Glazing Summit – ‘breaking new ground’
June 2018

More than 400 industry players gathered to hear speakers and join panel discussions in the inaugural Glazing Summit organised by Insight Data and Purplex Marketing.

CEO Andrew Scott said of the event: “This was breaking new ground, the industry has never had a major business conference but as the market matures and becomes more professional, a platform for CEO’s and business leaders to come together, learn and share information has become paramount.”

“With several different sectors represented and a diverse range of companies of every shape and size it is impossible to provide content relevant to every delegate on every session, but our aim was that delegates would take away at least some valuable pearls of wisdom and connect with industry leaders and from the feedback this was definitely achieved.” 

Among the speakers, Edgetech MD Chris Alderson warned that the fenestration industry is lagging behind other sectors in investing in research and development. While acknowledging the role of existing innovation, he cautioned: “Other sectors invest a significant proportion of their annual sales revenue in research and development – in the pharmaceuticals industry, the figure is in double digits. In glass and glazing, by contrast, it’s estimated to be less than 1% - and that’s undoubtedly held us back.

“At Edgetech, we’re focused on new product development, and we’re also championing modern automated insulated glass manufacturing techniques. We’re seeing other countries already investing significantly in manufacturing automation and the UK needs to embrace these efficient manufacturing methods and technologies to be able to compete in the global marketplace and offset the widespread labour shortages.”

Sean Parnaby, MD of West Port Windows flew the flag for timber frames. He later said of the event: “The Summit was a fantastic platform to tackle some of the biggest misconceptions about timber in glass and glazing. I was particularly keen to demolish the idea that uPVC and aluminium have rapidly advanced in recent decades, while timber has somehow stood still.

“This is rubbish. The sort of modern engineered timber used by leading fabricators like West Port bears virtually no resemblance to the wood used in millions of twentieth-century windows. All a modern engineered timber window needs is a light sanding and re-coating once every ten years to keep it in top condition. What’s more, it’ll last you at least sixty years.”

Austin Barcley, MD of finance provider Improveasy, later said: ““We had a brilliant time at the Glazing Summit speaking with fabricators, manufacturers and business owners about the opportunities available through finance.”

He continued: “The Glazing Summit also provided the perfect platform to dispel the myths around finance and really explain the benefits. For installers, they can level the playing field with the national brands by offering a full range of flexible finance options including 0% APR. For fabricators, they can deliver a full range of bespoke finance packages to their networks, strengthening their proposition.”