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A Mark of Distinction
Investment, initiative & innovation to stand out in the industry
» » THIS YEAR MARKED THE 20TH
anniversary of the first composite door being
brought to Britain, by the same man who
subsequently went on to found Distinction
Doors. Since 1999, Distinction Doors Ltd
has remained the clear market leader in the
composite door sector (now installed in more
than 3 million homes in the UK), and the
company’s products now account for 25% of
all entrance doors installed in British homes
annually.
Not one to rest on its laurels however,
Distinction takes its position in the market
very seriously, and with standards steadily
improving – across the board – in terms of
product build quality and especially aesthetics,
sales growth remains positive, with the future
looking bright for both composite door
sales and other products. With this is mind,
Distinction recently completed an £850,000
first phase of infrastructure investment;
designed to further drive the company’s
capacity to handle the extraordinary growth in
prepped door products, as well as logistics for
door blanks sold in volume.
Managing Director Gareth Williams advises
that the company’s investment forecast for
2019 is clear evidence of a commitment to
growth, efficiency and innovation. “Our
overarching commitment continues to be
our customers, and in turn their customers,”
he says. “For them and with them, we will
continue to improve, to innovate and to lead
in the market.
“In turn, our relationship with our suppliers
continues to be excellent and they are working
closely with us to introduce some exciting new
products as well as to continuously improve
the quality of existing favourites.”
With prepped doors now accounting for
40% of Distinction’s sales most of the budget
has been spent on saws, CNCs, edgebanders,
painting and related equipment and ancillaries
in anticipation of further growth in demand
and to create a margin to contain surges.
Quality control has been significantly
improved through the introduction of the
latest production technology, with a significant
reduction in waste and therefore cost.
Preparing for the expected is just one
part of the puzzle however. And, when the
self-imposed industry-wide ban on GRP fire
doors (resulting from the Grenfell Tower
Inquiry investigations and subsequent
bi-lateral fire door testing initiated by the
Ministry of Housing, Communities and
Local Government (MHCLG)) was imposed,
Distinction Doors once again rolled up its
sleeves and undertook the work involved to
resume sales of both its GRP fire door blanks
and prepped fire doors at the end of 2018.
At the time, Distinction Doors CEO,
Andrew Fowlds commented: “It has been
incredibly encouraging to see how well our
industry has come together throughout
this uncertain period and continues to do
so as the Association of Composite Door
Manufacturers (ACDM) carries on working
with the MHCLG to now address the wider
issues associated with the recent fire door
changes.”
Meanwhile, ‘back of house’, Distinction
Doors, has recently been awarded the Silver Be
Well @ Work Award by The South Yorkshire
Healthy Workplace Award Scheme; designed
to help businesses and organisations become
stronger and more productive by ensuring that
all employees recognise the role of health and
safety and to develop procedures that allow
everyone to become engaged in protecting
and enhancing their mental and physical
wellbeing.
Commenting on the Award, Distinction’s
HR Director, Helen Lovack, said: “As an
organisation, we have invested a huge amount
of time and effort into improving and
developing our health and safety practices
because we firmly believe that the people who
work at Distinction are the most valuable
resource we have. And if, as a company,
we take care of our staff, then our staff are
happier, more productive and the company is
rewarded in return.
“It may sound like a cliché, but the results
are clear to see,” she continued. “In addition
to measures such as regular health checks
for blood pressure, our team of ‘Health
and Wellbeing Champions’ have worked
hard to create a real sense of community at
Distinction, and this has not just helped to
reduce absences, but has generated better
communication in general, helping to reduce
stigma on mental health and bring us all
together in the process.”
www.distinctiondoors.co.uk
Distinction Doors has big plans for the 2019 FIT Show with the bold new
10IN10 initiative. Give them 10 minutes of your time on stand P20 and the
team will give you 10 reasons to become a Distinction Doors trade partner.
26 » M AY 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M