Pro Installer December 2014 - Issue 21 | Page 8

8 DECEMBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER PRO NEWS www.proinstaller.co.uk The VEKA UK Group: Proud to support The Poppy Appeal The VEKA UK Group’s chosen charity for the second half of 2014 has been The Royal British Legion and the industry-leading systems supplier is proud to have raised funds for this valuable charity in a number of ways over recent months. New Products And Customer Service Director For Synseal Steve Brown has been promoted to the role of Products and Customer Service Director at Synseal, one of the UK’s leading PVCu system manufacturer. Since joining Synseal from Eurocell in 2011, Steve has headed up Synseal’s product development, technical, quality, order processing and customer service teams in the busy role of Head of Customer Care and Product Strategy. As Synseal operations have evolved and grown, Steve has overseen substantial reorganisation of the diverse teams under his control to meet the changing needs of the business. Derbyshire-based Steve has also led the charge in driving through new product development and his creative thinking led to the recent introduction of WarmCore; Synseal’s innovative new “warm aluminium” folding sliding door range. With 25 years of experience working in the UK window industry, Steve is a renowned figure and has played an active part on the Synseal Operations Board for several years prior to moving up to his new position, with full Directorship status. David Leng, Synseal Chief Executive, said: “This appointment reflects Steve’s growing strategic contribution to our business, and all the other Directors join me in congratulating Steve on this important and well-deserved step in his career at Synseal.” Founded in 1980, Synseal is one of the UK’s fastest growing window and conservatory systems manufacturer. The management team drive Synseal’s commitment to provide the best products, at competitive prices and with unrivalled support for and interaction with its fabrication customers. For more information visit www.synseal.com Most recently, a team from VEKA’s HQ in Burnley competed in the 5k Poppy Run in Accrington. Head of Human Resources, Gabriela Hammond, explains: “A team of us here at VEKA were delighted to take part in the 5k Poppy Run to raise money for The British Legion and Poppy Scotland. “It was hard work, but it definitely helped keep us motivated that we were contributing to such a good cause! “The first seven ‘Poppy Runs’ took place in 2012, and the number of these events held annually has grown year on year. Apparently, there were 300 Poppy Runs organised this year across England and Scotland. “As a company, our charity efforts have been focused on The Royal British Legion since July. Staff from Bowater Doors and Bowater Projects have been selling poppies on the streets of Birmingham as part of the city’s official fundraising day. “Network VEKA collected charity envelopes at the organisation’s annual Awards Evening, we’ve had a charity ‘dress down’ day, a golf day and students from our partner school, Hameldon Community College organised a charity car wash, with half of the proceeds going to their Young Enterprise Fund and the other half to the Poppy Appeal. “We’ve raised a considerable sum of money for The British Legion and we’re not finished yet!” For further information visit www.vekauk.com Living in a Box Challenge Heightens Autism Awareness ‘Living in a Box’ took on a whole new meaning for REHAU fabricator, UK Window Systems when it provided a bespoke 3m x 2m glazed cube for its chosen 2014 charity and their latest fundraising challenge. The ‘Locked in for Autism’ challenge organised by Caudwell Children, saw Stokeon-Trent Mum, Ally Nicklin, spending 50 hours locked inside the box at the local Tesco store. The aim was to raise funds for Caudwell Children’s Autistic Children’s Therapies programme, and to increase awareness of the condition and the isolation and frustration felt by sufferers. The event was a huge success with more than £5000 donated by supporters online and in-store in just 50 hours. The charity now plans to repeat the ‘Locked in for Autism’ event at other locations and UK Window Systems’ trade counter manager Rob Horton has already agreed to rebuild the cube at another Tesco’s store in Crewe for another willing volunteer to take on the challenge. UK Window Systems designed and built the glass box free, as part of its commitment to Caudwell Children which is its chosen charity for 2014. A spokesman for the charity said: “Caudwell Chil- dren has received fantastic support from UK Window Systems throughout the year, but their dedication to this particular project was outstanding.” The REHAU fabricator, which is based at an impressive new 30,000sqft premises in Cobridge, Stoke- on-Trent, is helping the charity to raise funds to benefit disabled children and their families across the UK. For more information visit www.rehau.co.uk or www.ukwindowsltd.co.uk