Impact gets a flying start: new name for toughened glass in future culture capital

Impact Safety Glass, Liverpool’s new toughened glass supplier and processor, officially opened on 1st July. The opening party was an occasion for directors Tony Harford and John McDonough to thank friends, family and the bank for their support in the business. A surprise guest was actor Ricky Tomlinson, best known for the Royle Family TV series.

The new company is equipped to service demand for toughened glass, commercial glazing, balustrading, bolted systems and frameless doors. Impact also offers a toughen-own-glass service. Machinery includes an Efco toughening furnace with LGT enclosure for improved sound insulation, a Bottero jumbo cutting table with edge deletion facility, and a GTS arrissing station. Roomy premises on the former Otis lifts site offer 27,000 square feet and overhead craneage.

Objectives

‘We are looking to offer service and quality and to value the medium sized company’, says Director Tony Harford. Impact offers an ‘Order day one, deliver day three’ service for toughened glass.

Impact is following a three year business plan. The first objective is to fill the shift for glass toughening, and then look to add another shift. Tony Harford predicts a first year turnover of around £1.2 million.

John and Tony don’t expect to make an ‘impact’ with their prices particularly. Quality and service are the directors’ twin goals. Tony feels that customers are prepared to pay for quality, because they’re not always getting the service.

When questioned about launching a glass toughening business at a time when many window businesses are trying to take the process in-house, he remains unperturbed: ‘We feel there’s enough out there for everyone.’

We are looking to offer service and quality to the medium-sized company

With good reason. Investment and expertise required, and the need to ‘feed the furnace’ will probably limit this trend.

Flying start

Rather than start a business with a skeleton crew, Impact already has 17 employees and should reach capacity without hitches. So far, business is coming from Merseyside, Yorkshire, and areas further afield in the North and Midlands. The delivery fleet is leased.

There are certain benefits of coming to the market late, and Impact will not be trying to emulate the massive investment that some companies have undertaken in processing and handling machinery for soft coat glasses. The management anticipate that a higher performance hard coat or easy to handle soft coat will become the new standard low E glass for the domestic market.

Recent awards to Liverpool and the regeneration that goes with them bode well for the business: The naming of the city as a World Heritage site (for its maritime history), and Capital of Culture in 2008 will result in all sorts of new projects, all needing safety glass.

With this focused but well-informed strategy in place and some experienced heads in charge, we expect to be hearing lots more from Impact.