Meet your makers

Savvy manufacturers are wising up to the fact that their products can make the difference between an added value home occupied by a happy smiling customer, and added aggravation for your customer services department.

"Poor quality products have a detrimental effect on the saleability of a house. If the standard of the shower is poor customers will wonder about the quality of stuff they can't see," says Harry Rawlinson, managing director of shower maker Aqualisa. Contrast that with the impact of a good quality product, he says. "If it's got a wow factor then customers will believe it's a hell of a house."

Aqualisa recently launched the Quartz shower, which offers both homebuilders and end customers benefits, including one-fit installation and one-touch control. Although the Quartz costs around £100 more than a typical shower it is attracting interest from homebuilders. That is partly because the simple design means installation errors are less likely.

"Specifiers, plumbers and installers don't always communicate to ensure a shower works properly. A lot of money is being spent by the client and they still end up with call-backs, which reflects on the quality of the home," says Rawlinson.

Although homebuilders have given a good reception to the Quartz, Rawlinson says the way homebuilders work with fixed department budgets means value-added products are less likely to be selected. "The basic process is geared around price and not value. Product benefits that may increase the value of the house are not taken into consideration," he says.

Wilcon Homes aims to prevent that from happening by separating product specification from buying. The housebuilder's head office assesses the value of products, and produces a spec guide for sites, but buying is handled by Wilcon's internal builders' merchant, buildpack.com. "It means we can be sure we're getting the best product, and through buildpack.com we're getting the best deal," says James Craig, special projects designer with Wilcon.

Wilcon's spec guide deals mainly with products for inside the home, but some manufacturers are trying to persuade homebuilders to add value on the outside. "One of the easiest ways to differentiate a home is by improving the quality of the specification of landscaping materials," says Marshalls' contract trading manager Greg Sabin. "Homebuilders must not neglect the pulling power of externals." To encourage homebuilders Marshalls offers a free design and consultation service to ensure products are suitable for the site and installed correctly.

Block manufacturer Thermalite is keen to promote its brand to homebuilders and buyers. "Homebuilder research suggests buyers prefer masonry built homes," says marketing manager Paul Reed. "We are looking at giving the facts and benefits of the materials in a sellers' pack," he says.

Roof tile manufacturer Sandtoft also sees ways of exploiting the general public's growing awareness of building materials. "Homebuyers are paying a lot more attention to details. They started off with driveways and now they're moving to other parts of the envelope," says marketing manager Nick Oldridge.

"PPG3 stimulated developers' interest in building higher quality, but now they're doing it even when planners don't demand it as it adds value to the end product," he says. A recent Sandtoft product exploiting this trend is a single-lap clay tile that simulates the appearance of a more expensive double-lap clay tile.

But it is the financial and customer satisfaction costs of the imperfections of new homes that drive many manufacturer innovations. "Homebuilders are starting to become very aware of call-backs, not just for reasons of cost but of quality too," says Mark Andrews, marketing manager at British Gypsum. "We are getting closer to the market so we can provide solutions, often backed by 25-year performance warranties." One of its solutions is Gyproc Surelyner, a plasterboard ceiling system designed to eliminate nail popping.

But in kitchens and bathrooms the benefits of working with manufacturers have less to do with build and more to do with attracting buyers. Linden Homes is putting buyer perception of value to the test in an apartment that showcases the latest in design (see box). Other homebuilders rely on partnering-style relationships with manufacturers to produce the right results.

Crest Homes has a long-term relationship with kitchen maker Manor Cabinets. "It makes sense for us to go the extra mile for Crest as we will continue to be asked to work for them," says Terry McPartlan, managing director of Manor Cabinets.

But the same cannot be said of all suppliers. "They see you as the customer but forget about your customer," says Ian Randall, managing director of Laing Homes South East Thames. "They need to respond to homebuyers' needs as well as ours."