4 | JUNE 2017
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
MACHINERY PACKS MIGHTY PUNCH
Mighton Products has
increased its offering to
now include a state of the
art scribing machine. The
Scribe-It™, developed in-
house by Mighton, features
a 240-volt semi-automatic
design capable of providing
joiners with high quality
results whilst requiring min-
imal input.
The company gave Tibby
Singh, the former BBC
Young Carpenter of the
Year and now a professional
tools and tech tester and
reviewer, the opportunity
to put the Scribe-It™ to the
test.
“Scribing is a bit like div-
ing in at the deep end,” said
Tibby. “There is a lot more
to it than meets the eye
so I was intrigued to see
how well this new machine
would stand up to the chal-
lenge. My initial concern
was that there would be
lots of buttons and complex
software to figure out before
I could operate it. However,
the machine was incredibly
simple to set up and after
ECONOMIES
OF SCALE
Quickslide has launched a
programme of consolidating its list
of hardware suppliers to pass on
the cost benefits of closer work-
ing relationships in response to
pre-Brexit price pressure.
The move is also part of the
fabricator’s ongoing policy of
streamlining the buying of materi-
als and components for improved
service and prices through strong-
er long-term working relationships
as operations director Ben Weber
explained:
“We have already developed
supply deals on other materials
such as spacer bars and have
been able to pass on the benefits
to our customers. Now, with the
issues, such as the bead
splitting or spelching at
the end, leaving you with a
precise clean cut every time.
There’s a range of compati-
ble tooling available to suit
various types of profile and
the components have been
made quick and easy to
interchange, which for me
was a real plus. The speed
can also be adjusted to
anywhere between 12,000
and 18,000 RPM to suit the
material being cut.”
being given a just a short
demonstration I was
happily scribing
away by my-
self.”
“The main
action is car-
ried out using
not one but
two cutters,” Tib-
by continued. “This
allows for the shaping
of the bead to be done in
two halves, one after the
other. By using a meth-
od like this the machine
safeguards against potential
weaker pound impacting on prices
everywhere, we aim to offset some
of the increases by consolidating
our supplier list to share the mutu-
al benefits of better prices for us
and our customers and greater
volumes for those suppliers.
“In some cases, this has allowed
us to bring in new suppliers and
many new and better products,
and even enabled us to consider
product ranges that would oth-
erwise have been too expensive.
These not only give installers our
better quality offering but also
make fabrication easier and so
benefit everyone.”
Several preferred companies
have been invited to quote for
increased amounts of business and
negotiations are ongoing.
www.mightonproducts.com
Vintage Windows UPVC: now
an independent fabricator
Sale solves competition conflict
The Flamstead Group - led by group
chief executive officer Roger Hartshorn
- has sold fabricator Vintage Windows
to its managing director Alan Cooke.
Among those suppliers support-
ing the move, ERA Home Secu-
rity’s Marc Robinson said: “Such
relationships benefit everyone
down the line. We are able to
share the economies of scale by
giving keener prices on a much
bigger account, Quickslide passes
on the benefits to installers, so
they in turn have a better offering
for their customers.”
www.quickslide.co.uk
Originally set up as an inde-
pendent fabricator, Vintage Win-
dows then became the testing and
development facility for the Liniar
system. As part of the Flamstead
Group, the company was formerly
a sister company to HL Plastics,
owners of the Liniar brand, and
Avantek Machinery.
Over the years the company has
fabricated small quantities of win-
dows for local installers, as well as
helping out Liniar fabricators with
high volume requirements. Vintage
Windows UPVC will continue to
supply Liniar’s customers where
required.
Roger Hartshorn commented:
“In line with our overall strategy
and our commitment not to com-
pete with our fabricator custom-
ers, we have decided to divest the
Vintage business. The company
has now become a stand-alone
Liniar fabricator on a long-term
supply agreement, with immediate
effect.
“We believe our resources are
better directed at helping our
valued fabricators to expand their
own businesses. This move will
enable the core Liniar team to
focus on value-added activities
such as customer service and new
product development, which will
benefit our whole customer base
without the conflict of competition
from their supplier.”
Vintage Windows has new
contact details - telephone
01773 603923 and email info@
vintagewindowsupvc.co.uk