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In ThisI s s u e

THE SYNSEAL TIMES

ISSUE NO.7Winter 2003

Inspired Products

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Synseal - Committed to Sustainable Development

New Customers:

Trade FramesHomewise

S Y N S E A L EXTRUSIONS LIMITED, COMMON ROAD, HUTHWAITE, NOTTS. NG17 2JL

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 extracopies of The Synseal Times

for your sales teams,showrooms etc. Call Phil

Else on 01623 443 200

This newsletter was printed on material

from a sustainable forest.

Synseal and‘Children in

Need’

FEATURE

ANOTHERBENCHMARK

PERFORMANCESynseal came top again inthe latest Benchmarksre p o rt from ReputationsPlus. Synseal came first for:. Introduction of

New Products . Innovation . Competitive PricesFabricators who knew

something of Synseal putthem 1st for:. On their way to

being market leaders. Perceived as gaining market share

"We are thrilled with theseresults," comments NickDutton. "We always put ourcustomers first and designand develop our productswith them in mind, but it’snice to know from anindependent source thaty o u ’ re happy with whatyou’re getting from us."

Tracking the MarketKeeping track of market sizegrowth rates and your shareof the market is critical. NickDutton, Sales and MarketingDirector of Synseal, whoseShield Conservatory took themarket by storm in 2002comments: "Using gro w t hrates and conserv a t o rymarket predictions in RobertPalmer’s latest release we’vecalculated our share of theconservatory market at theend of 2002 as 10%.

"But using figures fro mMichael Rigby Associateswho are currently workingon an update of theirauthoritative Conserv a t o ryReport gives a more realisticsnapshot of our position.MRA believe the market issignificantly bigger than thePalmer numbers. Still, basedon MRA’s figures we have a7.5% share, which we’redelighted with after just ayear from launch."

Conservator yCalendar 2003You should by nowhave received yourcopy of the Synseal

ConservatoryCalendar. All ourcustomers have

been sent avarnished full

colour calendarconsisting of

conservatory printsfrom the

‘Imagination’ book.The dates on the

calendar aredetachable from

each page so thatthe prints can beused as display or

showroom material. If you’re not in this statistic, you’reprobably a Synseal customer. We always aimfor 100% in our quality and service, and aredelighted to announce that recent figures showthat we provide our profile customers withcomplete deliveries 99.5% of the time.

And that’s no mean feat with 400 fabricatorsto supply, more than any other system in GreatBritain, according to Windowbase, theauthoritative independent database of fabricators and installers.

Synseal was delighted to reach the finals of the Best Use of PR category in The Construction Industry Marketing Awards 2002 on their first attempt. With our PR agency Michael Rigby Associates we achieved dramatic results with the new Shield Conservatory System, capturing a significant slice of the conservatory market and reaching fourth position in a crowded market within eight months of launch.

The Awards, presented in December, are for marketing andbusiness development best practice. Kevin Murphy, DivisionalManaging Director of Emap Construction Network said: "thenumber and quality of entries was truly inspiring."

"The Award for Best Use of PR is for PR programmes that changed perceptions and made a measurable difference, and we certainly did that," commented Managing Director of MRA, Mike Rigby. "We thoroughly enjoy working with Synseal, such an innovative company, and ar eproud of the results we have achieved together."

INSPIRA TIONAL MARKETINGSUPPOR TSynseal don’t just provide inspirational products, we provide inspirational marketing support too. Our latest selection of promotional material is being distributed to customers with a perforated section displaying the price you would pay for a product. The section is perforated so you can simply tear it off and sell the item on to your customers.

Material has already been produced in this way for the new door andshootbolt locks and air conditioning unit.Details on all of these products are featuredin this edition of the Synseal Times.

Construction Industr yMarketing Awards FINALISTS

You may have seen in the trade press that Synsealmanaged to raise £15,000 for last year’s Children inNeed appeal. We would like to take this opportunity tothank our 400+ customers for foregoing their usualChristmas gifts allowing us to contribute more to thisimportant appeal. This cheque combined with Synseal’s donation to theBBC Radio 2 online auction of a signed, framed pictureof Michael Schumacher and a child-sized, electricallyoperated 5ft replica of his 2000 Ferrari F1 Grand Prixracing car raised over £15,000.(Incidentally this auction lot, which was online for the week of Children inNeed, has proved more popular and raised more money than GrahamNorton’s jacket, Geri Halliwell’s yoga mat and an opportunity to meetRonan Keating!)

THANK YOU

The New LookSculptured SHIELDSynseal is launching a new profile to give fabricators a

further benefit to sell on to the installer and homeowner.Continued on page 2...

A

C

Departmental photo...Departmental photo...The Conservatory Department... Revisited!

Although we have visited the Conservatory Department before, we are revisitingit in this issue because so much is happening in conservatories it’s hard to keepup! Dave Bingley operations Manager explains, "We have more than doubled thenumber of office staff in conservatories to maintain our high standards while thevolume of sales continue to increase. There are now 16 of us in the departmentand it won’t be long before it’s growing again with the launch of Global.

A Dave BingleyConservatory Operations Manager

B Mark CarterConservatory Technical Manager

C Dave BoalerTechnical Support

D Debbie BradonPolycarbonate Administrator

E Amy PainterConservatory Quotation Administrator

F Matt BarnesProfile Batching Administrator

S1 Chris BoyingtonShield Supervisor

S2 Allan GrahamConservatory Order Processor

S3 Carl FettisConservatory Order Administrator

S4 Mark RichardsonProfile Batching Administrator

S5 Jo TomlinsonCustomer Service Co-ordinator

G1 Aaron HousleyGlobal Supervisor

G2 James FroggattConservatory Order Processor

G3 Craig HillConservatory Order Administrator

G4 Richard FordConservatory Quotation Administrator

G5 Carl PatrickProfile Batching Administrator

G1 G3 G5 G2 G4 D S5 B

S2 F S4 S1 S3 E

THE SHIELD TEAM THE GLOBAL TEAM

EXPANDING ALL AREAS

The latest Benchmarks repor tfrom Reputations Plus showscustomers’ ratings of their ownsuppliers’ deliveries havedeclined compared with theprevious two years. A statisticthat is confirmed to our salesf o r ce when speaking tofabricators of other systems

99.5% Complete

Synseal’s growth over the last two years has beenwell documented. Also well documented is thefact that we put a good deal of this growingincome back into the business. The totalinvestment by Synseal over the last three yearswas £10million. That’s quite some spending toconstantly update and improve the products andservice we offer.

The total amount was invested into people, newequipment, expanding factory space and continuousimprovement of products and marketing support.

Synseal is one of the largest employers in the Sutton-in-Ashfield area. Turnover has grown from £29 million in 2000-01 to £37 million in 2001-02 benefiting from the launch in March 2002 of the Shield conservatorysystem. Projected sales are £52 million+ for

2002-03. Achieving sales like this naturally requiressignificant amounts of investment.

To celebrate this expansion we held a Grand Openingevent in February this year, with Rt Hon Geoff Hoon,MP for Ashfield and Secretary of State for Defence, asguest of honour. Local, national,trade press, radio and TVwere all invited.

Read more about theevent in the nextSynseal Times.

THE NEW BOX GUTTERTowards the end of 2002 the Synseal Research and Development Department created a box gutter to supply the benefits of the existing design, with new ones to boot. What’s more is that this is achieved without the need to run a PVCu gutter within the aluminium section. Continued on page 2...

S Y N S E A LP VC - U

PR O F I L E SY S T EM S

F O R Q U AL I T Y

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

& C O N SE RVAT O R I E S

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 2JL

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

BS7413KM 30983

FM 31451

BS7950/7413KM 41324

For those of you who missed the latest in the Glass Age series of articles “Nick’s in the Chair”, here’s anotherchance to see Synseal’s Sales and Marketing Director ‘Put your Suppliers under the Spotlight’article.

NICK’S IN THE CHAIR

Nick Dutton, Synseal’sSales andMarketingDirector

glass age/2003

TRADEFRAMES Keith Matthews Managing Director of TradeFrames was one of the many visitors at Glassexlast year. He was so impressed with what he sawon the Synseal stand he called to make anappointment. "I don’t enter into relationshipsjust like that though," explains Keith, "just likemy customers need to trust me, I need to beable to trust my supplier.

"When Nick Dutton came to show me in moredetail what they had to offer, he had to pick meup off the floor! I realised I could make a 30%saving on a product that was a completepackage.

"I’ve got many years experience as an installer,so I could immediately see the innovation thatwould make the Shield Conservatory easier andquicker to install. And I haven’t beendisappointed. We always offer to helpcustomers to install a conservatory for the firsttime if it’s different from what they’re used to.So from first hand experience we know that theShield Conservatory saves up to half a daywhen installing Victorian and Edwardian styles.Once the eaves are put up it only takes 30minutes to one hour to fit the rest of the roof.

In this edition of the Synseal Times we return to our New Customerfeature, to welcome Trade Frames and Homewise to Synseal.

The window industry is facing oneof the most significant phases in itshistory. Despite increases involume and value, with tonnage up14% in 2001 over 2000*,saturation is starting to affectreplacement window volume.Conservatories are in full flood andare more than making up thedifference, but over-crowding andover-capacity mean casualities willbe inevitable along the entiresupplier chain. As an ambitiousand tuned in fabricator or installeryou should be planning ahead foryour business survival and growth.One of these key growth marketsis conservatories. According to thelatest Conservatory QuarterlyTrends Reports by Michael RigbyAssociates 46% of fabricators nowuse more than 25% of theirwindows and doors to makeconservatories. But what aboutyour suppliers? Are they asprepared as you are? Are theypointing in the right direction and inshape for the challenges of thenext 5 years?

Invest in ProgressAs a business owner you shouldknow the health of your accounts,your sales’and costs’ forecastsand history. But how strong areyour suppliers’ balance sheets?Some look paper thin. How willthey be performing in 5 yearstime? Will they be there at all?With several systems companiesactively up for sale, will yoursupplier be just another brand in abigger group? The future of yoursupplier affects your future. If theyaren’t planning ahead now,investing and growing theirbusiness, then the chances arethey won’t have the money toinvest in their future and they’ll beless competitive. You’ll be lesscompetitive too.

Freedom fromCompromise:

A supplierchecklist

ConsistencyConsistent strategy and aconsistent approach arevital for any supplierserious about supportingand servicing its customerbase in the long term. Theyo-yo strategy some large groupshave adopted with the constantrecycling of management teams giverelationships and trust little chance tothrive. New faces every year, at everylevel in the organisation, heading offin different directions before they evenknow your name or how yourbusiness works. High flyers brought infrom other industries to appease theCity. They might know about powertools, but what do they know aboutwindows?

IndependenceTo react quickly to changing marketsand customer needs –especiallyrelevant to our market now -suppliers need independence andautonomy. In the window industryachieving any degree ofindependence from holdingcompanies or HQs somewhereabroad can be surprisingly tricky forsome suppliers. How often have youbeen told when you want a newproduct, or better marketing support,that your request is in the ‘planningsystem’or in the queue for Capex(capital spending proposals)? Not onlycan this take forever but you arenever sure what priority was given toyour request against competingproposals from other divisions of yoursupplier. Did your need for a newsystem lose out to someone in the

USAor Eastern Europe? Don’tforget – in big groups capitalexpenditure all comes out of thesame pot.

InnovationNew challenges facing ourindustry demand new innovation.And there is little point in lookingfor innovation from a supplier whohas never innovated. There’s alsolittle point in asking for innovationfrom a supplier who simply can’treact quickly enough. It takesyears for some promised productsto see the light of day. No matterhow good their design, productdevelopment, marketing or R+Dteams are, innovation will bethwarted if decisions to bringproduct to market take forever toget approval. If your supplierdoesn’t get an edge over itscompetitors, how can you hope tocompete?

RelationshipsmatterWho you buy from matters.Synseal’s track record ininnovation, consistency andindependence suggests we’ll bearound and growing with ourcustomers. Anyone reading thiscould think: " Well, you would saythat wouldn’t you?" But then alsoask yourself how many systemcompanies are truely independentfrom a holding company orshareholders? How many profilesuppliers have a board and seniormanagement team that has beentogether for over 10 years? Howmany suppliers can listen tocustomer needs, decide today,and begin work next week? Timeis of the essence. It is no usebeing given yesterday’s weaponsfor the battles of today.

It’s time to take a long cool look at your suppliers. Are they up to the task you face?

They might know about powertools, but what do they knowabout windows?

* The PVC-U Window Profile IndustryReport UK and Republic of Ireland 2001Market and Forecasts

Synseal makes it easier for installers to sell into thehome because we go that one step further than othersuppliers. The latest in our range of inspirationalproducts is the Debon air conservatory air conditioningunit for conservatories. This unit allows installers to sella conservatory that truly can be used all year roundbecause at the touch of a button it’s cool in summerand warm in winter. The homeowner gets a completeconversion. The conservatory really is an extra room tolive in, whatever the weather, like any other room intheir house.

But it’s not just easy to sell. We’re offering a productthat’s also easy to install. Fitted into the dwarf wallswhen the conservatory is being built, the unit is thensimply connected to the mains supply, with noplumbing required. It can also be fitted into existingconservatories by cutting a hole through the wall. Aninstallation/sealing kit is supplied with the unit.

Security is an increasing concern for thehomeowner. At the time of writing there isa debate in the news about burglaries nolonger being a priority for the police. Sowhen you phone the police after a break-in you are likely to be told there’s nothingthey can do. It is our responsibility tomake the products we supply as safe andsecure as possible. Towards this aim weare launching two new locks – one for ourwindows and one for our doors. Both witha 10 year manufacturer mechanicalwarranty.

Our new door lock has twoopposing hooks thatassure the homeowner ofthe additional security byeliminating the likelihoodof the door sash beingjacked away from theframe. The lock also has a25mm throw on centrelatch, which coupled with thedeep latch for added security.

The window shootbolt alsocomes with benefits forthe fabricator. It has one-piece corner shootboltkeeps, so the fabricatoronly has the cost of onekeep as opposed to two.It’s also easier and quicker

to fabricate. The shootbolt also has asmall gearbox case width, which meansless routering is re q u i red allowingincreased productivity.

A further feature of the lock is that it has abrass follower and reverse gears within thegearbox, which means it won’t rust so willlast and last.

HOME SAFE HOME

Sample Hardware CasesWe are sending out specially manufacture dsample boxes, displaying our range of hardware.Our customers can see first hand the quality ofthe products we are offering, and the speciallyreduced prices that we have negotiated on theirbehalf. These prices even apply to the new doorand shootbolt locks. See above.

Homewise became a Synseal customertwelve weeks ago, at the time of writing."I started looking around for anothersystem because I just wasn’t getting theservice, in particular deliveries, I expectand rely on from my supplier," commentsPeter Thakam, Managing Director ofHomewise.

"As soon as I became unhappy Iapproached several systems companies toinvestigate what else was available.Synseal definitely came out on top. They

can supply us with a completeconservatory system of a much higherquality but for the same price as the onewe used previously.

"But it’s not just the product that’s helpedme improve my business, it’s their servicetoo. Everyone is so friendly and thetechnical back up is second-to-none. Wehaven’t had any problems at all with thechange over – Synseal make everything soeasy for fabricators and installers."

Climate Control T oHeat Up Your Sales

HOMEWISE

PUT YOUR SUPPLIERSUNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

.....Continued from page 1

One of the latest trends we are witnessing in themarket is the increasing demand for more

decorative windows. Homeowners not onlywant their windows to perform well, they

are increasingly searching for productsthat look the part too.

The new profile is designed tomatch the ovolo bead that

incorporates the ‘lo-line’gasket feature.

This eliminates unsightly black gasket lines and is particularly popular with homeowners. It will fit with the existing range seamlessly.

Above all this option will give our customers thechoice to make the most of market trends.

NEW BOX.....Continued from page 1

In short the base of the new box has TWOskins of aluminium, creating an air voidbetween the external ‘weather’ skin, and theinternal face, eliminates even more the risk ofinternal condensation. And if that’s notenough there is an anti-drip adhesivebeneath the gutter. Of course the removalof a PVCu gutter inside the box vastly

increases the capacity of the box gutter.

The aesthetics are where it really scores. Dueto its only needing a single design of boxgutter adapter, which fixes mechanicallyinside the aluminium box, the norm a lguttering section can still appear to run insidethe box.

Once again simple design techniqueseliminating the need for excessivecomponents, and installation time, whilstproducing better looking finished results.

The New Look Sculptured SHIELD