Clearview National December 2017 - Issue 193 | Page 46

DOORS&WINDOWS
Modular
thinking
We ask if the new Lift-and-
Slide door from aluplast
is a mid-market or high-
end offer? And find out,
that it’s in fact both!
» » THERE’S LITTLE DOUBT THAT BMW
is an exclusive brand. The car giant’s recent
campaign for the new 7 Series, carried a
definitive tag-line ‘Driving Luxury’. But it’s
also a premium brand with a presence in the
more crowded mid-market. Its other tag, ‘The
Ultimate Driving Machine’, is a strap-line
aimed firmly at the aspirations of aspirational
achievers and executives.
It sits comfortably across each sector,
successfully segmenting audiences through
a combination of product offer and targeted
positioning. And that’s something that aluplast
is also pursuing with its launch of its own
mid-to-premium market offering, the new Lift-
and-Slide door.
“BMW successfully market the 7 Series as an
exclusive offer to the luxury car market but that
doesn’t stop it from being very successful in a
mass market or stop it from having mass appeal.
The 7 series is at one end of the range and the 1
Series at another”, says Ian Cocken, Director of
Sales and Marketing, aluplast.
He continues: “In between BMW builds in
options and features but fundamentally it offers
a high level of affordability at market entry for a
highly-engineered product offering.”
Cocken here, is not just extolling the virtues
and benefits of another successful German
global business, but draws a direct comparison
between BMW’s offer and its own. “Ok it’s a
very different product but we’re applying the
same modular approach to the aluplast Lift-
and-Slide as BMW has done across its ranges.
“At an entry level, it’s exceptionally well-
engineered but highly affordable and you can
build from there to a premium offering”, he
argues.
Majoring on Passive Haus standard
performance and its new aluskin aluminium
external cladding option, aluplast unveiled its
new Lift-and-Slide door earlier this year. With
U-values as low as 0.65 W/m2K and capable
46 » DEC 2017 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
of spanning openings of 6.5m X 2.8m with
just two sashes, it delivers impressive design
flexibility.
This includes uninterrupted sightlines as
standard and an ultra-low a new low-sightline
option on the fixed sash of just 32mm,
maximising the glazed area of the door.
It also exploits proven technology. Sashes
are mounted on an easy-lift mechanism that
elevates when opened and lowers on to the
track when closed. So, a fully closed-door
rests over lower weather seals improving the
door’s weather tightness, thermal and acoustic
insulation.
But its where it sits in the market and the
potential that as a modular system, it can
deliver, which will be of greatest interest to
fabricators. “It can be manufactured as an
entry-level system all the way up to a premium
offering - and with manufacturing efficiency
savings of up to 40% over competitor systems,
the opportunities to build in margin are there
all of the way”, continues Cocken.
The aluplast Lift-and-Slide door comes in
three primary configurations. This includes a
standard PVC-U door to a premium offering
fabricated to ultra-energy efficient options,
accommodating glazing units of up to 52mm.
The performance of the standard door can
be further enhanced with the addition of
a thermally efficient upper guide rail and
extruded insulated profiles.
“Thermal efficiency, its engineering and core
performance are one thing but the Lift-and-
Slide also offers impressive design flexibility”,
says Cocken. The starting point for this are
PVC-U foils.
aluplast foils more than 1.2million metres
of product each month. That means that
it holds thousands of metres of coloured
and woodgrain profiles in stock. These are
available for ex-stock delivery within just
days of orders.
It also offers special foils in 15-days or
less with no minimum order, no surcharge
and no setting up charge on special colour
orders.
aluskin, aluplast’s highly innovative
aluminium external fascia system, was
launched by aluplast alongside its new Ideal
4000 contemporary SquareLine casement
and Lift and Slide Door at this year’s FIT
Show.
It can be applied to either system without
the requirement for major investment in
machinery, giving its customers reach into
rapidly growing aluminium markets.
FACTBOX: ALUPLAST LIFT-AND-
SLIDE DOOR AT A GLANCE:
• Light touch easy-operate lift-and-slide
opening and closing mechanism
• Slim sightline modular 85mm system
• Thermally broken aluminium optional
threshold
• Accommodates glazing units of up to
52mm
• U-values as low as 0.65 W/m2K – a
Passive Haus standard equivalent
• Maximum width/height up to 6.5m X
2.8m
• Maximum sash weight of up to 300kg
www.aluplast.co.uk