Moving with the times: Plastmo continues to expand on its flexible system approach

Henrik, how did you become Managing Director of a UK window systems company?

Henrik Jensen: I started with Plastmo in Denmark, which was exporting into the UK. In 1989 I was sent to the UK to start an extrusion operation. I expected to go back after two years but it never happened. It was very difficult in the beginning, because the home improvement market collapsed in 1990 and we had started in April 1989.

The first system we had, System 2000, was 75mm front to back, developed for the Scandinavian market. The export market opened when we got a customer in the UK called Stormseal. The company was established in the UK in 1983 as a distrbution and sales company and in 1989 sales were sufficient to justify starting extrusion. It was a good product but very expensive, although there are still a lot of windows out there performing well.

When the economy collapsed we had to rethink the strategy behind the whole business, and that’s how we developed the system that we’re still running now, called Index. We launched our casement system in 1992 and we’ve been building our other systems around it since.

The people from BSI found it very hard to get their heads around the system, because it was like a Swiss Army knife: while competitors do a 70mm system, a 60mm system, a casement and a tilt and turn, we basically have the flexibilty to make different products, like a 70mm system with a 60mm sash, a 60mm with a 70mm sash, or ovolo. So you can mix and match depending on what you require for your exact market.

The evolution of our system over nearly 15 years has generated what I call ‘the toolbox’, which gives our fabricators a lot of options to go into the market and target specific segments.

Robert Thiroff: I went to a prospect recently and ended up showing him 16 different window styles, only using three window systems – Index 62, the 70 and the ovolo (Vogue) system.

Do you find that fabricators tend to stick to a few combinations?

RT: All the time. You can get people to trade up to 70mm, but if they’ve always been in the 70mm sector it’s quite hard to get them to look at 62. With us they only need four extra profiles, so they can use all the 62mm sashes with a 70mm system. That’s how it started.

Who is the designer?

HJ: I would say we all get involved. We have a team that we call the New Product Group. Robert is part of it because we believe that what we do on the design side is based on the demand we see in the market.

RT: Extruders used to launch systems for their own ends without much consultation with the fabricator base. We work on market research, talk to our fabricators, and see what our competitors are doing as well. We have an open forum to discuss what are the requirements for the future.

That’s why I think we are good at launching new products at the right time to really raise our level. It’s what people are looking for – the next stage, not just designing ‘me toos’. There’s no point really.

The market is starting to look at feature sashes and systems. With the integration of our systems we can produce a sash to use with the 70mm or 62mm Index ranges, and if there’s a market demand, we can develop the rest of the system, which is how the Vogue ovolo system came about. But first you have to prove that it’s what the market wants.

What isn’t mentioned much is how machinery and computer systems have changed the average fabricator.

HJ: It’s becoming more and more difficult to get people to do jobs on the shop floor, and that’s another influence. Many of the systems now need to have gaskets in, and they must be adapted to go into automatic machinery to bring the unit cost down and cut the labour element out.

One of your largest customers, the Style Group, has made huge investment to open new glass and glass toughening plants. Do you think there are going to be more businesses putting it all under one roof?

HJ: Businesses are being put under more pressure to improve their control over service, and I believe this is what the Style Group is doing, particularly with the glass side and glass toughening.

Do you think they will ever ask for their own system?

Our strategy has been to be very good at what we do on the plastics side, where we always look at being flexible

HJ: They have specific requirements that they want to build on the back of what we do, but I don’t know if they’ll ever want their own system. But we have had other customers asking us for something bespoke – the main frames with our standard auxiliary profiles.

RT: It’s not usually necessary for companies to have their own system because the branding is often so strong and their emphasis is on marketing and service.

HJ: We did make a bespoke development with one of the companies we now own, the Abbot Group, to target the newbuild market. This was very successful because there this market has specific requirements.

How are you helping your customers to get local authourity work?

RT: We’ve done seminars to LAs and housing associations, product launches, and produced and specifier literature. We have a stand in the Building Centre on a permanent basis. It’s really a case of educating specifiers that they need to buy a specific window to do a specific job, and making them aware of our range. We’re actively involved in a number of contracts but we don’t want to over-commit. We have to have a specific type of fabricator that can fulfil the requirements over a long term. You have to make sure you do it properly.

What about the Vertical Slider?

RT: The Charisma Vertical Slider has been used in newbuild and refurbishment applications, and in conservation areas. It’s proving very popular in London. Quantum Windows in Northampton have developed a whole section of their business around the Vertical Slider. The security and weather performance it offers makes it completely different to a timber window.

HJ: I believe it gives our fabricators further tools to be competitve in the market with. A lot of the national housebuilders developing on brownfield sites are looking at products like this because of the need to blend in with what is in the area. As we are scratching around for new land, products like this will make a difference.

RT: It also means that customers who like our service can buy Plastmo products across the range.

Do you feel that you have to form alliances with a conservatory roof supplier, or have your own system?

RT: There are so many people entering the market that we took a decision not to enter but keep an eye on what is happening. Systems companies still have to convince customers to take their roof when there’s so many players in the market. The price is being driven down all the time as well.

HJ: We have worked with various conservatory roof manufacturers, including Park Lane, where we might go and recommend their roof system, but you have to be flexible and we will work with any roof system supplier.

And we have traditionally been involved in lean-to systems with the Everlite, which is still successful, and we have developed it for big projects like the Millennium Stadium and Cheltenham racecourse.

Our strategy has been to be very good at what we do on the plastics side, where we always look at being flexible because we know customers want to make their own choice when they look at hardware.

Plastmo is one of several systems companies exhibiting at Glassex this year. What are your expectations and what can visitors expect to see on your stand?

RT: I think it’s going to be a good show, and I think we’ve helped put it back on the map because we were there last year.

One of our themes this year is ‘21 Again’, being our birthday, and once again we’ll have some new products on the stand. Many visitors will also be seeing the fully reversible window for the first time. Some of our fabricators are also exhibiting, including Dorluxe, who have developed the stable door.

HJ: Last year we went with a limited but very appealing stand, rather than go in with a big bang. I think a lot of our competitors had considered that option but hadn’t taken the step. Times have changed. You need to have a presence but it doesn’t have to be several hundred square metres.