Emplas is appealing to installers already working in, or with the capability to work in, the commercial sector, after being ‘inundated’ with leads.
The trade fabricator has reportedly seen consistent growth in demand from house builders, working throughout the UK.
But with massive growth in demand, it says its existing commercial customers are already inundated with work and it’s looking for new partners to meet it.
John Leary, sales and marketing director, Emplas, said: “Leads in this industry are hard to come by but we’ve actually got more new build leads than we can handle at the moment.
“The factory investment we have made means that we have manufacturing capacity but not the installer base to complete the supply chain.
“Commercial won’t be right for everyone but if you’re an established retail business with fitting capacity and some Window Designer experience, we can help you with the rest,” he continued.
Emplas says that it has an established track record of supply into new build, from supporting the development of specifications, through to just-in-time delivery to site. This also includes dedicated SBD, PAS24 and Document Q tick-box ordering on Window Designer.
The trade specialist adds that it has also invested more than £5m on its shop floor since 2017, giving it increased capacity but also flexibility with two fully automated window lines and with 90% of products going through just two Rotox 8-head welders. According to Emplas, this has brought its weekly capacity up to 3,200 frames across two shifts.
“We work very closely with our customers and while retail is still delivering growth, we know from our customers that it is tough and a slog,” said Leary. “This is at a time when we genuinely have more commercial leads than we know what to do with.
“The step into commercial supply isn’t such a big one if you’re already set up and operating with an effective structure, the right supply partner and have basic design and specification expertise within your team.”
He added that long term prospects for new build were also positive, with targets in place to deliver 300,000 new homes a year from 2020.
This includes a policy drive as set out in the 2018 Housing White Paper to support smaller house builders and encourage the release of smaller scale developments, something Leary said also increased accessibility to market for installers.
“There is a misconception that to supply house builders you need to have the inhouse capability to fulfil massive orders. Those jobs are still there, but there are also lots of smaller regional developers. You’re looking at sites with 25, 50 or 100 homes. They represent a massive opportunity for installers,” Leary added.
Offering a full range of Profile 22 Optima products including casement, flush casement and tilt-and-turn, Emplas says that it also has extensive experience of just-in-time site delivery. “We’ll supply the frames glazed direct to site, the proposition for the installer is in that respect far more straight forward than retail,” he argued.
“The margin is also there. New build isn’t as price driven. Developers want kerb appeal. There are massive opportunities for installers.”
