so far …
www . bedfordshirewindows . co . uk
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