MAY 2020 | 17
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
OUR MATES IN ALUMINIUM
Mike Andrews - owner of AluMate - who in his own
words “swapped Microsoft Windows for doors and
windows” discusses staying surefooted
and hotfooted, making plans (and
preparing for them to go wrong),
plus expansion during lockdown…
AluMate was estab-
lished around five years
ago when Mike was ap-
proached by two partners
of WindoorMate looking
to start a new aluminium
manufacturing business.
Hoping to bring the ‘uPVC
ethos’ of service, people,
support to the alumini-
um sector, the trio spent
the first 12 months or so
looking at the market and
exploring ways they could
channel their combined
experience into a the new
venture.
Mike himself had spent
his earlier years - from
studies to previous career
roles - in IT solutions;
developing software, pro-
viding support, and acting
as consultant for a variety
of clients, which in the
late 1990s, led him to the
beginning of a 15 year re-
lationship with Griffin Win-
dows (part of MASCO).
“Like with so many
people in this industry, I al-
most fell into fenestration,”
Mike says. “I was work-
ing with Griffin Windows
through my own company
as a consultant, and was
asked several times to take
up a permanent position.
I joined the board as IT
Director in 1999 and am
proud to have been part of
the team that transformed a
£10M turnover into a £32M
turnover before the busi-
ness was sold to MASCO
Corporation. I was then
part of a team that took the
group forward to being a
£120M business.
“It was an exciting time
and a great insight into the
door and window industry.
After a stint of almost 15
years, I made the decision
to return to consultancy,
hoping to help SMEs make
the most of technology to
maximise their businesses.
Then, when I was ap-
proached by WindoorMate
to help set up AluMate, I
couldn’t resist and start-
ed researching straight
away.”
Within just five years,
AluMate had grown from “a
small unit and basic equip-
ment”
to a brand that
required increased capacity
and a new location “but
only to the next valley”.
Manufacturing the com-
plete portfolio of AluK
products - windows, doors,
bifolds, sliding, plus select-
ed Eurocell models such as
the Skypod and Aspect II
uPVC BiFold, the customer
base of trade and retail
clients now reached “the
bottom left quarter of the
UK” from its Porth prem-
ises. And, with a careful
and considered catalogue
that combines the very best
of aluminium and uPVC,
a customer could easily
order every component
required for a complete
project such as a new
build, full renovation or an
extension assignment.
Mike’s methodical
approach to any project
and the ‘step by step’
technique, honed from a
lifetime in software design
and development, initia-
tion and implementation,
undoubtedly contributed
to the early success of
AluMate. Yet, when the
best laid plans lead to a
much-needed expansion
into a new 26,000 sq ft
premises, and the factory is
forced to close down seven
days after the move, what
happens next?
“We moved in on the
Wednesday, spent a few
days setting up ready to
start work on the Mon-
day, and by the following
Wednesday, the an-
nouncement was made to
temporarily close,” begins
Mike.
For a man who has spent
the majority of his career
delivering solutions in
innovation and efficiency
however, while no one
could have predicted the
current circumstances, few
who know Mike would
be surprised to learn that,
through careful planning
and preparation, he hasn’t
been too fazed, and is
already thinking about the
next stage.
“I am a very careful
planner, especially when
it comes to finances, but
I also never assume that
things will go to plan,”
explains Mike. “I always
keep an eye on cash flow,
and while we never could
have imagined the situation
we are in now, we wouldn’t
have made the move if we
couldn’t do it comfortably.
“In terms of production,
we knew what we had to
do to get ahead before we
moved, and we already had
a schedule for the first few
days at the new premises,
so we were already up-
to-date when we downed
tools. This means we are
ready to simply switch on
and get going as soon as
the decision is announced
that we can get back to
work.
“And in the meantime
we’re supporting customers
who are new to working
remotely, offering help
and advice, particularly
when it comes to software
and technology so that for
them, as it is for us at the
moment, work is just on
pause, not at stop.”
www.alumate.co.uk