Fabricator Focus
Teamwork pivotal in successful transfer of profiles
Liniar , the UK ’ s leading PVCu systems company and subsidiary of Quanex , is delighted to announce the successful transition of Safestyle UK plc to Liniar profiles . Safestyle is the UK ’ s largest fabricator of windows and doors into the retail market and announced the change to its shareholders in October 2022 .
The Safestyle team underwent a management change in 2018 and has since been focused on a continuous improvement journey across all levels of the company ’ s operations , including a full review of its supply chain partners .
Prior to the switch , Safestyle UK carried out a lengthy due diligence process with Liniar to ensure risk mitigation . This included site visits and audits , allowing both parties to be assured of a good cultural fit and partnership .
Thanks to Liniar ’ s robust operational systems , capacity and forward planning , there have been no compromises necessary to the product range or processes to enable the Safestyle volumes of over 4,000 frames per week to be serviced without any operational blips ; since the start-up in January 2023 , the whole Liniar customer base has continued to see On Time , In Full service levels above 99 % every day .
This has been possible thanks to a carefully planned and managed transition between both teams . Safestyle ’ s sales team have been trained on Liniar product familiarity , the service team have received on-site training at Safestyle HQ in Barnsley and the switch over was supported by the Liniar Technical team , who were on hand to address any challenges as they arose .
Liniar ’ s joined-up internal approach was key to the success of the switch , with production planning , product design , stock control , warehousing , transport , customer services , sales and marketing working together with the technical team on the ground to ensure nothing was missed and the Liniar operation continued as usual for all its other customers .
One of the main factors in the decision to switch to Liniar was the systems company ’ s continued investment in capacity through plant and machinery , explains Phil Taylor , Safestyle ’ s Procurement Director . “ Safestyle has ambitious growth plans over the next few years , so we need partners that are able to support that growth . The
relationship with Liniar has been developed over a long period of time and after such a smooth start-up we ’ re delighted with our decision .”
Andy Cadman , Safestyle ’ s Group Technical Manager , was responsible for the profile changeover internally and adds his praise : “ The communication and interaction we ’ ve had with the whole Liniar team has been first class from the start . Any change of this nature obviously posed
a huge potential risk to our business , but we ’ ve been reassured at every stage – the two companies have worked seamlessly together to make it happen .
“ The feedback from our production and quality teams has been overwhelmingly positive and the change has been managed well . We have noticed significant improvements in product quality and expect this will have a positive impact both in our manufacturing and field-based operations . This is particularly evident with the Liniar patented bubble gasket system which provides unrivalled performance and longevity .
“ Our fitters are also sending positive feedback and are impressed with both the quality and the ease of installing Liniar products !”
Another key factor in Safestyle ’ s decision is Liniar ’ s long-standing and ongoing sustainability credentials . Phil comments : “ The recycling and environmental focus at Liniar is of great importance to Safestyle as we continue on our own ESG journey – it ’ s rapidly become one of our key criteria when choosing supply chain partners .”
So too is Liniar ’ s investment in new product innovation , with Andy adding , “ We always want to be able to offer consumers the latest and most energy efficient products . Joining the Liniar family will give our team access to the full Liniar product range via its existing network , which will be of great benefit to us as we continue to grow .”
Martin Thurley , Group Managing Director at Liniar adds a final comment . “ I ’ m delighted the transition to Liniar has been such a positive experience for the Safestyle team . The relationships formed across both our teams have proved that we are synchronised in terms of successfully and seamlessly managing such a large-scale project . We look forward to a mutually beneficial long-term partnership .”
www . liniar . co . uk / press
CLEARVIEW-UK . COM JUNE 2023
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