20 | FEBRUARY 2020
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
GGF MEMBERS MEET ON FUTURE HOMES CONSULTATION
On 7th January, over 35
Glass and Glazing Federation
(GGF) Member companies met
with the GGF Technical team to
discuss the impact of the Govern-
ment Future Homes Consultation
proposals and to finalise the
GGF’s response to the Consulta-
tion.
The meeting was chaired by
David Borland, Technical Officer
who led the forum covering the
following key points:
1. Approved Document L (on
energy efficiency) was addressed
and to achieve the Government’s
Zero Carbon targets for new
homes by 2050 the following
options were discussed.
• Option 1 – immediate intro-
duction of triple glazing as
compulsory for new build
• Opt 2 – move towards
improved U value through
improved products by 2025
The Group unanimously
preferred Option 2 based on the
following grounds. Firstly that
Option 1 - compulsory triple glaz-
ing with immediate effect would
be too difficult to achieve as the
industry is not ready (in terms of
manufacture, supply and installa-
tion) for this significant
shift, though long term it
should remain a goal.
2. Approved Document F
(ventilation) was next on the
agenda.
The practicalities of achiev-
ing the background ventilation
requirements as per the pro-
posal through the use of trickle
vents was discussed. It
was deemed that this
would be difficult
in the current sys-
tems and trickle
vents available.
The Group asked
that the GGF
explore this area
further in its response
to the consultation to gain
greater clarification on the venti-
lation requirements as proposed
in the Consultation.
www.ggf.org.uk
IG DOORS CELEBRATES
20 YEARS WITH SPECTUS
IG Doors in Blackwood, South
Wales, is one of the market leaders in the
new build and social housing refurbish-
ment sectors. It has also been a Spectus
fabricator since 1999 and has just signed a
new three-year supply agreement with the
systems house.
IG Doors buys the Elite 70 bevelled
door outerframe from Spectus. It uses the
outerframe with its GRP composite doors,
which is a key product line for the compa-
ny, not least because it was one of the first
companies to bring composite doors to the
UK market.
IG Doors has been established for over
35 years and today manufactures around
3000 doors a week. It has the resources,
flexibility and organisational structure to
cope with the requirements of major na-
tional house builders and developers, local
authorities and social housing landlords.
These capabilities are backed up by a
team of experienced technical engineers
who ensure the specifications meet cus-
tomer requirements. This is complemented
by a highly experienced, nationwide sales
team that is able to advise on every aspect
of specification and provide site support
when required, whether it’s a new build or
refurbishment.
IG Doors’ success is based on a part-
nership approach to working with its
customers. The company seeks the same
commitment to excellence from its supply
partners. And because it’s just signed a
three-year supply agreement to take its
partnership with Spectus to 23 years, it’s
clear that Spectus is delivering above and
beyond for the company.
www.spectus.co.uk
MORE INVESTMENT AND A
DOUBLE SHIFT PATTERN
Virtuoso Doors has
invested in new ma-
chinery and rolled out a
double shift pattern at its
80,000-square foot site in
the North East. The move
will enable Virtuoso to
ramp up production and
further improve on its
levels of service and prod-
uct quality as it enters a
phase of rapid growth.
The second shift was
introduced to help Virtu-
oso Doors satisfy a surge
of sales orders for its
market-leading range of
composite doors and door
panels and the firm plans
to expand the shift and
recruit more staff as it
prepares for another peri-
od of high-volume output
later in the year.
Virtuoso has also
invested in an addi-
tional SCM CNC router
and SCM beam saw to
provide extra capacity
and ensure that the firm
meets demand, whilst
maintaining consistently
high product quality and
short lead times. Follow-
ing an investment of £1
million over the last three
years, the Birtley-based
factory is now equipped
with state-of-the-art CNC
routers, beam saws and
edgebanders.
Tony Craggs, Virtuoso
Doors’ managing director,
says: “When it comes to
service, quality and perfor-
mance, our mission is to be
the best in the industry. Last
year, we achieved growth
of more than 35% and we
have ambitious plans for
the next 12 months ahead.
Our strategy is all about
building on that impressive
growth, whilst also focus-
ing on quality and system
improvements and customer
supply performance.”
www.virtuoso-doors.co.uk