An investment in ‘best in class’

When Universal Trade Frames announced at the FIT Show that they had started manufacturing Residence Collection products, they came away from the show with more than £1.5 million worth in quotes. Total Installer editor Nathan Bushell visited the company’s site in Shrewsbury to find out why.

Bagging more than £1.5 million in quotes is a good indicator of a positive FIT Show experience – by anyone’s standards.

For Richard Hammond, sales director at Universal Trade Frames, it is a starting pistol for a new era of expertly crafted windows and doors, using patented techniques and cutting edge machinery.

“The FIT Show was brilliant. We really enjoyed the time at the show itself, and we were introduced to lots of new faces and familiar ones along the way as well,” Richard told Total Installer.

“We measure the metrics carefully here at Universal and we found that we achieved £1.5 million worth of enquiries – directly on the back end of the FIT Show. So it’s been a phenomenal success.

“Of course, they won’t all turn into orders, but we’ve engaged with these people and they’ve accepted our proposal, and they’re prepared to talk to us about projects that they’ve got going forward.”

Universal Trade Frames’ suite of Residence Collection products sits alongside a range of premium products using systems from several suppliers, including Optima Flush from Epwin, the Spectus Vertical Sliding Sash Window, and the Spectus Fully Reversible and Tilt-and-Turn options.

These are manufactured in a specialist unit set aside from the company’s main fabrication unit. It is also home to the trade fabricator’s newest machine – the Haffner MAC 345 – an incredibly accurate CNC machine which underpins Universal Trade Frames’ desire to offer the best Residence Collection products in the market.

“We’ve taken the quite well-known Timber Weld technology and taken that to the next level, rebranding it HeritageWeld,” Richard said. “That is our CNC precision engineered version of Timber Weld.”

The MAC 345 achieves finishes and detailing unmatched by standard fabrication processes, according to Richard and his colleague, operations director Duncan Saunders.

“We currently have 26 tools, or cutters, loaded into the carousel, which allows us to complete every process on the MAC 345 without needing separate cutters or millers,” Duncan said. “This integration has enabled us to achieve the ultimate in engineered precision.”

Total Installer asked Duncan how the MAC 345 has changed his approach to manufacturing.

“Being able to achieve tolerances of just 0.1mm is just unheard of in the industry,” Duncan said. “And I think that’s just been the focus point that we’ve achieved with the MAC 345.

“It has allowed us to develop our HeritageWeld process, which is technically superior to a standard mechanical joint. That level of accuracy just enhances the overall product.

“We’ve also been able to achieve efficiencies not only with lead times, but production times. And again, the accuracy is key to that whole process. We will definitely achieve ‘best in class’, with regards to HeritageWeld windows and doors,” Duncan concluded.

The UK’s premium window and door market has developed significantly in recent years, especially as homeowners have become more aware of the range of products on offer, and the attention to authentic detailing that can be achieved.

Total Installer asked Richard how he was helping Universal Trade Frames’ customers to continues to tap into this potentially lucrative market.

“Firstly, we are giving them the confidence of the best quality, and the best version of the product that’s currently on the market,” he said. “But secondly, we are so sure about those high standards that we’re backing that up with a quality guarantee.

“Basically, we’re telling our customers that if it’s faulty, it’s free. So, not only are we going to replace it, but you’ll get that product for free too.”

Richard said that his claim to offer the very best version of Residence Collection products was supported by the inclusion of the latest in smart technology. Specifically, he said that the synergy of heritage-style products with Yale SensCheck technology has gained real traction with homeowners.

“The Residence Collection has sought to replace the old timber window and door market, which it has done really well,” Richard said. “Its aesthetics match, it looks the part, and it’s approved in conservation areas.

“But realistically, homeowners don’t just want a timber alternative window or door, they want products that are fit for today’s modern houses. So, we need energy efficiency, we need low maintenance, and we need smart enabled.

“And that’s where the SensCheck from Yale brings windows and doors in line with modern home ownership. Homeowners can tell whether the door’s locked or unlocked, and if they’ve left the window open – all done remotely.

“And that means that we’ve got a door that is fit for today’s market, but from the outside it still looks like a timber alternative door or timber alternative window.”

This isn’t empty rhetoric from Richard either. The new Residence open-in timber alternative door, which was launched at the FIT Show to great acclaim, has already generated lots of enquiries in the real world.

“We’ve been literally genuinely inundated with enquiries,” he said. “It seems like consumers have been sitting there waiting for the door to be available and now it is, it has unlocked a previously untapped market. The enquiries are genuinely just flooding in.”