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» “ OUR AWARD ENTRY focussed on our use of technology to become a role model fabricator ,” says Ben . “ Our strategy is to develop and implement digital solutions to modernise our business and drive our customer service from initial customer enquiry , right through to production and then delivery .”
DIGITAL INNOVATORS
Last year Quickslide announced a £ 2.7m investment plan with a key focus on increasing levels of automation at its Brighouse-based production facility . This included a one-of-a-kind cutting centre for vertical sliders to achieve sustained , repeatable levels of quality as well as improve efficiencies and production capacity .
Now , at the other end of the production process , a new marketing portal will enable Quickslide ’ s trade partners to personalise their marketing materials by including their own images of installations instead of stock images . Trade partners can manage leads online , while a custom-built IT system automatically sends customers an overview of outstanding quotes .
There ’ s also the introduction of Touch Portal , the industry ’ s first end-to-end ordering system , allowing trade partners to process their own orders seamlessly from initial enquiry through to production . “ It ’ s a real game-changer ,” says Ben .
“ We ’ re using digital solutions to cut down on our carbon emissions too . This is
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imperative because as demand for our business has grown , so has our fleet .
“ We ’ ve prioritised route mapping on our deliveries , consolidating runs to make sure we ’ re not travelling more miles than we need to . All our fleet vehicles are linked to our EvoNET business management
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system , which arranges deliveries in the most efficient order and route . It also keeps customers up to date with the status of their deliveries through automatic text messages and email alerts .
“ We ’ ve tracked our total mileage so we can compare month by month over the last year . The results show a reduction every month on the year before . This represents a 10 % carbon reduction overall , which is a great starting point .”
NEW LINES AND MORE CHOICE Quickslide has recently increased its in-house foiling capacity by 30 %, with the addition of a brand new 18,500ft 2 dedicated foiling facility . It ’ s meant they ’ ve been able to launch additional colour options , including exclusive dual foils for vertical sliders .
“ Our trade partners find foiled finishes an easy upsell to customers , and having in-house foiling gives us the ability to react quickly to changing market trends efficiently and cost-effectively ,” says Ben .
“ Based on what our customers have told us we now offer dual colours for VS , available in exterior / interior combinations of grey woodgrain / heritage white and agate grey / heritage white . We ’ ve also included a white woodgrain / smooth white option for VS from stock as well as launching smooth grey available across the entire Deceuninck range .”
Quickslide has also introduced more aluminium lines , including new Heritage
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aluminium doors ; AluSpace ’ s new super slim aluminium interior screen and hinged door system ; and the versatile aluminium Indi-fold slide-andstack door system . There ’ s also the super slim Visofold 1000 system from Smart Systems , featuring slimmer sashes as well as Smart System ’ s pioneering coextruding glazing gasket , which enables the quick-glaze beads to be simply tapped in on site , significantly reducing installation time . In addition , Quickslide has partnered with Mighton to offer Avia ’ s secure intelligent sash fastener . Designed especially for sash windows , this lock enables homeowners to tell at a glance of their phone whether their windows are opened or in locked position and can now be requested as part of the initial window spec .
“ We recently invested in a new aluminium CNC machine and now we look forward to offering more aluminium products ,” says Ben . “ It fully automates the routing process fast and accurately , as well as using bar code scanning to track items and stock levels .”
It ’ s clearly been a busy six months for the Fabricator of the Year so far , but that ’ s nothing new for Quickslide .
Ben concluded : “ It ’ s been almost 20 years since we introduced the nation to affordable traditionally styled sash windows that offer the best in contemporary performance and , awards or not , we ’ ve not stopped modernising and leading the field since .”
www . quickslide . co . uk
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42 JULY 2023 |
CLEARVIEW-UK . COM |