Clearview National December 2016 - Issue 181 | Page 28

Annual Review

GROWTH WITH EXPANSION
Birmingham-based Skyview says 2016 has been
its biggest year, which saw new products launched
as well as expansion of its existing range.

»»THE BUSINESS, WHICH OFFERS
frames, glass, roofs, doors, conservatories
and orangeries, has continued with ongoing
investment in manufacturing machinery
ever since moving into a new purpose-fitted
factory close to central Birmingham in 2009.
It has since then increased product ranges and
reduced lead times.
The workforce at the factory has increased
by 15% with new employees joining in several
areas of the business. The company now
employs 25 workers.
Skyview offers brands such as Synseal
Warmcore, Synerjy, Shield, Artisan Wood
grain collection, Thermoseal, Kolorbond,

and Skyframe – a product designed and
manufactured at Skyview.
Directors are John and Lynda Sewell.
John said: “We had new machinery fitted in
March as part of an exciting and exclusive
launch to expand the Warmcore product
range, cementing Skyview as the UK leading
fabricator.”
Skyview has regarded Warmcore as an
exciting new addition to its range of products
this year, and says it has been very well
received by customers with orders increasing
week on week.
John explained: “2016 has been our biggest
year. The last quarter of 2015 saw a 21% increase
in sales compared to the same quarter in 2014.
“Warmcore has been the buzz word within
the industry and is one of Skyview’s best
selling product ranges. 2016 has seen the
range increase.”

He added: “Trading over the past nine years
has continually seen a significant upturn for
the business and 2016 has been very exciting
indeed.
“With heavy investment in both machinery
and additions to our fleet of delivery vehicles,
we are working to a very strong and clear
marketing plan, which will see our turnover
double by the end of 2017.”
He said that customers bought from
Skyview over the competition because of
the company’s quality of service, ease of
ordering, fast lead times, range of products
and competitive pricing structure with big
savings when ordering multiple products per
order. “We are one supplier for everything,” he
concluded.

www.skyviewroofs.co.uk

PREPARING TO SHAPE UP FOR 2017
»»WITH RECORD BREAKING SALES
for much of this calendar year, leading
arching and shaped frame specialist,
Universal Arches, have already set their eyes
on a 2017 training and recruitment plan, as
they look to continue their pattern of strong
growth.
The skills required to make a specialist
shaped frame to the standards set by
Universal Arches are considerable and more
akin to those found in the joinery sector,
with each frame manufactured by hand and
on a working bench. It takes around 12
months to fully train a production operative
and for the last three years the company has
gone to their local job centre in St Helens
each January, eager to find a number of new
recruits.
January 2017 will be no different, as they
look for a further six production operatives
to put in place, as the personnel resources
required for anticipated future growth.
Standard PVCu frame manufacturing is far
more capital intensive with the adoption of
quad welders and sophisticated cutting and

28 » DEC 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

machining centres and a far cry from the
methodologies used at Universal Arches,
which is carried out within their ISO
9001:2008 remit.
Recruitment and training are run in
tandem at Universal Arches, with staff
encouraged to further their on the job
training, both on the shop floor and within
the office environment. With an incredible
level of employee retention, it’s also a strategy
that is proving highly beneficial to the
business and their customer base, which can
be counted in the thousands.
Leon Day, Managing Director of Universal
Arches, commented: “Staff are critical in this
business, given the nature of the products
we manufacture. So not only do we have
to carefully train them, but we must retain
a corporate environment that makes them
want to stay with us for the long-term.
He continues: “We’ve been experiencing
strong growth for a number of years now
and our prospects and those of the arching
and shaped frame sector, look strong into the
medium-term.”

www.universalarches.com, or follow
@universalarches on Twitter