AUGUST 2017 | 21
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
THREE SQUARES -
ONE SASH WINDOW
In south Wales, just past Swansea , Victorian Sliders is putting the finishing touches to an extension of
its facilities that will more than double its already considerable size. In just seven years, the company
has grown to become Europe’s largest specialist manufacturers of PVCu vertical sliding sash windows.
The appetite for heritage
windows has seen demand for
these products increase and the
Victorian Sliders proposition has
fared well in this growing market.
Now, the company is best posi-
tioned to maximise the opportu-
nities today and into the future as
this trend increases.
Pro Installer met managing di-
rector, Brendan McCambridge, for
a tour of the impressive Victorian
Sliders’ operations and found out
more about the compa-
ny’s ambitious expansion
plans.
The 13-acre site near
Ammanford is set in the
countryside, three miles
from the M4 motorway
network and near the
Ffos Las racecourse, as
we would later discover
when we were treated
to an evening of hospi-
tality in the company’s
own private box. This
invitation is also regu-
larly extended to Victorian Sliders’
customers and suppliers, once the
daytime business formalities have
concluded.
The original 110,000 sq ft build-
ing was previously a vast clothes
distribution warehouse, purchased
by Victorian Sliders in July 2014.
The racking was cleared out and
the site prepared with the installa-
tion of three electrical substations
to cater for the high voltage elec-
tricity requirements, new air lines,
water chillers, offices and factory
lighting to make it operational.
Manufacturing commenced here in
February 2015, when the company
relocated from its previous 60,000
sq ft premises some ten miles
away in Hendy, where it had been
based since 2010.
The building is now unique in
the UK for window manufacture.
Virgin PVCu powder is extruded
into custom designed profiles,
large sheets of glass are cut,
prepped and 100% toughened
in the glass plant and large scale
window assembly takes place on
modern, fast and accurate German
built Schrimer cutting centres and
Urban Quad welders.
Victorian Sliders concentrates on
the manufacture and distribution
of PVCu vertical sliding sash win-
dows, most notably the ECOSlide
vertical sliding sash, which the
company continues to supply to
trade at an unfaltering £199+VAT
on a standard unit in any size up
to 1300mm and 2400mm. This
bold strategy has certainly paid
off, particularly in a climate of
economic uncertainty, which has
seen trade prices from competitors
generally increase year on year.
What immediately stands out
is the absence of stock. Windows
manufactured day one are put on
an HGV same day and transported
to one of the regional depots with-
in 12 hours and to the customer
within five days of signing the
order.
Brendan explains that since all
manufacturing takes place under
the one roof including arch bend-
ing and bespoke colour spray-
ing and profile foiling, they can
literally operate as a lean manu-
facturer, only producing what has
been ordered, while maintaining
an impressive five-day turnaround
on standard products. This is
no mean feat, considering that
average weekly output on a single
shift here is 2000 windows.
This capacity is soon to be dou-
bled. Earlier this year, work com-
menced on an additional 130,000
sq ft building, taking its footprint
to almost 240,000 sq ft. This new
purpose-built factory has been
constructed to the most exacting
and up-to-date specifications, al-
lowing for increased performance,
efficiency and output, all the while
maintaining the Victorian Sliders
secret formula that its customers
love.
Brendan explains: “We’re very
good at making three PVCu
squares (frame, top sash and
bottom sash) and delivering to
our customers on time in full
across the UK.” And by sticking
to what they’re good at, Victorian
Sliders has gone from strength to
strength, offering what is often
regarded as a niche product but
at a quality level and price point
unequalled in the industry by
competitors.
The increased capacity and per-
formance is forecast to double Vic-
torian Sliders’ sales in 12 months.
To support this growth, the com-
pany’s nationwide infrastructure is
also growing, with more regional
distribution depots added and the
appointment of over 14 new sales
people with professionally kitted
out demo vans in each region
nationwide, offering added levels
of service and support to custom-
ers. The expansion is expected to
create several extra jobs across the
business.
Seeing the vastness of the newly
created space and the precision of
its execution, it is easy to appre-
ciate what a massive undertaking
it must have been. But Brendan
remains unfazed, quietly confi-
dent about the achievement. “The
extension is approximately 96%
complete,” he tells us. “Once a
few finishing touches have been
made, the next task is moving
several of the large and complex
machines into their final position
in readiness for the next chapter
of increased sales for Victorian
Sliders over the second half of
2017 and beyond. A further £2.5
million of machinery is scheduled
to bring the complete factory up
to full scale production. The net
result will be arguably the most
modern window factory anywhere
in the UK and possibly Europe
with over 95% of all key capital
investments less than two to three
years old and many within the
past 12 months.”