46 | JANUARY 2019
Business
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
DR BERNARD BOWS OUT
The GGF is bidding farewell to one
TWC MAKES
IT THREE
TWC Home Improvements has be-
come the latest addition to the Conservatory
Outlet Network, the third installation com-
pany to join in as many months.
Established in 2012 and headed up by Di-
rectors Joseph Heaton and Andrew Hill, the
Swindon-based business has achieved huge
growth in the past 5 years, achieving £4m
turnover by the end of 2017. Following
Bon Accord Glass (Aberdeen) and Styleg-
laze Installations Ltd (Daventry) in the move
to the Conservatory Outlet, TWC has gained
exclusivity across the Swindon, Salisbury
and Oxford postcodes for the Network.
Wasting no time in utilising its new mar-
keting support, TWC Home Improvements
has marked the transfer to Conservatory
Outlet with the launch of a new brand
identity and complete digital makeover
to showcase its new nationally renowned
product offering.
The addition of TWC marks the end of a
tremendous 2018 for Conservatory Outlet,
with £2m of new business secured during
the period, and further plans for UK expan-
sion into 2019.
of its longest serving members and greatest
technical contributors, as Dr Bernard Lowe
has decided to retire after 58 years in the
industry.
Bernard started his career in the industry
in 1960 working for Bostik where he was
responsible for developing sealants for insu-
lating glass units.
During this time he became a qualified
chemist and his career of 28 years with Bos-
tik saw him gain a doctorate in adhesion
science and become a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Chemistry as well a Fellow of the
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
In the mid-seventies Bernard started to
attend meetings of the Insulating Glass
Association (the forerunner/ predecessor of
the GGF).
Bernard was active with the Glass and
Glazing Federation from its very start in
1977 and worked on the GGF’s original
technical documents including the glazing
manual.
Bernard became a GGF board member
when the GGF was established as a limit-
ed company in 2000 and continued until
2013.
He has chaired the Glazing Components
Group, the GGF Standards Committee and
the GGF Midlands Region and has worked
on the GGF General Council and Regional
Representatives Committee as well as serving
the GGF Glazing Executive for almost 25
years.
Amongst his greatest achievements for the
GGF are the chairmanship of the GGF Stand-
ards Committee and consequent guidance in
developing the standards for insulating glass
manufacture; working on the British Stand-
ard BS5719 prior to the European Standard
EN1279 from 1988-92 and its subsequent
revision in 2004.
In 1999, Bernard established his GBL Con-
sultancy business which has been a resource
the GGF has used for almost twenty years.
http://www.ggf.org.uk
Back to turn heads at FIT Show 2019
Purplex will be back to turn heads at
one of the home improvement industry’s
most celebrated exhibitions having secured
a place at the FIT Show 2019.
Having made a splash at last year’s event
with a retro 80s style video-game stand, the
leading full-service marketing agency are sure
to have something up their sleeve to make
their presence known at next year’s event.
Andrew Scott, Purplex’s Managing Di-
rector, commented: “The FIT Show always
provides a great opportunity to connect
with fabricators and installers and it’s great
to be returning to the show to showcase all
of the services we have to offer.
“There are still companies that don’t real-
ise the benefits of working with a full-ser-
vice marketing agency, so if you are unsure
how strategic full-service marketing can
help, visit us and we will tell you how we
can help your ambitious business grow.
“Marketing is set to play an even bigger
role in the industry than ever and compa-
nies will really need to up their game if
they want to grow and prosper.”
www.purplexmarketing.com
LUMI POD PAYS ITS WAY – WITH
MUCH MORE THAN A SALE
It was great news when a
display Pod showcasing Apeer’s
Lumi window and door system
landed its first major order within
a few weeks of going into a show-
room – but the sale was just one
of the benefits it was bringing, as
the owners explained.
“It immediately became the
conversation piece of the whole
showroom,” said Elizabeth Brig-
house of retail installer Trade
Windows Derby. “Lots of people
just look at it and say ‘wow’.
The company has also made
Lumi the main feature of its on-
going advertising in local lifestyle
magazines, she added: “People
come in saying they’ve seen the
adverts then they see it for them-
selves in the Pod, so they work
very well together.”
Apeer’s Neil Delanty says in-
staller partners all around the UK
are discovering the benefits of the
company’s powerful marketing
support for the Lumi system as
well as its composite doors and
other products.
“When people see them, they
want them,” he said, “So if we help
the retailers to show them in their
best light, everyone benefits all
down the line.”
The Pod is styled directly after
Apeer’s striking exhibition stand
with the specific aim of targeting
leads generated by the company’s
schedule of lifestyle exhibitions
around Britain and Ireland.
“So many homeowners are
knocked out by Lumi at consumer
shows wherever we go,” Apeer
Marketing Manager Linda Tomb
added.
www.apeer.co.uk