John Fredericks’ Kevin Hill fields questions from Glass Age: John Fredericks’ new MD - in focus

With more than 20 years experience in the building products sector both in the UK and overseas, new John Fredericks MD Kevin Hill understands the needs of installers and fitters across many product areas. Glass Age asked him about some of the issues affecting window fabricators:

GA: What’s your impression of the window fabrication market as it stands?

I can see that the period of year on year growth is over and that the industry is going through a challenging period. Many well known businesses have failed and nearly a third of fabricators admitted that their sales had dropped in the last quarter of 2004.

Perhaps more worrying, is that many companies are becoming unstable because they are chasing sales at any price rather than looking closely at their business dynamics and their overall proposition. It’s estimated that around £15 million is lost in profit every year and nearly a quarter of companies are operating at a loss. The companies that will succeed are the ones that are flexible, customer focused and know where they want to be strategically.

GA: What can window fabricators do to ensure that they continue to compete in a shrinking market?

Service and quality are key. Competition is strong so it’s vital that fabricators go the extra mile. I feel that companies should not be so product or production led. Although these are important factors – they should concentrate more on customer service. That’s how they can set themselves apart from the rest.

GA: Have you taken any steps to improve energy efficiency, and will you be taking up the BFRC Window Ratings scheme?

We are actively working towards improving our energy efficiency with developments like K glass, soft coat and argon gas. We will be taking up the BFRC Window Rating scheme after we have finalised the specification.

GA: Glazed or unglazed?

Service and quality are key. Competition is strong so it’s vital that fabricators go the extra mile

We are fully committed to both as we feel it gives our installers more choice and greater flexibility. We’re looking to further improve our offering in fully glazed products in the future with the introduction, for example, of soft coat which previously we did not offer

GA: Spacer bars – Aluminium or warm edge?

We are currently using aluminium for our spacer bars, which is tried, trusted and widely available. However, we are evaluating several glass suppliers at present, with a view to improving our overall offering. Some of them use warm edge, which claims to reduce condensation and improve U-values, so this could be an option.

GA: Do you have an approved installers scheme?

We prefer to select our installers based on their own merit rather than a set of pre-determined criteria. By doing that, we attract smaller, quality installers and give them the opportunity to work with our products. We constantly monitor our installer network and only work with reputable companies that we feel have the same core business values as ourselves.

GA: What interested you in the position, and what do you hope to bring to the role?

John Fredericks is a dynamic business with a strong brand. The fabrication sector is also ripe for consolidation and growth. I’m looking forward to building on John Fredericks’ core strengths of product quality, innovation, service and flexibility and taking the business forward at a challenging and pivotal time in the industry.