Glevum Windows Commercial is a new build window installation specialist.
The Glevum Group began installing windows in 1984, with the New Build arm of the business being incorporated in 2005, it’s a founder member of the Commercial Window Group, supplying new build windows to sites and commercial projects throughout South West England and along the M4 corridor, into the Home Counties.
Mike Donaldson, Managing Director, Glevum Windows, explains why he believes a model of regional delivery backed by a national supply chain works for housebuilders and social housing specifiers.
Q. What is your assessment of the UK house building market?
A. “We obviously need more houses to be built. The Government have got their plans for that and clear targets for delivery. Meeting those targets will be reliant on a strong supply chain as much as planning reform.
There are multiple challenges facing UK housebuilders. Inflationary pressures remain a problem but also supply chain stability. Within the window and door sector we’ve seen a number of high-profile manufacturers go out of business.
They’ve been caught out by high labour costs and ultimately under-investment. That’s where we see significant strength in our model. As a housebuilder you get regional expertise and that understanding of things on the ground backed by the stability that Emplas brings to the table as one of the UK’s largest and most importantly, investment-led manufacturers.”
Q. Can you tell us about your career in newbuild window supply?
A. “So my career started in 1997. I joined Roman Glass, essentially a traditional glazing company, but we also did an awful lot of supply into newbuild, for example Beazer Homes.
That specialism then rolled through into my own company, Southwest Glass.
We were the Speedframe depot in the Southwest of England, running installations and built-up lots of good partnerships with house builders.
The volatility in the new build market that we were alluding to just now, saw Speedframe go in 2008 with the credit crunch.
Literally the business stopped overnight. Those relationships that we’d built up that were going. Sites were mothball, houses were boarded up, and the industry stopped.
Then in 2015, I joined Glevum and we’ve grown the business from about £1.5million in the new build business up to turnover of over £10million.
Q. Who does Glevum work with?
A. “We work on lots of different projects anywhere from one and a half million down to 50,000, really. Again, it depends on our customer base. We’re quite varied with who we’ll deal with, mainly it’s house builders.”
Q. Why have you chosen to work with the Commercial Window Group?
A. “The Commercial Window Group gives us increased stability within our own supply chain. We’re vertically integrated, while Emplas are invested in the new build market. They understand what we’re looking for.
The vertical integration from their end with the glass being inside the group, everything is aimed to come through for the end customer, one sole delivery.
And that makes a huge difference to us. Whereas we can have trade suppliers who are delivering frames or delivering glass, different companies. We are buying the single source solution almost. It’s coming through that enables us to get to market at the right time and at the right price.
The Commercial Window Group proposition from Profile 22 as a leading profile supplier through to Emplas, who are one of the industry’s biggest fabricators, and then down to regional installers with the same accent as the site managers. It gives you that differential from other larger national installers.
Q. What makes a newbuild window installation project run successfully?
A. “We need to be on site. We need to have a presence on site.
So, I’ve got contract managers across the country. They’ll attend our customer sites every single week to make sure that houses are ready for us to install, to inspect products that we have installed, and just help our customers run their sites and make sure that we’ve got a continuation of work.
Those checks and communication are critical in making sure that we’re installing to the standards that we expect, and also make sure that our suppliers are delivering to the standards that we and our customers expect.”
Why choose Glevum Windows Commercial?
Employ experienced personnel with in-depth knowledge of the new build industry.
Listen and understand the individual needs of a developer.
SSSTS Qualified Installation Teams.
Experienced SMSTS qualified Contracts Manager for every site.
Dedicated Customer Care Department, with Service Engineers in each region.
Approved status with SMAS, CQMS, British Safety Group and Secure by Design.
Q. How does a regional delivery and national supply model support successful delivery?
A. “So whilst we are on site and we’re maintaining a presence on site, we need to know that the products that are being delivered to us are off standard. And by having that single source solution, that single source supply, that enables the windows, the PVC, the glass. We know we’ve got one point of contact to go back to if there are any issues.”
Q. What is the biggest threat to successful newbuild window installation?
A. “Unfortunately, there is a commercial element to it.
We’ve seen through the house building industry or the window installers in the house building industry for years, companies come, companies go.
We have suppliers get left with an awful trail of money. But more importantly, the house builders and the people that bought the houses are left with no warranties, with all sorts of problems.
We should be looking at getting the value for money, and value for money is companies still being in the marketplace in 10 years’ time to help people with our warranties if things go wrong.
It’s not just in the in the new build market. We’ve seen Everest, SafeStyle disappear. There have been some massive, massive players that have gone, and warranties aren’t straightforward for other companies to go and pick them up.
It’s the same in commercial window and door supply. We accept a commercial element, but we have to be able to give value for money, and that isn’t always the cheapest price.
You have to be installing at the right price to make sure that you are able to ride the rough times.”
Q. What do you enjoy most about your job?
A. “The people, whether that be suppliers, whether that be our staff, whether that be our customers, so many characters out there, some good, some bad. But it’s a people-orientated business. It’s about building relationships, say, whether that’s suppliers, whether that’s customers. And I’ve made some fantastic friends across the years with it.
Q. Why do housebuilders choose Glevum as their newbuild window installation partner?
A. “We always do everything we can to do what we say we will do.
It’s not just about getting your frames onsite. It’s not just about getting the windows there. When the customer asks, it’s making sure that we follow through what we say we’re going to do.
You will get your windows installed today. They will all be working. We’ll try and foresee any problems. We want to turn up to site, we want to install the windows, and we want to move on to our next site.
We do that with a consistent presence on site and good communication.
We’re very process-driven. We invest a lot in our structure and our behind-the-scenes processes from an online call-off system through to visibility on our portal for our installers to see what they’re installing, to see house builders’ drawings.
We do believe we’re cutting edge with that, and that does ensure that our customers reap the benefit of that.”
For more information on the Commercial Window Group’s next generation high performance window and door ranges and our regional delivery partners call 01234 567890 or email [email protected]
