Clearview National December 2019 - Issue 217 | Page 26

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“There’s not much that can
render me speechless – but
Victorian Sliders blew me away”
» ANDY JONES, NEW GROUP
Managing Director at Victorian Sliders, tells
the story of how he joined Europe’s biggest
sash window manufacturer – and why he’s
confident it can help thousands of UK
installers make more margin and break into
lucrative new markets.
Earlier this year, I was offered a job – and I
almost turned it down.
When Scot Starkey, CEO of Victorian
Sliders, first asked me to come and work for
him, I admit, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work
for a window manufacturer.
But I know and like Scot, so
decided to at least do him the
courtesy of going to discuss
it in person. I drove down
to see him – and I drove
back as Group Managing
Director of Europe’s biggest
sash window company.
What happened? Put
simply, I was blown away by
what I saw.
I obviously knew about Victorian Sliders.
I knew it was a major player in the UK sash
window market, filling a lucrative niche by
providing high volumes and consistent quality,
and helping thousands of installers enter a
growth market.
What I didn’t appreciate was the sheer scale
of what Scot and the Victorian Sliders team
have achieved over the last decade. But in
the words of Kevin Costner – ‘if you build it,
they will come’. In an unassuming ex-mining
village in Carmarthenshire, they’ve built a
world-class fenestration business - and now,
the industry is sitting up and taking notice.
I’ve visited hundreds if not thousands
of window manufacturers all around the
world over the past 34 years, and I knew
immediately that Victorian Sliders was
something special.
At a purpose-built 240,000 square-foot
facility, they don’t just make in excess of 2,000
windows a week – after investing nearly ten
million pounds in state-of-the-art technology,
they can do much more than that.
26 » DEC 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
Victorian Sliders extrude
their own profile. They make
their own sealed units. They
toughen their own glass. They do
all their own profile bending. They’ve
got seven depots all around the country.
They’ve got their own spray booth, allowing
them to produce windows in whatever RAL
colour a customer requests. And they even
have their own recycling plant. No other UK
sash window company can do all that.
It quickly became clear to me that Victorian
Sliders was a fantastic business that was on the
cusp of something incredible – and I knew
I wanted to be a part of the next phase in its
history.
HELPING INSTALLERS CAPITALISE
ON THE SASH WINDOW BOOM
Now, I’m in an immensely privileged
position for the second time in my career.
Previously at Edgetech, I was able to play
a part in taking warm-edge technology from
niche to mainstream – when I joined, less than
1% of the market used warm-edge spacers.
Today, that’s risen to more than 80%.
At Victorian Sliders, I now have the
opportunity to do the same with vertical
sliding windows.
What many people don’t realise is that
approximately 50% of the country’s existing
housing stock started out with box sash
windows. With half of Britain’s homes being
designed to have sash windows, some would
argue they don’t look right without them.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, many of those houses
had their beautiful sash windows ripped out
and replaced with cheap lookalike casements.
At Victorian Sliders, our challenge is to bring
those properties back to their former glory.
Already, we’re seeing more and more
homeowners take out those white uPVC
windows and replace them with higher value,
more aesthetically pleasing products.
They’re treating windows more like
furniture, and looking for something
characterful and different – something that
reflects the feel of their property, or their own
sense of style.
And that’s why they love sash windows.
They’ve got a vintage elegance that casements
just can’t match. We’re also seeing increasing
demand in new-build, where builders of all
sizes are looking to increase that all-important
curb appeal.
While Mr and Mrs Smith want something
with visual appeal, installers want something
that’s great value, offers high margins and is
simple to install.
At Victorian Sliders, we offer the best of
both – the price difference between one of
our products and the same sized casement
window is less than £100 - and in the years
ahead, we want to help thousands more
installers break into one of the most lucrative
markets that modern glass and glazing has to
offer.
Our industry is changing, fast. We’ve seen
this with the drastic increase in bifolds, foiled
windows and other value-added products
in recent years – and at Victorian Sliders,
we believe we can help make vertical sliders
mainstream again.
For more information visit
www.victoriansliders.co.uk or call
01269 846200