To meet the rise in demand for windows and doors thanks to the surge of orders post-lockdown, Frame Fast UK has invested £610,000 in a new Schirmer Cutting and Machining Centre.

The impressive new machine can cut and prep over 700 window and door frames a week, providing installers with quick turnaround times for their orders.

Nigel Leivers, Director of Frame Fast UK, says: “The prolonged time homeowners have spent in their homes has made them think about what they can change to make their lives better. Travel restrictions have also given many households more money to spend as they’re not going abroad on holiday. Not to mention, we’ve seen a rise in refurbishments to support home working.

aluplast customer, Affordable Window Systems, has reported sales growth of 20% year on year for its flush casement offering.

Affordable, which operates from a state of the art 200,000ft2 facility in Lancashire, is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of PVC and aluminium fenestration products. It produces around 2,000 PVC-U frames per week, 15% of which is dedicated to the manufacture of aluplast’s flush sash.

Available with a choice of standard and heritage deep bottom rail, aluplast’s flush casement can also be optioned with mechanical jointing, a defining feature of Affordable’s market leading offer.

Brisant Secure is redefining security standards again with the launch of a ground-breaking Ultion security handle, part of a new three-star security solution, claims the company.

The all-new Ultion 3* security solution features the new two-star security handle with an Ultion one-star to achieve exceptional security and beautiful looks.

Ultion’s security handle has unique seamless curves to prevent burglars using tools to get a grip on it so they can rip it from the door. The fully-reinforced Ultion handle can’t be crushed by mole grips either, and the fixings thread perfectly through hardened steel bosses to stop twisting. Inside the handle, a molybdenum cylinder shield – 25% denser than iron – protects against drilling and lock-snapping, the most common form of attack.

Sales of workbenches, machinery consumables and spare parts at Emmegi (UK) are set to hit a record high in 2021 as the aluminium market continues to surge in the post-pandemic recovery.

Figures for the first half of the year show sales of the company’s ACCA XL workbenches set to grow by 45% compared with 2020 and 10% compared with 2019, and sales of consumable and spare parts on track to increase by 13% on 2020 figures and 6% on 2019.

Ian Latimer, Emmegi (UK)’s Managing Director commented: “The 2020 figures were obviously skewed by the lockdown and rapid bounce back, but these are certainly higher than anything we have seen since Emmegi (UK) was established in 2010.

Business Pilot has launched a new email integration for its installer business management tool, which automatically pulls emails into the CRM, automatically assigning them to a lead or job, no matter who sends it, to create a clear and instantly accessible audit trail.

Delivering a step change in prospect and customer communication, each lead or job is automatically assigned a unique email address, as soon as it’s on the system.

Users can then either choose to email as before, directly from the CRM, or copy and paste the email address into their preferred mail client as CC or BCC address.

PVC-U window and door recycling specialist, Veka Recycling, has strengthened its team with three significant appointments at its Wellingborough plant, which is now fully operational.

With a background managing areas including logistics, procurement, customer service and sales, Gavin Reay was recently appointed as business development manager. Gavin’s plans for the role include the development Veka Recycling’s client base to obtain a higher yield of post-consumer frames and off-cuts, ultimately producing a larger volume of recycled pellet.

With key responsibilities initially including the creation of standardised work processes to reduce errors, Magdalena Miler also joins the company as quality engineer.

A trio of high-performance aluminium fenestration solutions from Senior Architectural Systems has been put to the test at the new Dixons Trinity Academy in West Yorkshire, which is set to become a new all-through primary and secondary school.

Located in the Chapeltown area of Leeds, the new educational facility has been designed by Faulkner Brown Architects and built by Willmott Dixon, with Senior’s long-term supply chain partner Aire Valley Architectural Aluminium Ltd undertaking the fabrication and installation of the fenestration package.

With sustainability a key part of the envelope design, Senior’s patented PURe® aluminium windows have been used to provide the required low U-values and help future-proof the building for the pending changes to Part L of the Building Regulations.

Yard Direct has become the Official UK Partner for Roto Windows. The company says the windows are in stock for the most popular sizes and types and available right away. The windows are claimed to be competitively priced for the current market and come with Yard Direct’s 15-year warranty of quality assurance.

According to Yard Direct, one benefit is the modern shape of the roof window covering, available in a dark grey, anthracite-metallic colour with a full range of interior and exterior sun screening.

Additionally, the company says Roto Windows offer extremely high stability and durability thanks to multi-chamber profiles made of fibre-reinforced plastic with steel reinforcement, and galvanised fixing brackets are pre-installed which saves time on site.