14 COMMENT
COMMENT Steel windows’ split personality
Darren Lloyd of the Steel Window Association looks ahead at how the separate properties inherent to steel windows help them take key new roles beyond the pandemic
he terms ‘heritage,’ ‘high performance’ or even ‘futuristic’ are all applicable to the products on offer from members of the Steel Window Association (SWA). This helps explain the diversity of the project types they are involved in undertaking, and the relatively positive position in which the organisation finds itself as a challenging year draws to an end. The SWA is unusual amongst construction industry trade bodies in that members work together in a truly collaborative way, not just lobbying legislators, but on continued testing and joint new product development, while also ensuring the robustness of what is an international supply chain. Furthermore, with varying skillsets, areas of speciality and regional spread, the companies ensure the entire UK and all of the sectors are covered.
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Despite numbers of their staff having been furloughed during the early months of the pandemic, when much of the construction industry was forced to cease work, all SWA member companies are now back to something approaching their pre-Covid level of activity, and are managing to keep lead times on orders at an operable level.
This project-friendly state of affairs is partly due to the fact that sub-contractors, like the galvanisers and powder coating specialists, have continued operations serving a wider client base. Also, there have been no serious interruptions to the supply of hot-rolled steel profiles from the manufacturers.
While there have been widely reported shifts within the UK economy – most notably in terms of retail and the proportion of employees continuing to work from home – the consequential effects actually present fresh opportunities for steel window and door manufacturers.
Estate agents have noted a definite desire amongst many purchasers wanting to relocate to larger homes in rural locations, including those seeking to move from apartment blocks to houses with their own garden.
Although steel windows have not been the fenestration solution of choice for the volume developers since the mid-20th century, they are widely found in period properties which also tend to benefit from larger outside space than estate houses. Older stock is therefore likely to continue providing SWA members with a steady stream of refurbishment work, especially
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All SWA member companies are now back to something approaching their pre-Covid level of activity, and are managing to keep lead times on orders at an operable level
where conservation rules or listed status dictates like-for-like replacement: generally involving use of the traditional SMW profiles or upgrading to W30 profiles for improved thermal efficiency. And where owners are carrying out alterations or extending buildings, there is often a demand for new doors or windows which closely match the existing. For example, many Victorian and Edwardian homes have had their kitchen or living spaces opened up through the installation of steel framed screens incorporating double doorsets.
ADF DECEMBER 2020
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