Clearview National February 2020 - Issue 219 | Page 16

INDUSTRYNEWS
‘AN OPEN, STIGMA-FREE ENVIRONMENT’
» LEADING TRADE
fabricator, the Glazerite UK Group,
has begun rolling out Mental
Health Awareness sessions as part
of a nationwide programme.
The sessions will encompass all
270 Glazerite employees, based
across each of its five sites, with the
aim of increasing people’s awareness
and understanding of mental health
issues like anxiety and depression.
David Beeney, the consultant
and mental health counsellor
leading the sessions, advises
companies on how to reduce the
stigma of mental health in the
workplace. He says: “With mental
health issues in the workplace
costing UK employers £26 billion
per year, it’s key that companies
address how they can help their
employees, and provide an open
and stigma-free environment.
“The Glazerite workshops have
been designed to help managers
David Beeney
better support
their teams, and to
encourage employees
who might be suffering in
silence to speak out and seek help.
It’s fantastic that Glazerite wants
to engage every employee in the
process. Being more aware of their
own mental health, and that of
others around them, means they
can reach out and help a colleague
who might be struggling with
their own wellbeing.”
Matthew Thomas, Managing
Director of Glazerite East, who
Matthew Thomas
has recently taken
part in the three hour,
interactive workshop,
says: “We’ve had lots of
positive feedback from our staff
so far on the workshops, and it
was pertinent to see how some of
my older male colleagues found
the session so poignant, which
I wasn’t necessarily expecting. I
think mental health issues are
something people feel they have
to mask, particularly at work, so
it’s really important Glazerite is
looking to address the issue.”
Glazerite Chairman, John
Hewitt, says the programme is
being implemented with the
aim of creating a culture across
the business where people feel
they can raise mental health
issues and discuss them in a
stigma-free environment. He
adds: “These sessions are the first
step towards achieving a more
open culture and supportive
environment at Glazerite in
which our employees can thrive.
It’s also important to us that we
work together to raise general
awareness of mental health
issues, especially given they
affect as many as one in four
people in the UK at some point
in their lives.”
For more information on
David Beeney’s workshop, visit
www.breakingthesilence.co.uk
www.glazerite.co.uk
CO-FOUNDER RETURNS TO WEST YORKS AS MD
» MATTHEW GLOVER, KNOWN FOR
his involvement with leading window and
door industry brands Conservatory Outlet
and The FIT Show, has announced his
return to West Yorkshire Windows, which he
co-founded in 1993 with brother Andrew,
to manage the company on a day-to-day
basis as Managing Director. Matthew will
head the existing management team at West
Yorkshire Windows, joined by Richard
Morris as Commercial Director. Following
a short transition, Andrew Glover, an
avid supporter of glazing industry charity
fundraising events and former President of
the Glass & Glazing Federation, will leave to
pursue other interests after almost 25 years
with the company.
After building a significant majority stake
in recent months in the company, Matthew
has announced ambitious plans to grow West
Yorkshire Windows sales by 40% in three
years, with what he says will be “a return to
key basics” and backed by the creativity and
advanced marketing strategies that helped to
establish such brands as Conservatory Outlet
16 » F EB 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
and the FIT Show. He has also announced a
significant investment programme to ensure
financial stability and to achieve the ambitious
sales targets.
With West Yorkshire Windows enjoying
such accolades as Conservatory Installer of
the Year and Installer of the Year, Matthew
says he is excited to be returning to the retail
market full time: “After I relinquished day-
to-day involvement in the FIT Show and
the completion of other key projects, I now
look forward to returning full time to the
industry that has provided so much for my
family over many decades. We were brought
up in the window and door business, selling
and making windows in our teens, and I am
excited at the opportunity to get back to the
front line.”
Matthew has been instrumental in creating
some of the window and door industry’s
best-known brands. He co-established
Conservatory Outlet in 2005 to provide a
complementary manufacturing operation
to West Yorkshire Windows and other trade
customers, with the companies separated in
2009 to increase focus for both operations.
Matthew eventually completed the sale of
Conservatory Outlet to the current owners in
2013 to focus on the FIT Show, a majority
stake in which was sold in 2018. Matthew
continues as Chairman of FIT Events Ltd,
which operates the FIT Show.
www.westyorkshirewindows.com