Annual Predictions
POSITIVE MOMENTUM
Mark Schlotel, Marketing Director, Victorian Sliders makes his predictions for 2017 …
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WITH INTEREST RATES keeping low and consumer confidence remaining fairly stable, I predict that the distractions of Brexit are set to continue throughout 2017, with debates ringing around the UK about immigration, currency impacts and supplier cost inflation.
As far as immigration is concerned, in recent years this has been a success story for us at Victorian Sliders – our manufacturing team in Wales includes a strong contingent of men and women from Poland and these hard-working, enterprising colleagues are part of the backbone of our company.
In terms of underlying market demand, we anticipate some
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growth for the window industry in 2017. Let’ s hope Britain plc will start building more new affordable homes for both young families and the elderly, as recently announced by the eager new-look Government!
2016 has been a year of positive momentum for Victorian Sliders, continuing the sales growth trend that we have enjoyed for the last five years. Success has come from relentless hard graft in the face of tough market conditions.
Across our window industry I predict that there will be even more focus on high quality, improved product offerings and value for money, to the benefit of Professional Trade Installers and their Homeowner retail clients.
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The FIT Show in May 2017 will provide the ideal showcase for innovation. There will be further consolidation, as more fabricator / installers choose to stop fabricating and focus purely on installation.
There is undoubtedly a strengthening interest in our PVCu vertical sliding sash windows, which are increasingly seen as a viable commercial alternative to standard casements. That’ s good, but to sustain success we must deliver the best products / service and assist our customers by growing the vertical sliding window sales category. That’ s why we are in investing in more eyecatching mobile product demo
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vans to take the VS story to UK homeowners.
We’ re looking forward to a busy New Year and certainly thinking big- building works are currently underway at Capel Hendre to double the size of our ECOSlide sash window manufacturing facility to 230,000 square feet. Continued major investment in infrastructure means that we will achieve even greater economies of scale, to maintain unchanged prices to our customers again for the sixth calendar year in succession.
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ARCHITECTS AND BUILDING SPECIFIERS HAVE SEEN BREXIT-RELATED PROJECT DELAYS
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BUILDING DESIGN PROFESSIONALS are already feeling the impact of the Brexit vote, with almost two thirds( 60 per cent) of architects and building specifiers experiencing delays to projects as a result, according to a new report.
The survey of 100 senior architects and building specifiers from across the UK, commissioned by glass manufacturer, Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, reveals the industry is divided on its view of the longterm impact of the EU Referendum result. Nearly half( 45 per cent) of respondents anticipate that Brexit will have a negative effect on foreign investors’ appetite for UK construction projects, with less than one in three( 29 per cent) believing the referendum result will increase foreign investment into domestic developments.
Views on the overall outlook for the industry were equally uncertain. When asked whether they believed Brexit would slow the rate of construction over the next five years, a third of respondents( 34 per cent) said yes, while half( 47 per cent) disagreed.
GROWTH OUTLOOK
Despite the uncertainty, architects and building specifiers are bullish about their growth prospects, forecasting an average growth of 14 per cent over the next two years. A fifth( 20 per cent) of specifiers and one in ten architects( 8 per cent) are predicting growth of more than 20 per cent during the same period.
The positive outlook of building design professionals is backed up by healthy levels of forecast investment in research and development. On average, respondents are planning to invest 10 per cent of revenue in it over the next two years.
BUILDING REGULATIONS AND SUSTAINABILITY
The majority of architects and specifiers gave their seal of approval to current building regulations, with almost two thirds( 63 per cent) saying they feel existing regulations are fit for purpose.
When asked about the challenges faced when designing or specifying for nearly-zeroenergy buildings, which the UK is committed to achieving on all new builds from 2021, 56 per cent said a lack of government incentives is a barrier. Just 17 per cent called-out cost as something holding them back in this area.
Phil Savage, Commercial Contracts Sales Manager at Pilkington said:“ Architects and specifiers are towards the beginning of the supply chain, and the health of their businesses can be a bellwether for the wider building industry.”
Ian Ritchie, of Ian Ritchie Architects, added:“ While it’ s encouraging to see the confidence among architects and specifiers, it’ s important to remember that they are not in a position to drive the industry forward when the economy is somewhat stalled. That role falls to those who fund projects.”
Building Confidence, is available to download at: http:// www. pilkington. com / en-gb / uk / architects
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