» “ MY BUSINESS PARTNER and I could easily be described as Jacks of all trades when it comes to doors and windows . Between us we ’ ve had a hand in every role from fabricator to fitter , service engineer to supplier . When we took redundancy from our local authority roles in 2010 , the next logical step was to set up own PVC-u fabricator and fitting company , and it was right in the middle of a recession .

“ We worked hard and put the hours in , advertising locally . We went from having an empty order book to taking on care-home work and commercial contracts . Throughout this time , if we needed to move premises , we did . If we needed to take on new staff or retrain team members we did . Whatever was right for the business , even if it required upheaval or not going down ‘ the easy route ’, we rolled up our sleeves and we did it .

PVC-u off the table

“ So , when we started to find that we could no longer physically fabricate the amount of PVC-u frames we required , and buying them in to supply them didn ’ t satisfy us either , we started to look into aluminium instead . It wasn ’ t one particular

thing , we just started to find we weren ’ t able to make as many frames in PVCu as we wanted , we started to buy them in and supply them , but meanwhile the ali market was taking off .

“ The market for aluminium is much more mainstream now than in the past . From a commercial point of view , it has always been the popular choice for specifiers , architects and end users . But until relatively recently , the domestic and residential projects have leaned much more towards PVC-u . ‘ Grand Designs ’ properties would use aluminium but your average Mr and Mrs Smith would perhaps see it as too high-end , with a price to match . For various reasons however , we have seen aluminium become much more commonplace . People seem to be more prepared to pay for the premium product . Extensions , garden rooms and open plan ‘ bring the outside in ’ building work is seen up and down almost every street across the country .

Full house – in more ways than one

“ At the moment we ’ re using a mixture of Deceuninck and Sheerline , and the products we fabricate complement each other perfectly . Whether the customer needs a set of bifold doors – one of the most popular products as everyone agrees at the moment – or a window , or a full suite of doors and windows for the same property , they can mix and match across the catalogue .

“ For the fabricator , aluminium is just nicer to put together . It ’ s a little bit harder to get to grips with , we believe , but it ’ s more mechanical – and the worker gets to do more with it than with PVCu where you tend to have one person per station doing the same thing over and over . There ’ s more job satisfaction on a personal level , and professionally , it ’ s keeping the work coming in , so the team soon agreed with us that it ’ s probably the best decision we ’ ve ever made at D & I Windows .

A better deal for the planet and our partners

“ While the recycling of PVC-u is better than it has even been before , we still believe that aluminium is a much more sustainable option for the consumer and customer , but in our own fabrication and operations too . We wear our green credentials literally on our sleeve at D & I Windows . Our logo is green and it is a daily reminder to take sustainability seriously .

“ It has opened up opportunities for trade partners to get involved too . If you are new to aluminium , the aforementioned reasons should be more than enough for you to see why we love this system and its products . If you are already in the ali field but looking for new business opportunities and a great portfolio of products , we believe we have everything you need to better your stakes in the game .”

www . dandiwindows . co . uk

42 NOVEMBER 2022

CLEARVIEW-UK . COM