The Dane attraction: A wealth of history and experience adds up to a bright future

Originally a family-run business, A/S Peder Nielsen Beslagfabrik (PN) produces door and window hardware for the UK market, as well as a wide range of other products. It is based in scenic north Jutland, Denmark, where the company’s main factory and office buildings are a short drive away from the city of Aalborg, at the centre of Bronderslev.

Groupco is PN’s UK distributor. It stocks a range of hardware systems for the UK market, which includes the Combi system 500/900, the Uni system and the PN system 700.

One system fits all frames

The Combi system uses a similar frame and casement profiling to make it possible to mount various window hardware types in a standard manufactured window. The system is flexible enough to offer top swing windows and side swing windows without having to change the design (or the gears and grooving), which is an advantage it shares with the Uni system.

The Uni system can also be fitted into the same basic frame and casement profile as the Combi . The hardware has been designed so that a window can be side or top opening. PN system 700 hardware has been developed with security in mind and meets BS7950.

PN’s design team enjoy working on bigger systems, for example the Uni system 12.5 millimetre x 32.2mm, because it gives them more room to add extra details. However, the slimmer designs are more popular with customers. PN has also been developing hardware to service heavier window weights.

The company also makes hardware for a fully reversible window, which Everest offers in the UK. Often the hardware PN sells is reversible as standard.

Hardware for fully reversible windows is where the company’s main growth has come from. The occupier can clean the window from a safe position, which is important in tower blocks, however, this type of window is not a familiar sight in the UK.

New horizons

UK distributor Groupco, which already supplies to the social housing market, has plans to move into the new build private housing market. PN feels that the best way to enter this market is through main contractors. 50 per cent of the PVC-U windows that PN sends to the UK are for the public sector, so a break into the private sector via Groupco could open up huge potential for growth.

Apart from the UK, PN exports to markets in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The hot dipped galvanised coating is mainly for the Danish market as well as a zinc 65/70 coating which if scratched ‘practically heals itself’. The DIY market is very big in Norway and PN has a DIY products presentation room, set up like a shop floor, which makes a very effective marketing tool.

PN has found it is better to have a representative in each country, for example in the UK it is Norman Berrill in Walsall. Interest in its products has recently come from further afield from companies in Poland and the Baltic states.

The company boasts that almost all the components for its windows and doors hardware are made in its factory, which is done to guarantee consistency and quality.

The commitment to producing a good product is evident because the company was one of the first in Denmark to gain the ISO9001 certificate. It also has ISO14001, a non-compulsory environmental standard.

Commitment as standard

The company ethos appears to be that high standards make them a better supplier, so customers keep coming back. For this same reason, and for improved efficiency and cost effectiveness, the company builds many of its own machines.

This ethos also fits with a recent decision to stop using Chromium 6 in its finishes, as it has become apparent that it is harmful to the environment.

PN’s commitment to customer service also meant it had to redesign a security bolt after a Danish television programme revealed how to overcome it and gain entry. The new design of the 3850 lock bar cannot be exploited.

More than 3,000 stock items are made in its factory, including builders’ hardware and decorative fittings. There is a testing department, which does load and cycle testing, and a powder coating plant as well as a computerised laser cutter, which makes design changes easier to implement.

PN has invested in new machines to compete against the Far East and China. Product tool and manufacturing development are important. As well as new machinery, PN has 20 tool makers, who train 10 apprentices a year.

The best of the apprentices are offered permanent employment by PN. There is also investment in maintaining and checking tools.

The company has, however, been forced to purchase some die cast products from China to stay competitive. However, they have to quality check the imports and about 25% of the die cast stock does not meet the standards required and has to be returned.

Long term values

PN feels it has service and backup for its products, which Far East based competitors cannot match.

A lot of importers do not realise that liability for the product lies with them, not the supplier, so reliability is important. On top of this many Far East businesses do not appear to invest in long term product development or processing techniques, while PN has built up experience over time and continues to invest in further development.

It looks as though this company plans to match a successful past with a successful future. It aims to do this with open commitment to quality and service, combined with precision targeting of new markets with its distributors.