28
OCTOBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Members review reveals
optimism but concerns
over General Election
A review of its membership by one of the
UK’s largest and longest running online lead
generation and installer
support companies
has found guarded
optimism regarding the
economy going forward.
POLYFRAME
AWARDS
SUCCESS
REHAU is proud that leading trade fabricator
Polyframe has been nominated for The Yorkshire
Post Excellence in Business Awards 2014.
Polyframe has been selected from
all businesses in Yorkshire as one of
just three finalists in the ‘Companies
between £10m and £50m’ category,
recognising its phenomenal growth
over recent years. The newspaper’s
high profile awards are designed to
highlight the strength of the region’s
business community and, as the
organisers say, to ‘show that the
spirit of enterprise is alive and well
in God’s Own Country’.
One of the key factors in Polyframe’s nomination this year is the recent opening of
its fifth factory in Halifax which will create
around 300 jobs in the Yorkshire town. It
has also been recognised for the success of
both its dedicated composite door factory,
which opened in Mansfield in 2013, and
its Northern Ireland factory in Portadown,
which is targeting the trade markets across
Ireland and Scotland.
Martin Hitchin, REHAU’s UK Chief Executive, said: “Polyframe’s success has been
very impressive to witness, and we have
been delighted to be able to play our part
in that with the supply of top quality RE-
HAU profiles and with sales and technical
support.
“Polyframe has hugely out-performed the
market over the past four years and has
shown that a growth mind set and a real
focus on innovation will always attract new
customers. What is particularly pleasing is
that Polyframe has been able to maintain its
commitment to quality and customer service
throughout its expansion and has continued
to invest across its operation in order to
stay ahead.”
The winners of the prestigious Yorkshire
Post awards will be announced at a ceremony to be held in Leeds on October 30.
It will be hosted by BBC journalist Justin
Webb and the keynote speaker will be Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain
Duncan Smith.
Further independent recognition of Polyframe’s growth came recently when it was
named by Santander and Smarter as one of
the top 50 fastest growing businesses in the
UK.
Further information is available at:
www.polyframetrade.co.uk
Leads2trade regularly
connects with its members
on a number of issues and
was keen to find out what
they felt about the year so
far; and the industry and
economy going forward.
Leads2trade generate
double-qualified home
improvement leads via an
800-strong online network
of sites (which fall under
the banner of Trusted Local
Suppliers) where homeowners register to find tradesman to carry out work such
as conservatory, solar, boiler
and double glazing installations.
The company also offers
installer support, finance
options and other member
benefits.
For its mid-market monitor
members reported back
they were confident that the
return to economic growth
would continue; despite
concerns about the UK’s
balance of payments regarding exports and increasing
levels of consumer debt.
Members also intimated
that a change of government following the upcoming General Election in
2015 could have an impact
on economic prosperity, due to market confidence and stability being
knocked.
Closer to home, installers said that recent
changes to the Competent
Persons Scheme and the
introduction of mandatory
Insurance Backed Guarantees will be good for the
industry in the long term in
order to raise standards; but
the majority cited bureaucracy and poor communication from leaders in the
industry as issues about the
scheme.
Regarding products, the
bulk of members said that
they felt bi-folding doors
still remained a major
growth products, along
with modern orangery style
extensions, vertical sliding
sash windows and higher-end timber and composite products.
To ensure their members
fully benefit from these
products Leads2trade has
recently appointed a new
Business Development
Manager, Sandra Jones.
Sandra will who will be
focusing on the fenestration
side of the business and expanding the product groups
to include specific sectors
for bi-folding doors and
Aluminium window leads.
Sandra has twenty one
year’s industry experience
and has worked for many
companies in the industry, including KAT UK and
Spectus.
She comments: “In my
previous job roles I noticed
a huge increase in demand
for bi-folding and large
triple track patio doors. I
am keen to use my industry
installer knowledge to offer
this type of specific lead to
Leads2Trade’s members; as
well as working to attract
new members.”
Andy Royle, Director at
Leads2trade, comments:
“As ever the results were
interesting and despite still
being a few good months
away the upcoming General
Election has the potential to
be a game changer for the
economy.”
At the time of writing
Leads2trade members have
already closed £50M worth
of sales so far this year
thanks to leads they’ve
generated; and Leads2trade
have generated in excess
of 40,000 double qualified leads in total for their
members.