AluFoldDirect, the Lancashire based trade manufacturer of aluminium bi-fold doors, has reported ‘significant growth’ just a year after it was founded, supplying in excess of 1,000 frames across the UK per week.
Based in Haslingden, AluFoldDirect was set up by Craig Miller, a ‘glazing industry veteran’. It began trading on 1 November 2014 to cater for the growing market for aluminium bi-fold doors, with Craig using his industry experience to devise a system that avoided the ‘pitfalls’ he had reportedly seen in other suppliers.
“Aluminium bi-fold doors are a great product but prone to wide variations in the quality, speed and ease of manufacture and, most importantly, installation. That uncertainty can lead to significant delays on site, and that’s not on.
“The aim of AluFoldDirect has been to simplify the process. Customers deserve a high-quality product, delivered quickly and precision-made to fit exactly. As our name suggests, we provide exactly that ‘direct’ approach.
“Judging by the overwhelmingly positive reaction we’ve experienced, that message has been received loud and clear,” he adds.
According to AluFoldDirect, weekly output is now regularly in excess of 1,000 frames, around 63% of which are being manufactured for bi-fold door installations. As a result, the AluFoldDirect team has grown from 15 when the company was founded a year ago, to 48 members today.
“We have a deliberate strategy of recruiting local, unskilled people who just need the right opportunity to showcase their talents,” Craig explained.
“We provide trainees with valuable vocational skills via an academy process. We pay our trainees above the minimum wage, and offer a clear structure for further development. Step one is to make them qualified fabricators; step two, to become trainers capable of sharing their skills with new trainees.
“It’s a system built for growth and it’s already working. Frankly, the size and speed we’ve grown is testament to the hard work put in by everybody in the team and we couldn’t have reached a four-figure weekly output without them.”
