Clearview National December 2018 - Issue 205 | Page 46
PROFILES&SYSTEMS
25 years
at the
forefront
of change
» » MARK HUTCHINSON, MANAGING
Director at Tradesmith, explains how the
company has revitalised its business model
to meet the changing demands of customers
including colour trends, delivery expectations,
frame materials and product choice...
Earlier this year, we celebrated our 25th
anniversary as a window and door fabricator.
And anyone in the industry will agree that
a lot has changed since then – not least the
transition from timber and aluminium to
PVC-U as the material of choice, and now the
return to aluminium.
Predicting market trends and demand
is one of our most important roles as a
fabricator: knowing what to make and which
brands, materials and colour choice to offer,
determining what lead times customers need,
and being at the forefront of change to stay
competitive. I think 2018 has been one of
the most turbulent years in memory in terms
of changing consumer expectations: quality
products, excellent service, fast turnarounds
and colour personalisation must be part of your
offer if you want to do more than just survive.
We have responded to this challenge by
upping our game and positioning ourselves
as the number one fabricator for colour
in the South East across all our products.
Homeowners are more demanding in their
colour preferences now – for example, you
can’t just stock Anthracite Grey anymore. Grey
has been the big colour trend of 2018 and
we’re getting demand for all variants, for both
new build and refurb projects.
In most instances, we fabricate colour
windows and doors in the same timeframe as
standard white. We don’t differentiate, because
our customers can’t. The end-user wants their
product delivered in the same lead times
whether it is white or not, because they can’t
see any reason why they should wait longer.
If you are ordering a jumper online, you
wouldn’t expect to wait an extra two weeks to
have it in red.
46 » DEC 2018 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
That’s why we’ve adjusted our delivery
service to prioritise what installers need,
so they don’t have to let their customers
down. I like to think we’ve always been a bit
sharper than our competitors when it comes
to fast service, but we now offer 3-Day and
‘Amazon’ fast Next-Day delivery options, so
we give installers choice. This might seem
excessive, but we are all getting used to
buying and receiving what we want in real
time, and it’s time we caught up with other
industries. It suits our customers, and it suits
us because we can turn orders around in our
factory faster, making room for new orders
and more business. Everything now is on-
demand. If we maintain these standards, we
can boost business, improve efficiency and
deliver an overall better service in the supply
chain.
More and more fabricators are sourcing
from multiple suppliers now and we are no
exception. One of our biggest investments has
been in Synseal Group’s hybrid WarmCore
system which stands out for being so easy to
fabricate and install. With a PVC-U core, it is
straightforward for installers to fit but it has
more rigidity than a PVC-U bi-fold with its
aluminium exterior. WarmCore is changing
developers’ and homeowners’ expectations of
aluminium windows and doors by offering
them style and thermal performance where
before they had to choose. Most people notice
the different look when it’s installed and most
like it. So, we then get a call, and another
order, and so on.
It’s remarkable because we haven’t had to
do a lot of marketing for WarmCore – which
now includes the inline sliding patio system,
as well as a full window suite and Tradesmith’s
Bluesky certified A-rated acoustic WarmCore
window. The growing demand for aluminium,
combined with WarmCore’s standout benefits,
have made it a great fit for us in the South
East where there is a lot of new, modern
development happening. Plus, the composite
structure of the product has been crucial in
enabling us to produce dual colour in fast
lead times, which isn’t as easy with other
aluminium systems.
The challenge for us now is in maintaining
the high standards we’ve set ourselves, while
continuing to be pioneers. We will always
listen to our customers and do what we can
to respond to their needs. If we hadn’t noticed
the growing trend for colour from customers,
we wouldn’t have been prepared for the boom,
or been able to help them grow with the
right product choice, colour, fast response
and delivery flexibility we’ve all got used to in
today’s fast-changing world.
www.tradesmith.info