SECURITY DOORS AND WINDOWS
Fendor purchase marks the start of a new era
It is now almost three years since Crittall, an Essex-based window manufacturer with a history spanning well over a century, acquired the trade and assets of Fendor – a specialist designer and manufacturer of high security, ballistic, and bomb-proof fenestration, which also supplies windows to the custodial, mental health, and petrochemical industries. Here, in a ‘Q&A’ article, The Network’s editor, Jonathan Baillie, discusses some of the key developments in the intervening busy period with Crittall Fendor MD, Graham Eyles.
Graham Eyles (GE) began by telling me a little about his own professional background and expertise, before I put a series of questions to him. He explained that, having been born and bred in Essex, he has remained native to the county, living in Billericay for past 30 years, and commuting to Washington, Tyne & Wear, where Crittall Fendor has a sizeable office and factory facility – ‘for 30-40 per cent of the working month’. A qualified accountant, and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 1991, he began his career as a commercial apprentice with Fenner Plc, where he ‘gained an all-round understanding’ of pneumatic engineering business, and the activities of all the company’s commercial departments, eventually ‘majoring’ in Finance. His subsequent career saw him employed by subsidiaries of key British and European plcs, including Cape Industries, Pilkington, Kingspan, Vinci, and Marconi, and he has almost 30 years’ director-level experience. Joining Crittall in 2005, he became CWL Finance director, and then Group Financial director, in 2017, and was appointed MD of CFENL in January 2019, having been involved in the integration of all the Group’s acquisitions, including the Fendor business in Washington. He explained: “During this period I also helped manage the post-MBO recovery of CWL, from 2005 through its transition to new premises in Witham in 2007, and led the project to apply for the Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2010, which was achieved for our successful trading in the export market, particularly in the US.” The Group continues to enjoy commercial success in America; it has recently completed a second major project for ‘one of the US’s premier Ivy League colleges’. Today, Graham Eyles manages the newly acquired Crittall Fendor, which was merged with the Crittall Fabrications business in April 2018.
My questions, and Graham Eyles’ answers, were as follows:
THE NETWORK | JANUARY 2020
and executive residence sectors, as well as in the domestic residential market. Distributors in the UK and US are there to satisfy ever more discerning private individual domestic requirements.”
Crittall Fendor MD, Graham Eyles: “UK and European standards in general hold up well against the rest of the world, which means that our windows generally meet worldwide standards.”
JB: “Crittall has a history going back, I believe, to the late 19th century – originally very much as a ‘traditional’ manufacturer of steel windows. Can you tell me a little bit about its key market sectors today, and where the biggest demand for its windows originates?” GE: “Traditional Crittall Windows are primarily a replica replacement product, recreating the slim sightlines of the architecturally significant steel windows for which the company is renowned – with the benefits today of ever more sophisticated glass options, and double glazing to give improved thermal performance. Hot- dipped galvanising and polyester powder- coating produce a durable, long-lasting finish desirable across commercial applications in the education, healthcare,
JB: “What have been some of the most notable (‘generic’) developments in steel windows over the past 30-40 years, and how have these impacted on the healthcare market?” GE: “Thermal performance has improved dramatically, with ever more sophisticated glazing options available, which has also added to complex construction of secure glass. Indeed polycarbonate is often bonded with toughened and laminated glass to provide increased levels of robustness to give security confidence to many high and medium secure mental healthcare facilities. The development of zinc-rich primers has enabled thermally broken steel to achieve improved levels of corrosion protection. All four UK high secure mental health hospitals now have windows made from thermally broken steel.”
JB: “How different are the requirements for windows in the UK and in other countries that Crittall serves worldwide?” GE: “UK and European standards in general hold up well against the rest of the world, which means that our windows generally meet worldwide standards. Geographical/ climate issues can dictate specialist testing to accommodate installations into Hurricane Belt areas, for instance.”
JB: “What do you think made the Fendor business, with its strong focus on security windows, an attractive purchase for the Crittall Group back in early 2017?” GE: “I believe it was primarily the opportunity to offer specialist products, such as Fire-Rated, Thermal Break, and Security windows and doors, including Blast & Ballistic-proof products. This gave the Group new access to areas with an especially high profile, both economically and politically, with opportunities in both
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