Clearview National October 2017 - Issue 191 | Page 34

PROUD SPONSOR OF
INDUSTRY NEWS
INDUSTRYNEWS
The UK
fabricator and
installer report
Insight Data has published the ‘Insight
Report’, an in-depth analysis of the UK
window, door and conservatory industry.
» » THE INSIGHT REPORT IS
regarded as the most in-depth
analysis of the industry, and is
compiled following telephone
interviews with over 15,000
companies and analysis of
financial data spanning the
industry.
The full report includes
analysis, trends and opinion on
the current state of the industry,
and includes detailed information
on fabricators, installers, trade
counters and the growth of
‘builder installers’ as well as
developments in products and
materials.
Andrew Scott, managing
director of Insight Data
commented;
“The industry is facing some
of its toughest challenges yet,
but there are also plenty of
opportunities. Market intelligence
is the key to informed, strategic
decisions.”
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
The previous Insight Report
was last published in 2014. Since
then, the number of window,
door and conservatory companies
has risen and now stands at
15,099. There has been significant
‘churn’ over the last 3 years, with
1,592 firms being removed from
the database and 1,920 businesses
added, giving a net increase of
328, largely consisting of small
installation firms.
The companies removed
from the database include those
that have gone out of business,
merged, or changed direction/
markets, but an increasing
number are firms where the
owners have retired and the
business has ceased trading.
Across the fenestration
industry, the number of
manufacturers stands at 4,852,
of which 4,178 are window and
door fabricators, the b alance
being specialist composite door,
conservatory roof and sealed unit
manufacturers.
The number of PVC-U
window and door fabricators
continue to decline year-on-
year and now stands at 1,407
companies, down from 1,534
in 2014. However, the rate of
decline has slowed - there were
2,370 PVC-U fabricators in
2008.
Small fabricators (100 frames
per week or less) have seen most
upheaval, with a significant
number deciding to either cease
manufacturing or investing in
growth. This is reflected in an
increased number of PVC-U
34 » OCT 2017 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
fabricators manufacturing 100 -
250 frames per week compared
to 2014. At the other end of the
scale, the number of fabricators
producing 1,000 + frames
per week has also marginally
increased.
Most PVC-U fabricators are
now offering a broader range
of products; either to improve
revenue or margins, or to
secure customer loyalty. Some
companies have increased their
manufactured range, while others
are distributing products from
specialist manufacturers.
Fewer PVC-U fabricators are
switching system companies
completely, although more
fabricators than ever are
manufacturing more than one
system.
There are 175 PVC-U
fabricators who dual or multi-
source source, while several
mergers/acquisitions have led to
several fabricators within a group
manufacturing different systems
to satisfy market demands.
In contrast, aluminium
fabricators have remained
consistent over the last 3 years
at around 800 firms, although
the nature of companies has
changed. Smaller commercial
aluminium fabricators have pulled
out of manufacturing or ceased
trading, but there has been a
significant increase in PVC-U
fabricators now manufacturing
aluminium, with 243 fabricators
manufacturing both materials.
INSTALLERS AND
TRADE-COUNTERS
The number of window, door
and conservatory installation
firms has risen over the last 3
years to 13,281 firms; the increase
primarily among small businesses
(1 - 25 frames per week). In
recent years a significant number
of fitters have left their jobs
with the large nationals and set
up their own small installation
business, often sourcing products
from an increasing number of
trade counter outlets.
The clear majority of
installation firms (9,097) are
small, fitting 1 - 25 windows/
doors per week, while 25%
(3,320) are fitting 25 to 100
frames per week, which is the
‘sweet spot’ for most trade
fabricators.
Installers can be split into two
groups, those that fabricate and