IRONMONGERY
FIRING UP FOR MERCHANT SALES OPPORTUNITIES
F
ire doors act as an essential barrier against flames and smoke, stopping the spread of fire. While three million fire doors are installed in the UK every year, incorrect specification, poor installation and a lack of maintenance is still common. Builders’ merchants account for over 75 per cent of fire doors sold in the UK , so are a significant player in the fire door supply chain. Tradespeople rely on the knowledge and advice of builders’ merchants to choose the right fire door solution, meeting the demands of a given specification or design. However, according to Jim Houten, director of sales – merchants at the ASSA ABLOY Door Hardware Group the surprising stat, considering this level of fire door sales, is that merchants typically only sell between 10 – 20 per cent of the ironmongery that goes on these doors.
Maximising margins “Crucially, fire door ironmongery offers a great upselling opportunity for merchants,” he says. “While fire door sales offer only low margins, much greater ones are available once the ironmongery for a door is factored
How merchants can increase their margins on fire door sales, while also playing a vital role in making sure fire safety standards are never compromised.
in too. Providing a fire doorset with all the ironmongery included can, therefore, help drive sales and make a big difference to a merchant’s bottom line.”
Houten points out that this also provides merchants with a vital opportunity to ensure fire doors and their ironmongery meet the appropriate fire safety standards. With the fourth anniversary of Grenfell having recently passed, the builders’ merchants’ industry is in a perfect position to help make sure fire safety standards are never compromised.
A review by the Fire Door Inspection Scheme revealed the most common fire door faults in the UK’s buildings, and Houten says the results are damning. The findings ranged from over 60 per cent of installed fire doors either missing fire or smoke seals, fitted incorrectly, or not filling perimeter gaps correctly, to more than a third of fire doors featuring incorrect signage. Other key takeaways included many fire doors having gaps bigger than 3mm between the door and frame, almost one in five fitted with unsuitable hinges, and over 15 per cent of fire doors inspected had a damaged door leaf too. “All of these can
seriously impede a fire door’s capability to protect people from harm,” he explains. “There is no question that fire doors, ironmongery and other components must be fitted to a higher standard. And with builders’ merchants responsible for 75 per cent of fire door sales, they can play a key role in achieving this.”
Fire doors must be installed with the correct and compatible components, which will be
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www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net August 2021
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