Clearview National August 2015 - Issue 165 | Page 4

FROMTHEEDITOR Stephanie, Clearview Editor We are seeing more and more manufacturers and suppliers offering additional support to help promote their products and services to installers. »»Installer support schemes are not a new invention, I recall as a junior marketing assistant (many moons ago) assisting in the creation and launch of the ‘Saracen Secure Guarantee’, an initiative lead by the Laird Group to support fabricators and installers sell a complete package of windows and doors in to a home, which would be financially safeguarded in the event of a break-in through the fault of the company’s hardware. The scheme paid out to the homeowner, but assisted towards the sale and installation. The financial commitment and resource it took to convince installers that the scheme was not a scam, but a genuine offer was immense. Nowadays, installers are a lot less sceptical of such campaigns and news reports are showing that impetus is gathering towards the uptake to join and be accredited by the schemes on offer, adding kudos to a company and its product offering. Network Veka is a classic success story in this category, showing how, through continuous imagination to reinvigorate the scheme’s offering to members; the scheme is proving to be a great success. Its current initiative has opened up the scheme to other Group members, seeing sister company Halo allowing its customers to also benefit from the scheme. However, not all installer support may come in the form of a scheme. Read how Vita hardware is also looking at ways of how they can support installers with the introduction of Document Q: Security in October this year. The hardware supplier tells how they are looking to cascade the information required to support customers needing to abide by the new build and refurbishment projects rule and supply vital information regarding the changes to PAS24 certification. Have a great month Stephanie 4 » AUG 2015 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M A New Deal The Chancellor George Osborne was accused of ‘giving with one hand and taking away with the other’ in July’s budget. Emplas Mike Crewdson discusses what it holds for the window industry. »»The decision to increase the national minimum wage, now rebranded as the new living wage to more than £9 an hour by 2020, does create a challenge for business and for our industry in particular. That people will have a little more money in their pockets is a good thing but timing as they say, is everything. We are now in recovery but while in general things are up, the trajectory of economic growth has been pitted with the occasional trough – not least in the first half of this year. We are also not immune as an industry from more far reaching issues of productivity, which combined with increased costs could slow growth in the construction sector. It also means that those manufacturers, who have relied on cheap labour as the foundation of recovery without any accompanying investment in processes and equipment, may be forced to pass on costs to their customers. At Emplas, we took a decision to continue to invest in our systems and factory floor equipment throughout the downturn. This has included increased automation, investment in new machinery plus our bar code factory management system. This has improved product quality and the service that we are able to offer to our customers but has also given us an element of immunity from the launch of a living wage. So to conclude, on balance, this is a mixed budget for business and for our industry. The gamble is whether the Chancellor’s measures continue to drive growth. If they do, the tax breaks for individuals and the creation of the living wage, means that we should all have a little more in our back pockets and if consumer confidence is higher, we may be more inclined to invest in home improvements. For more information visit www.emplas.co.uk, email [email protected] or call 01933 674880