Aluminium Extra
Making the difference in commercial
What do fabricators have to change when looking at commercial contracts ? The answer , says Elliot Cosgrove of Northern Trade Windows , is a bit more complicated – as , while there may be some differences , you don ’ t have to change your service at all ...
Whether you ’ re fabricating for commercial , trade or retail , it ’ s the same process . At the end of the day , we ’ re making windows and doors ! But , there are other factors to consider when you move into the commercial sector . We first dipped our toe into it with uPVC on new build houses . It soon became clear that if we wanted to go into commercial more – the high rises , student accommodation and schools , etc – the demand is for aluminium . We wanted to work in that market so prepared our factory and team to work on these bigger tenders .
The main difference when it comes to commercial jobs – is that the process is a lot more technical . For a commercial tender you deal with more ‘ red tape ’, when it comes to building regs , higher specification for windows , ratings and testing , health and safety , risk assessment , compliancy ; all of this has to be taken into consideration . Plus you ’ re working with much bigger companies so there are more people involved and the time frames are longer , because let ’ s face it , they ’ re much bigger jobs .
We use Exlabesa profile , and they helped us to set up the machinery we needed , and we promoted two uPVC fabricators to aluminium . We always make sure our ordering and stock levels are on point so that we can fulfil large orders and maintain our trade customer relationships too .
When working on commercial , you usually tender way in advance of a job , which means you have plenty of time to prepare for production . But , this can cause problems with pricing . For instance , you put in a quote and its accepted , but a year later when you come to do the job , the cost
of materials has rocketed – so you need to make sure you factor this in or that you ’ ll be able to stand the quote that ’ s been accepted . The changes in prices are a lot less chaotic now than during Covid – putting in a quote could be a guessing game . Yes , we ’ re all paying more for everything across the board now , but it ’ s levelled out a lot .
For us that has been a learning curve . We have an ethos to never ‘ buy business ’ meaning we won ’ t win every job that we tender for , price is an important factor of course but you need to make sure the contract is feasible for your business . This means we have lost tenders to lower quotes but we stay extremely competitive , and we work hard on tenders that we know we can fulfil when it comes to doing the contract .
We always go above and beyond on jobs whether it ’ s one window for a builder or a
large-scale commercial project . And a lot of this extra service and support comes from the fact that we ’ re not only a fabricator but we have an installation team too . We ’ ve gone on site to help install windows that aren ’ t even ours , assist site mangers and offer technical support to make sure the project is completed to the right standard . We ’ ll help wherever we can ( within reason ) when we ’ re involved on a commercial contract and I think that really sets us apart .
I think it ’ s very rare that a company sets up and goes straight into commercial . That ’ s because experience is really important when you take on these tenders . Our knowledge going into commercial was invaluable in preparing us for the bigger contracts .
With 30 years under our belt , we have the expertise and experience in fabrication and installation , so we can assist and advise in every part of the process . This also means we can continue to balance commercial projects , pitch for new tenders and prepare for future projects while keeping our trade customers happy .
www . northerntradewindows . co . uk
42 AUGUST 2024 CLEARVIEW-UK . COM