Yet morenew

productsunveiled

In ThisI s s u e

THE SYNSEAL TIMES

ISSUE NO.11Winter/Spring 03/04

Synseal - Committed to Sustainable Development

New Customers

FEATURE

Seeglobal

at

Boom timefor

Synsealcustomers

S Y N S E A L EXTRUSIONS LIMITED, COMMON ROAD, HUTHWAITE, NOTTS. NG17 6AD

TEL: (01623) 443200 FAX: (01623) 550243e m a i l : nickdutton@synseal.com www. s y n s e a l . c o m

If you would like extra copiesof The Synseal Times for your sales teams,

showrooms etc. Call Phil Elseon 01623 443 200

This newsletter was printed on material

from a sustainable forest.

IT’S ANUMBERS

GAMEIn the first two years

of Synseal entering intothe conservatory market,

there have been:

86new components

introduced

24optimised bar

length changes

7product updates

In the last calendarquarter of 2003 other

roofing systemmanufacturers reported a

9% downturn in sales.Shield conservatory

customers sold

33.6%more conservatories in

the same period.

Synseal regularlymanufacture in excess of

100 kit roofs per day.

Every

3.5 minutes of every working week aSynseal conservatory isnow being completed.

Conservatory Trade Centres (CTC) hadfabricated the K2 conservatory rooffor a year before deciding to changeto Global in December last year."I went to Glassex and looked at all the roof systems

available," says Duncan Murray, Managing Director

of CTC. "Synseal’s roof came out on top. Our

customers are delighted because they are saving

time too – their installation time is approximately

20% less than the previous roof, meaning they

can sell and install more. Just three weeks

after we started fabricating Global, our

sales had already increased by 30%.

We hope to double production by

the end of 2004, which I am sure

we can achieve with Synseal’s

superb product and

proactive marketing

support."

Introducing the Conservatory DepartmentIn our regular departmental feature, we are back with the

conservatory department in this edition of The Synseal Times.

The department is now 23 strong – two people on the team are

dedicated to customer services, the rest divide their time between

order processing and customer services. Dave Bingley, head of the

department provides an insight of what it’s like to work in the

conservatory department. "The best way I can describe working in

such a busy part of Synseal is hectic fun! Four of the 23 in the

department enjoy it so

much they have been

here since the start of

the department almost

three years ago."

More space to accommodate 31% year on year growth

"It is common knowledge inthe industry that Synsealhas seen dramatic growthin recent years, and itcontinues to expand at anastonishing rate. Some ofthis growth has come fromnew customers. In the finalt h ree months of 2003Synseal set up and begantrading with 76 new Shieldand Global customers.These are in addition to thenew Global conserv a t o ryroof customers who allcame on stream when theroof was launched in 2003.

"What is less well known is how stronglySynseal’s roof customers are growing. Theyare having a heyday. ‘On a like for like basis,we measured the sales from the same 222customers, and they collectively sold 33.6%more conservatories during the same 3month period in 2003 than 2002.’

"Everyone – or nearly everyone – can seethat the conservatory market is continuingto expand rapidly, but not this rapidly!Selling Synseal conservatories clearlyenables you to grow faster than others, andcapture a greater share of this fast growingmarket. Although both roofs havesignificant benefits compared with otherroofs, our customers’ growth owes a lot tothe powerful selling tools that come with it.A l m o s t all conserv a t o ry companies aregrowing fast in this market, it’s just some aregrowing that much faster than others. Readon for some of our customers’ successstories.

‘Inside you will find some of ourcustomers stating that it mustbe the products that are flat,not the market.’

STARS & DOGSThe Financial Times1 Southwark Bridge RoadLondonSE1 9HL

Dear Ms Cohen

I was interested to read two reviews of Ultraframe plc in the FTon 11th October and again on 6th December 2003. Iwould certainly endorse your rating of Ultraframe plc as a Dog rather than a Star, their UK market share has halved inthe last 4 years, but I do take issue with the explanations for their lacklustre performance. As a matter of record andobservation the UK conservatory market is anything but flat – it is booming.

We make more than conservatory roof systems – we are a leading window systems company too – and our sales aregrowing across the board, but conservatories have had a big impact on our growth. You can see that from our growthfigures in this January’s issue of Management Today on pages 40-41. In 2003 Synseal was featured in the Sunday TimesProfit Track top 100 companies.

Our growth has come by winning business from competitors such as Ultraframe, but the market is growing fast too. Weare now ranked 3rd in the market by volume.

I don’t expect you to take our word for it without corroboration. There are two independent studies of the market youcould consult: The UK Conservatory Market Report – the more comprehensive and accurate of the two which tracksmarket shares, growth and forecasts - from Michael Rigby Associates, and Palmer Market Research. Michael RigbyAssociates quote market growth of 15% for 2002, and estimate 15% for 2003 too. Jim Rawson, chairman of Epwin plc,which took itself private about four years ago, is quoted in December’s Fabrication & Glazing Industries magazineConservatory Supplement as saying: "Conservatories are growing at 10% a year and I see no reason for this to slowdown." Epwin is another leading window group with a conservatory roof systems company. Its public statements onforecasts tend to be conservative.

Alternatively look in the conservatory trade press (for example: Conservatory Magazine; Fabrication & GlazingIndustries magazine Conservatory Supplement; or Conservatory Design & Build, which hosts the ConservatoryQuarterly Trends Report that we sponsor). Ask others who compete with Ultraframe. Or ask any of the thousands ofconservatory companies that supply the homeowner. They have their work cut out to keep up with demand.

This market is generally regarded in the trade as a fast growing market with considerable potential. In no sense is it flat,and to report that does no favours to the market. Confidence is an important element in most big ticket consumerpurchases, and talking down the market – as Ultraframe are doing to explain their poor performance – is mischievous.Publishing those excuses without investigating their explanations is irresponsible and unhelpful.

If you need information or want to talk to those who do know this large and growing market please call me.Alternatively you could speak directly to some of those I have listed (see below). I enclose a chart showing how themarket has grown. It is taken from the latest Michael Rigby Associates’Conservatory report.

Yours sincerely

Gary DuttonChairman

FLAT? NOT FORSYNSEAL’S CUSTOMERS

Synseal is adding even more space to its already expansive Sutton-in-Ashfield site. This extra 27,000 sq ft will house a state of the art mixingplant and extrusion hall. This latest investment totals £4m. "The extraspace allows us to maintain our high, efficient standards, whilec a refully staying ahead of our continuing growth," says Gare t hEdwards, Commercial Director of Synseal. "A total of six silos are beinginstalled for all the raw materials we need to hold, along with a furtherfive extrusion lines with room for more when we need them."

"Over the last four years Synseal has experienced a compounded 31%growth year on year. Conservatories have been responsible for anincredible amount of additional profile business, and there is no reason tosuspect this growth will slow. That’s why we are continually investing tomaintain our high levels of quality, innovation and service that customershave come to rely on."

NEWGutteroption

The valley cloaking systemhas undergone a facelift. More inside...

NEW VALLEYCLOAKING SYSTEM

NEW RAFTERCAPPING SYSTEM

A new rafter end cap with a lipreturning up the glazing bar,

concealing the end of the rafter top cap. More inside...

To offer more choice we have now introducedan alternative guttering system, usingtraditional gutter brackets. More inside...

Fitters Mate swap and save 25% manufacturing time

After three years of fabricating K2c o n s e rv a t o ry roofs, The Fitter’sMate Ltd has switched to Global.At the end of last year the company startedto look around for a roof that wasconsistently innovative, and would putthem ahead of the competition. Frank Tatepartner of The Fitter’s Mate Ltd explainswhy they opted for Global. "The Global roofwas recommended to me by one of mysales reps. He had heard a lot of good

reports about the roof in his previous job asa sales rep for another leading roof systemscompany. I approached Synseal and wasvery impressed. The tour of their factory is agreat insight into quality manufacturing –we have even bought the same saw thatSynseal use, to ensure the quality weproduce is as high as it should be.

They provided two of their technical expertsto assist us for two days when we first setup, and support is always on the end of the

phone if we need it. The product itself is fullof innovations that help us do our job morequickly and cost eff e c t i v e l y. Just oneexample is the manufacturing software. Itcuts manufacturing time by 25%."

‘Of course the direct time saving is only partof the story. The bigger picture is thesimple fact that with such a production timesaving we have a far greater capacity andt u rnover potential – and that’s beforespending money on additional plant.’

CTC swap and see30% with sales hike

New products for Glassex:. Gutter System . Blue white roof. Valley cloaking system . Rafter end capping

Every doghas its dayIf you haven’t seen it before, theFinancial Times hosts a Stars and

Dogs section in its newspaperwhich highlights companies

whose shares are doingparticularly well – the stars, orparticularly badly – the dogs.

Ultraframe appeared in this featurefor the second time in December last

year as a dog. But we were a bitconfused by its explanation of why itwas struggling. It claimed the entireconservatory market was not havingan easy time of it. This certainly isn’twhat the overall figures say, and it’scertainly not our experience of the

market. At the time of going to presswe felt so strongly about it we wroteto the FT with this response, to limitthe damage done to your and our

industry by talking it down.

Dave Bingley (centred) with his customer services teamKeith Rhodes and Jamie Clarke

"The colour samples we are using match the mostpopular blue white window profiles perfectly,"explains Kevin Harv e y, Director of Sales. "Wedecided to offer the blue white colour because ofthe number of enquiries we had for another whitecolour option.

"To date companies using blue white windowprofiles have had to make do with the old orderconservatory products which match the colour of thewindows and doors they use, but don’t do much else.

Their suppliers simply haven’t beenable to keep up with the changingc o n s e rv a t o ry market. Nowcompanies fabricating blue white

profile can enjoy the benefitsof Global Blue, a nextgeneration product that’s fastand easy to fabricate andinstall, and looks good too."

Bluewhite roof

blue

One of the extra highlights onS y n s e a l ’s stand at Glassex thisyear is the launch of the newGlobal blue white roof (Global Blue).

S Y N S E A LP V C - U

P R O F I L E S Y S T EM S

F OR Q U A LI T Y

W I N DO W S, D O O R S

& C O NS E RVAT O R I E S

BS7413KM 30983

FM 31451

BS7950/7413KM 41324

Nick Dutton, Sales and Marketing Director of Synseal Extrusions Ltd,looks at the phenomenon of suppliers behaving badly.

NICK’S IN THE CHAIR

Nick Dutton, Synseal’s Salesand MarketingDirector

glass age/2004

Welcome to our Customer Feature pages. Whether you’ve been a Synsealcustomer for a while, or have just joined us, if you’d like to be included inthe next newsletter, please give Helen Ahern at our PR Agency Michael Rigby Associates a call on 01453 521621.

In most industries you’ll findsuppliers who range from themuch admired to the barelyrespected. But in some you’ll find afew, often powerful and dominantmarket leaders, who are dislikedand resented by many of theircustomers. It’s a strangephenomenon, something fewmarketing textbooks touch on. Wecan all think of examples. Therailways, Inland Revenue, or theelectricity, gas or water utilities,whether privatised or not. Picturethe misery and frustration ofcommuters condemned to years ofsuffering and you get the flavour.In these instances we don’t havemuch choice, but there areexamples in other industries too.Surely if they feel so stronglycustomers will seek morecongenial suppliers? It often boilsdown to timing and a matter ofchoice, or the perception of choice.

Playground bulliesTake Microsoft. As a leading brand,the software giant guards itsdominant market share fiercely.Found guilty by a Federal DistrictCourt of monopolistic practices,reports of its bullying reached suchlevels that it was judged to haveviolated anti-trust laws (seewww.silicon.com). In its heyday, BTtoo was denounced for ignoringthe interests of its customers andattempting to suppresscompetition. And the public spatsbetween Virgin and British Airways,where Virgin’s boss RichardBranson spoke up repeatedly forchoice and against the bullyingtactics of its much larger rival, arelegendary.

When the supplier is kingIt is said that power corrupts, andabsolute power corruptsabsolutely. A dominant marketposition is very seductive. It temptsfirms to believe they are invincible.It doesn’t start out that way butprolonged spells at the top tends

to turn heads. Their shareof market may be the resultof special skills, knowledgeor insight, but they start tobelieve they are alwaysright, and right in all things.Before long they feel theywalk on water. Growth andhigh profits are their right.They grow arrogant andcomplacent, ‘good newscompanies’that are deaf tomarket research,unpleasant feedback or alternativeviews. They believe they know best.What is good for them and how theychoose to serve the customer must begood for the customer – no matter whatcustomers tell them to the contrary.They dictate to customers and tell themwhat they can or cannot do, and whoelse they can trade with. If this soundsfamiliar take heart. Time is on your side.

Every dog has his day No empire lasts forever. Dominantplayers can be challenged andhumbled. They can be overtaken andchoice restored. No one gave much forTesco’s chances in the early 1980sagainst much larger rivals with betterresources and larger retail networks.But from cheap and cheerful to clearmarket leader Tesco turned the tableson Sainsbury, the once dominantsupermarket chain, and changed ourperceptions of itself and its competitors.No one accused Sainsbury of abusingits power, but no position isunchallengeable. Business is aboutpeople – staff, suppliers and customers.If a company gets it wrong, or gets onthe wrong side of any of them,corrective action will surely follow.

Suppliers that believe customers arelucky to deal with them may have thingsback to front, but without choice they actwith impunity. Without crediblealternatives no one changes supplier:

it’s a case of the devil you knowbeing better than the devil you don’tknow. Suppliers may say they careabout customer service and goodrelations, but actions speak louderthan words. We know when we arecared for and listened to. We don’tlike suppliers who compete againstus, or squeeze our buying priceswhile they make enormousmargins. We all know what we wantand what is in our best interests,and we don’t like being dictated to.

They may supply a good productwith a high specification but whenquestionable practice, arrogance orinadequacies in the relationshipstart to hamper the performanceand potential of your businessfrustration and resentment can turnto action. In these situationscompanies will do almost anythingto find an alternative, or even gettheir own back.

Once the pendulumstarts to swingAs history shows, once companiesrecognise that a choice exists, andthere are credible alternatives, theyvote with their feet and things movefast. We don’t have to look to othermarkets to see it happening.Dominant market shares shrinkrapidly as the new order starts toassert itself. Market leaders may tryto disguise the slide by referencesto slow markets or difficult tradingconditions, but it is hard to squarewith clear evidence of growingmarkets and fast growingcompetitors.

Most suppliers have your bestinterests at heart, but if you aredealing with the devil and feeltrapped take a fresh look at themarket. How up to date are yourperceptions? When was the lasttime you looked seriously at thealternatives? There is no lack ofcredible suppliers to help you grow. The old order is changing.

"So, you want to be one of ourdealers do you?"

D E A L I N G with theD E V I L

S Y N S E A LEXTRUSIONS LIMITED,

COMMON ROAD,H U T H WAITE,

S U T TO N - I N - A S H F I E L D ,NOTTS. NG17 6AD

TEL: (01623) 443200

FAX: (01623) 550243

e m a i l :n i c k d u t t o n @ s y n s e a l . c o m

w w w. s y n s e a l . c o m

The highlight of the stand is a dramatic revelationabout time saving, but for now we want to keep thedetails under wraps. Let’s just say, if you’re used toworking with other conservatory roofs, or have beenimpressed by recent claims about time saving fromother companies, what we have to show you will bequite an eye opener! And if that isn’t enough, we arealso launching the new bluewhite Globalroof –

Global Blue - at the show. Perfectly colour matched tothe main blue white profiles in the market, this newroof opens up the whole host of Global roof benefits tousers of blue white window and door profile.

Customers tell us that the features and benefits of Globalare big news, another reason we’re at Glassex. It’s theplace to be for an innovative company with something toshow. And we certainly have something to show! For

those of you who’ve heard the rumours abouthow quickly it can be installed, yes

they’re true – but you’ll have towait for Glassex and see for

yourself!

ANOTHER RECORD BROKEN,ANOTHER EYE OPENER FROM SYNSEAL

The valley cloaking system has alsoundergone a facelift. The existing

slide-on valley top cap has beenreplaced by a ‘clip on’ extrusion,

designed specifically to coverthe top of a valley gutter.

This new profile also incorporates sidewings that cloak the edges of the glazing bars and

polycarbonate in the valley gutter, providing a complete and tidy finish. Naturallywe have also produced a new valley end cap to cover the side wings, totally

concealing the lower end of the new valley system.

As with the new rafter end cap suite, this new system will be launchedand available for new and current customers to view at Glassex.

NEW VALLEYCLOAKING SYSTEM

Conservatories are big news at Glassex. They have become an increasingly significantpart of any forward thinking company’s mix. The prime spot at the show this year isdedicated to Global - the innovative roof for all systems. We want to show theindustry that all the good reports about it since launch 9 months ago, are true.

New Conservatory rafter capping suiteSynseal’s R&D Department isconsistently developing andintroducing new products forour conserv a t o r i e s .Our drive forinnovation ensures westay at the forefront ofthis ever evolvingmarket. The latestdevelopment is theaddition of a newrafter end cap with alip returning up theglazing bar, concealing the endof the rafter top cap. We havealso added an extra dimensionby putting a chamfer on thevisible face of the cap. Thiscreates a more substantial and

complete appearance to thep roduct. We’ve also designedout the existing screw cover cap

by putting in aninternal recess withinthe moulding to housethe screw. This recessis then covered with aspecially designedflush cover plate. Andthe even better news?Global and Shieldcustomers do not have

to pay any extra for theseimportant aesthetic benefits.

All of the caps in this newrange will be launched atGlassex later this month.

Both the Global and Shieldc o n s e rv a t o ry roofs have forthe past nine months had the

added benefit of there v o l u t i o n a ry swing fit

guttering system. Tooffer more choice we

have now introducedan altern a t i v e

g u t t e r i n gsystem, using

t r a d i t i o n a lgutter brackets.

The gutter brackets arefixed directly to

the eaves

beam and are concealed within thegutter. This new system still has many ofthe existing swing fit gutter benefits, likethe deep non-handed Ogee shape,non-handed outlets, round down pipes,and the facility for a spigot outlet.

"A number of our customers told us theirinstallers would like the option of thetraditional type of gutter fixing system,especially for the more awkward style ofinstallation," says Nick Dutton, Sales andMarketing Director of Synseal. "This newsystem offers great flexibility for installers

on site." Shortly, all orders for fabricated conservatories willautomatically default to the new product. Both guttering optionswill work with the same eaves beam component.

Of course, the revolutionary 'swing-fit' guttering product will remainin the conservatory portfolio and is available to all customers upon

request at no extra cost.

NEW GUTTER SYSTEM

"We are over the moon to

have Ayrshire Agencies as a

customer," says Kevin Harvey,

Synseal’s Director of Sales.

"Ayrshire’s name is respected

throughout Scotland,

Northern Ireland and the

North of England”.

‘Part of this sales blitz has been to organise anopen day for Ayrshire Agencies customers, bothnew and old. On hand to help Cecil with theevent were Synseal’s Kevin Harvey and LaurieGreenard. ‘We are over the moon to haveAyrshire Agencies as a customer,’ says KevinHarvey, Synseal’s Director of Sales. ‘Ayrshiresname is respected throughout Scotland,Northern Ireland, and the North of England.This respect was proven by the fabulous turnoutto Cecil’s open day, but most incredibly was thenumber of people that used to buy fro mAyrshire Agencies but had to move away whenthe market changed beyond his existingproduct. Because Cecil has always kept thedoor open to these lost customers, they aremore than happy to rejoin him now that he hasupgraded his product to meet with the marketsrequirements.’

YRSHIRE

GENCIES LTD

swap andrepatriate lost

customers

A positive chain reactionThere’s a lot of publicity about systemscompanies experiencing tremendousgrowth, but we don’t so often hearabout this growth spreading down thesupply chain. South Wales fabricatorEuroframe has enjoyed 200% growthsince becoming a Synseal Extrusions customer three years ago.

"We started fabricating Synseal in 1999 and grew 60%2000-01, 100% 2001-02 and 40% 2002-03," explainsPaul Goddard Owner of Euroframe. One of the customerssupporting Euroframe’s growth through its own growth isinstaller JP Windows and Conservatories. "We buy fromEuroframe because they provide us with a good service,"says Tony and Robert, Directors of JP Windows andConservatories, "but also because they supply Synseal. TheShield conservatory system saves us 40% on installationtime which means we can install more, which means weneed to buy more. It’s a win-win situation."

"Changing suppliers after 10 years isnot something you look to do,"comments Cecil Wilson, ManagingDirector of Ayrshire Agencies, Scotland’spremier roofing fabricator."But some companies change when they get bigger. We’dhad a long and successful relationship with our previoussupplier, but we’d become just a number and were no longeron friendly terms. Our prices were not competitive and oursales were falling in a rising market. But no one listened ortook note. Instead we had to accept higher prices in 2003, sowe looked at all the alternatives. You can’t fail to beimpressed with Global, with the product and the wholesetup. It’s a good product and customers are singing itspraises and we are on a sales blitz."

ASSET increases SALES with SHIELDSince Asset Manufacturing startedusing Synseal Extrusions Ltd fortrade and retail work in June lastyear, there has been no lookingback. "We chose Synseal because of theShield roof, the low line gasket andsculptured sash on the Shield windowprofile, all of which made it ideal for thedomestic market" says Mike Reeve, SalesManager of Asset. "And we haven’t beendisappointed. For example, since westarted with Synseal eight months ago,our domestic sales have increased by39%. But most important, ourcustomers are happy too."

Cecil Wilson, Managing Director of Ayrshire Agencies, and Synseal’s Kevin Harvey

Kevin Harvey demonstrates the benefits of Global at the open day