Clearview National June 2017 - Issue 187 | Page 70

ALUMINIUMEXTRA
Going behind the scenes at one of
the UK’s fastest growing fabricators
» » TERRY RICHARDSON, FOUNDER
and Managing Director of TWR Group,
speaks to Clearview magazine about the
company’s rapid growth and the infrastructure
he is putting in place to support its future.
The TWR Group recently held an open day
at its new factory, where it showcased its full
range of product s and celebrated a long-list of
recent company milestones.
With over 100 customers and suppliers
attending over the two days, it gave the
industry a chance to take a ‘look behind
the curtain’ at the one of the UK’s fastest
growing fabricators – and a company that can
rightly be described as a sleeping giant; with
Terry himself saying that some of the guests
were surprised at both the size of the factory
and the manufacturing capabilities at the
company’s fingertips.
90 BI-FOLDS PER WEEK
Housing all the family businesses’ years of
experience and manufacturing expertise is
a 25,000 sq ft factory that was opened last
May, in response to the company’s ambitious
growth plans. One of the most popular
products TWR manufacture is the Smarts
bi-folding door – with a separate brand called
TWR bi-folds enveloping this product range.
Such has been the success that the company
now average around 90 bi-folding doors per
week – with supply across the UK for both
commercial and domestic projects.
He comments: “Our order book
continues to grow year on year and this has
contributed to our rapid growth over the
Peter Rowlands, MD at VBH UK,
presented TWR with the certificate for the
accreditation and spoke to attendees. Terry
says the accreditation is an example of TWR’s
commitment to quality and provides its
installer customers with another selling point
when it comes to its bi-fold doors.
He comments: “Security is high on the
list of priorities for homeowners when
choosing home improvement
products and Secured by Design
is a recognised initiative,
allowing our customers to
offer complete peace of mind
when selling.”
last few years. Expanding
our manufacturing premises
means we have the capacity to
cope with current demand and be
prepared for this to increase in the future.”
CUTTING-EDGE PRODUCTS
Terry and his team seized the bi-fold
opportunity in its infancy and have now
grown to become experts in the product -with
Terry himself becoming the bi-fold doctor,
where he would field questions from installers
about the technical nature of the product.
And whilst bi-folding doors are part of the
TWR DNA, the fabricator has also launched a
string of new products in the last 18 months.
These include WarmCore – a high-end
door solution from Synseal – and Stratus
aluminium lantern roofs. TWR has also rolled
out PVCu REHAU Total 70 and Calibre
windows.
Terry comments: “Our product range has
grown in-line with our customer’s growth and
their needs. The market has shifted to niche
products such as bi-fold doors, patio doors
and lantern roofs and by adding these to our
range, customers are benefitting from the
opportunities these products offer.”
NEW AND IMPROVED
TWR is not only bringing new innovations
to market it is also improving upon its
existing product range. At the open day, it was
announced TWR has achieved Secured by
Design (SBD) status for its aluminium doors
that incorporate VBH Hardware.
70 » JUN 2017 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
NEW COLOUR
FACILITIES
Terry goes on to say that another
priority for homeowners is style choice,
which has led to an increase in demand for
coloured windows and doors.
TWR Bifolds currently offers the fastest
lead times on coloured aluminium bi-fold
door. An in-house powder coating facility
means Terry and the team can offer RAL
coloured aluminium bi-fold doors on a
three-day lead time, on any standard RAL
colour – and a six-day lead time on any
standard RAL dual-colour – subject to an
order form being completed by the installer
and a deposit paid. At the open day, TWR
announced it would be opening a second
powder coating and colour facility that will
enable them to colour aluminium windows
in just one hour.
GOING FORWARD
On his outlook for the future of the
company and the market in general, Terry
says that niche products still represent the
future and that the market is still catering for
an improve, rather than move trend amongst
homeowners – which is good news for
installers.
And for bi-folding doors specifically,
current forecasts indicate steady to good
growth in the medium-term, with the bi-fold
market growing by 7% per annum to 2020.
www.twrgroup.co.uk