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Double Glazing Blogger: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Calm Down!

I saw this picture yesterday and laughed my head off:


Christmas starts in December people!

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

This Woman Does NOT Represent Britain!




I'm sure that most of you are aware of the existence of this video, and I'm sure a lot of you will have watched this at some point today. I hope that you all share the same amount of shame and disgust after watching it.


The racist, abusive, vile disregard for other human beings, just trying to get on with their lives left me literally opened jawed. I would also like to make this point to anyone reading this outside of the UK, this woman does NOT represent the country as a whole. This tirade of detritus is just one deluded woman's opinion. Britain still remains an open and tolerant society, whose population is still working hard to break down social and racial barriers.


The other point of disgust to make here is the fact that she spouted her abuse with her toddler sat right there on her knee, in the thick of it. I hate to think what type of household that poor child is having to grow up in. 


I feel awful for those who were either born in this country, or moved here to better their lives. What sort of impression will this leave with them, their families and the rest of migrant population? 


I'm not against immigration. The only thing I would say is that as long as those who come here benefit our nation, abide by our laws and make an effort to fit in, then I have not a single reservation about it. And before people start to talk to me about migrants stealing jobs, a lot of them are doing the jobs that the local population refuse to do as they think they are above it and only want the gold plated jobs.


Finally, one silver lining to point out is the other white woman at the end of the video trying in vein to shut the abusive woman up. I know she used foul language, but the point she was trying to make was correct and she has to be applauded for her bravery in standing up to what was a very violent woman.


Luckily, this woman has appeared in court and I hope she receives a suitably large punishment for making Britain look like a racist scum bag of a country to the rest of the world. 

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Any Strike Progress On The Horizon?

Last week I reported on the strike action to be taken by Total Window Systems and DB Glass (part of the Epwin Group) in Devon.


A reader left a comment stating that there were due to be meetings last Thursday between employees and management at the Epwin Group to try to avoid strike action. Up to press I haven't heard anything since. 

So I'm leaving the floor open to everyone within the Epwin Group to put their point across on here, whether you're management or those going on strike. I'll approve all comments (unless they're liable or offensive). Although I suspect if there are deals being made now, very few will want to comment...but it's worth a try.


Also, if the strikes are going ahead, is there a date set for this?

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Government Own Goal On Feed-In-Tarrif Cuts

The Government is set to score a huge own goal on 12th December, when it implements a massive 52% cut to the feed-in-tariff from companies who sell their unused energy supplies back to the national grid.

Indeed, this is going to make life for solar panel businesses very hard. We had ours done for free by a company called A Shade Greener. If we'd have had to pay for it, it probably would have cost us around £10,000. The way the company could do it for free was to sell all our unused energy back to the grid at a good rate. Over a certain amount of time the accumulative savings would have paid for the installation. However, with these rates being cut by more than half, we have to ask if these solar specialist companies are at risk of going bust.

By cutting as steep as this, it's going to take A Shade Greener more than twice the time to be able to pay off their installations. Is this going to be too long a time in order for the company to survive?

The estimate of homes having solar panel installations was hugely under-estimated. In fact the number of homes having panels was three times greater, at 100,000, than the Government's conservative first estimate. Also, the cost of solar panels has reduced dramatically over the past year, so the Government explains that to prevent profiteering by solar companies, they have to reduce tariffs so that they fall in line with costs.


Usually, I would be the first one to applaud such actions. However in this instance, we desperately need companies to be making big profits. Firstly, so that companies can expand their operations and employ more staff. Something which the jobs market urgently needs. Secondly, the Government will claim more tax if their profits rise. Again, something which the Coalition urgently too!


The Government are really shooting themselves in the foot with this one. The solar industry created a boom within the market, creating 39,000 NEW jobs. This huge cut in rates will pose a deadly threat to those new jobs, and the many businesses that have created them.


A debate on the bill is due for Wednesday. I'm hoping there will be a rebellion within Parliament which will stop it being put through. However I fear there won't be, and the solar industry will be bumped back on the back burner.

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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Lenders Could Halt Green Deal

The Government is working very hard and very quickly to make sure that the Green Deal covers as many areas as possible, and that it's implemented as soon as is viable. Effort which I have to applaud, which isn't often said by me about this Government.

But there is one huge underlying factor which could derail the whole project. The Green Deal relies on lenders providing the money for loans to go towards home improvements. And by lenders we mean the private sector. By private sector we mean banks and the biggest energy providers. And herein lies the problem. Banks aren't lending nowhere near enough for small and medium size businesses to function properly. So why does the Government think that they are going to willingly stump up the extra cash for these home improvement loans? Especially as they are going to take an age to be repaid as they are counting on the energy savings made as the form of repayment.

The Government is also relying on the big 6 energy companies to pump some money into the idea. But we all know how energy companies are, very quick to take your money, extremely slow to give anything back.

The Government wishes to implement the Green Deal in October 2012. But the way the crisis in Europe is panning out, and how our own economy is quickly grinding to a messy halt, banks don't look set to increase their lending by anywhere near enough for quite some time. 

So, the question I pose is this: what is plan B for the Green Deal if private investment fails?

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Privacy Is Good

There is absolutely no doubting the immeasurable benefits that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have brought to the world. They helped orchestrate the protests in Iran in 2009 and helped the spread of the fight for democracy in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other states. They've helped businesses gain a larger presence online and are now starting to garner extra customers from it. They've also helped the general public see into each others lives. But is this a good thing?

Speaking from my perspective, I really don't like everyone knowing everything about me. My Facebook settings are all set to the highest settings, so that only my friends can see my info. The great thing about being anonymous on Twitter is that people know very little about you. The only time any information is given about you is when you decide what you want to say on there yourself. No profile picture if you don't wish to have one, no bio, no place to live. Simple. I know you can chose to do that on Facebook, but there is more of a social pressure to put as much information as possible about yourself on there.

Humans are naturally curious creatures. But since the arrival of social media and the explosion of the Internet, I believe it has molded us to become more nosey, more curious, to the point where we almost intrude. All those on Facebook are probably all auto-tuned now to start looking through all the information and news feeds of people they are friends with, but this characteristic I believe has jumped from the screen into the real world. In general conversation I've often found myself thinking why people are asking such personal questions. Why people are taking such an interest in other people's private lives. 

A perfect example of that is the TV program Made In Chelsea. I know it's not 100% real, but I'm lead to believe that the scenarios those characters are in are genuine. If you listen to the conversations they have, all they ask each other is what is going on in their lives, who they're shagging, what they feel about this, that and the other! If someone asked me that, I'd tell them to get lost! I'll tell you when I want to!


The other problem I've found with having such an open social media society is the frictions it creates within groups of friends or family. Before social media, if people got on other people's nerves and wanted to talk about it, they could text others to have a rant and moan. Now, all people seem to do is put their grievances and below-the-belt comments on Facebook or Twitter for everyone to see - half intentionally so that the person the comments are regarding can see them! Whatever happened to talking through a problem? 


There's nothing wrong with privacy. Privacy is good. Privacy allows you to be you, without having any pressure from external influences. You can solve your own problems on your own terms. It allows you to say what you want, when you want, at your own pace. 


I've always been uncomfortable with such a high level of knowledge about people, I rarely want to know anything about anyone even hardly secret because I would feel burdened by having that knowledge, I wouldn't know what to do with it. There have been many times where I considered shutting down my Facebook account, I wouldn't miss it. But it does serve as a useful communication tool between me and my friends. I only ever use Facebook for jokes, silly pictures or daft statements - fun stuff that people cant' possibly take offence to or cause harm.


There was a interesting post about privacy and social media in The Guardian today, click here to read it.

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Monday, November 21, 2011

Green Deal Will Need Massive Public Awareness

If the Green Deal is to be a success (putting aside my skepticism that it will be dominated by the largest companies in the UK) then it will need to garner the same amount of public interest and awareness that the car scrappage scheme did.




The image above clearly shows that since the beginning of the year the Green Deal has become a much more popular term searched for in Google. This is a trend that is going to need to continue. These sorts of schemes only work when there is massive public awareness.

The other necessity is that for both the public and those businesses participating in it, the deal has to be easy to understand. There's nothing worse than trying to flog something which is too complicated to understand in full. Both parties will turn off to the idea. So the Government needs to make it as clear as possible to companies and customer how they qualify for the deal, what it entails, what can be bought through it etc. 

There are still many questions left unanswered about the Green Deal.  Even the initial explanation of how the Green Deal will work is still a little bit hard to digest. I'm sure in the coming months all issues with the scheme will become clearer.

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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Total Windows And DB Glass To Strike

It seems the growing trend to protest this year has now spread to our own little sector of the economy. It is reported on BBC Devon that Total Windows and DB Glass, both owned by the Epwin Group, are to go on strike over pay - more specifically due to not having a pay rise for the last three years.

According to the BBC Devon site, no one from Epwin Group was available for comment.

Whenever the talks of strikes comes up, the accompanying argument of the principle of the thing is also debated. According to www.thewestsouth.blogspot.com the strike was approved by over 77%. Now that's a positive response in any way you look at it. But is striking the right option?


To me, striking should only ever be the last resort, and I know this is the opinion of many others. I completely understand that they wish to be heard and want to stick up for themselves and their positions. But while taking industrial action, they should also consider that they are lucky enough to have a job (which is paid over the minimum wage) to strike over.

Personally, I wouldn't be striking right now. It is no only the Epwin Group who cannot afford to raise wages at this current time, most businesses haven't, and haven't for the last few also. In fact most businesses have cut wages in order to reduce the wage bill to make sure of the continuity of the business. Striking will only alert the company to those who are most militant and wish to cause disruption in order to get themselves heard.


Negotiations are the most sensible route to take right now. Both parties need to get round the table to sort something out. With Epwin being such a large company, large enough to be recognized by the BBC, this sort of negative publicity will only serve to damage the name locally and nationally.

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Month In Review: September & October

There are two reasons for a double month post this time round. First reason is I simply forgot to do one! Second reason is that I was hardly here in October! First two weeks I was in the Caribbean, I came back for a week then spent the last week in Wales. So I thought I may as well group them both together in this one!

September saw an improvement in both sales and new leads. I'm putting this down to the new school term starting and parents being able to focus on their homes rather than figuring out how to entertain their kids on a weekly basis. 

October saw a leveling out of this for the first couple of weeks. Mimicking the up and down nature that as frustrated the industry for the last few years. Though at the back end of the month (just as I was leaving for Wales!) things picked back up yet again. Things have continued very strongly into November and all the way through up to present. So the next time a I do a monthly review it's probably going to be about one of the best months of the year!

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Britain's HUGE Stack Of Foreign Debt

We have always focused on our own personal debt in this country. Things like credit cards, store cards and loans have always been measured and analyzed by the media and our Government. But an interesting feature on the BBC website this week shed some light on the foreign debt owed by Great Britain. Over the past few weeks we have all been privy to what countries like Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and others owe to the rest of the world. But this analysis by the BBC of what we owe to the world, will raise your eyebrows.

According to the BBC the UK owes: (all in Euros)

US: 578.6bn
Germany: 379.3bn
Spain: 316.6bn
France: 209.9bn 
Japan: 122.7bn
Ireland: 113.5bn

All in all, the UK owes an eye watering 7.3 TRILLION Euros to various countries around the world! That works out to 117,580 Euros per person in this country! This country's GDP is a piddly 1.7 trillion euros. So our debt ratio to our GDP is a depressing 436%.

Given all the huge numbers above, the UK economy is still seen as relatively safe despite all our foreign debt.

Some more figures for you: (totals, in Euros)

The US owes 10.9tn
France owes 4.2tn, as does Germany
Spain and Italy both owe 2tn Euros each


You know we are living in extraordinary times when we start talking in trillions more and more often. You also know that due to these extreme numbers, how deadly it would be for any one of these countries to default on it's debts. Greece has practically defaulted on it's debts, but they were only a minute 400bn Euros in comparison. If someone like Italy, Spain or France, or even worse more than just one of those, were to default, then there could be serious contagion within the Eurozone, which would see it's collapse.


You can find the BBC's interactive graphic here.

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

It's Only A Theory!

My post about Why Advertising Does Not Work, seemed to cause a bit of a stir.


The whole point of that post was just to convey another way of looking at advertising and the effects of it. Personally I can see how the theory works, and that we probably should factor it in when we consider advertising campaigns. However I was not saying that no one should be advertising altogether. 


The theory was established back in 1944. The original Game Theory was created to try to explain how a game could end in different ways depending what decisions were made at the beginning. This same theory was then applied to other areas of life.


The problem is though that this theory is nearly 70 years old, and was diluted somewhat when it was applied to other examples. However I do still believe there is a degree of logic in what is being said. 


I'm still all for advertising, but just for it to be done properly. If the company I work for came up to me and said that we were not going to do any form of advertising at all, I would say they were being reckless and over the top. 


For advertising to work, it needs to be appealing to the customer visually and audibly. With something in it that will make customers want to get of their arse and buy whatever it is you're selling. At the moment, I think double glazing ads are lacking a little bit. Though to be honest, I've always thought that you can never make a decent advert about double glazing anyway! 

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Understanding The European Crisis...Sort Of!

I was sent this email by @Nooli68 and @SophiiMaria, which tries to explain, in a very simplified way, the crisis engulfing Europe and how we got to this point. It is an interesting read and worth spending the time doing so if you're not totally sure why this issue is so vitally important. Also, please follow @Nooli68 as he is new to Twitter - and he's also @SophiiMaria's dad!



Chantelle  is the owner of a bar on Hessle Road, Hull. 

She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed
alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. 
To solve this problem, she comes up with a new marketing plan that 
allows her customers to drink now,  but pay later.

She  keeps  track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting
the customers'  loans).

Word gets around about Chantelle's "drink now, pay later"  marketing
strategy and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood  into
her bar. Soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in 
Hull .
By providing her customers freedom from immediate payment  demands,
Chantelle gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she  substantially
increases her prices for wine and beer, the most  consumed  beverages.
Consequently, Chantelle's gross sales volume increases  massively.
A young and dynamic manager at the local bank  recognizes that
these customer debts constitute valuable future assets and  increases
Heidi's borrowing limit.

He sees no reason for any undue  concern, since he has the debts of the
unemployed alcoholics as  collateral!!!

At the bank's  headquarters, expert traders  figure a way to
make huge commissions, and transform these customer loans  into DRINK
BONDS.

These "securities" then are bundled and traded  on international
securities markets.

Naive investors don't really  understand that the securities being sold
to them as "AAA Secured Bonds"  really are debts of unemployed
alcoholics. Nevertheless, the bond prices  continuously climb!!!, and
the securities soon become the  hottest-selling items for  some of the
nation's leading brokerage  houses.

One day, even though the bond prices still are climbing, a  risk
manager at the original local bank decides that the time has come to 
demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Chantelle's bar.  
He so informs Chantelle.

Chantelle then demands payment from her alcoholic  patrons, but being
unemployed alcoholics they cannot pay back their  drinking debts.
Since Chantelle cannot fulfill her loan obligations  she is forced into
bankruptcy. The bar closes and Chantelle's 11 employees  lose their jobs.
Overnight, DRINK BOND prices drop by 90%. 

The collapsed bond asset value destroys the bank's liquidity and 
prevents it from issuing new loans, thus freezing credit and economic 
activity in the community.

The suppliers of Chantelle's bar had  granted her generous payment
extensions and had invested their  firms'  pension funds in the BOND
securities.

They find they are now faced  with having to write off her bad debt and
with losing over 90% of the  presumed value of the bonds.
Her wine supplier also claims  bankruptcy, closing the doors on a
family business that had endured for  three generations, her beer
supplier is taken over by a competitor, who  immediately closes the
local plant and sacks 150 workers. 

Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses and their 
respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multi-billion
pound  no-strings attached cash infusion from the government.
The funds  required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied
on employed,  middle-class, nondrinkers who have never been in Chantelle's
bar.

Now do you understand?

PS: this has just been copied and pasted from the email, so any spelling or grammar errors are nothing to do with me!

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

No Growth Till 2015

The latest report from Palmer Market Research makes for rather depressing reading.


It's latest research shows that 2010 was the fourth consecutive year of decline for the industry. With an industry valued at £3.7 billion for 2010, we are a way off from the high of £5.4 billion in 2006. 2010 saw a 4% in value compared to 2009. 


This year is set to see an eye watering 10% dip, with absolutely no growth for our industry until 2015, and even then this growth is set to be only very slight, which gives it scope for possible no growth if things don't improve as planned in the medium turn.


Private sector home improvements represents 80% of the industry. So falls of 10% in a single year really do have serious ramifications.


In 2010, the windows market was down 2% from 2009. And conservatories were down a massive 12% from 2009 also. The news gets worse for conservatories - 2010 saw the worst sales since 1995, with only 92,500 being sold during the whole of the year. It seems consumer confidence for big ticket items is simple not there in any amount.


The speedy slowdown of PVCu panel doors continued, showing a 22% drop in 2010 compared with 2009. But good news if you're a composite door company! 2010 saw a massive 30% increase when compared to the year previously - the silver lining in what is a very big, dark and menacing cloud.


PVCu remained the material of choice by a long way, having an 84% slice of the pie.


What this report confirms is that our industry, as well as the rest of the UK economy is set to enter a second recession, with consequences far more serious and further reaching...probably. Our industry is going to have to go through some very painful changes if it is to survive, and for a couple of years longer than what I had originally predicted.

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Monday, November 14, 2011

Why Advertising Does Not Work

Flicking through the TV channels last night, I heard a rather interesting theory which went on to explain that advertising may not actually work.


I forget exactly how the explanation of that theory goes (think it's called Game Theory, created by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in 1944), but I do know how it was applied to advertising. The theory goes; if two companies were advertising at the same time (which a lot of windows companies are), spending roughly the same amount of money (which will be relevant as most go on ITV from our sector), any advantage gained from that advertising will cancel each other's out. If that company had never advertised in the first place, the market would remain unchanged - no worse off, and that company would have saved all that extra cash, and their business would be in roughly the same place anyway.


Most businesses probably haven't considered this theory. The thinking of business has always been that advertising has been beneficial. During the recession businesses were urged to increase advertising to boost revenues and exposure. But very few would have considered that if other businesses in their sector advertised at the same time, the effect of their advertising campaign would have been nullified - therefore a waste of time and money.


From previous experience, advertising hasn't always been beneficial. Yes it increases exposure, but if the economic conditions aren't right and people are not in the mood to spend, it's doesn't matter how many times you tell them these deals will end at the end of the week, people just won't spend. No matter how effective you think your ad campaign is. 


Perhaps it's a theory worth considering now. Times are hard and set to get harder. Maybe it's high time we took a long, hard, critical look at advertising and work out whether it really is one of the necessary tools that businesses need to use to boost revenues.

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Making A Stand

There are a lot of 'yes men' in our line of work. Those who say yes to things, but have no intention of following through on their promises.


Take FENSA for example. It was alerted to them that there was a company selling their certificates for £80 a piece. It was totally against their ethical code and when they spoke to me about it they said they would investigate, find the company and rectify the issue. So far I have heard absolutely nothing! Selling these certificates for such a large amount of money really does abuse the trust and faith of the customer in that company. Hence it was an issue I felt strongly about.


Then there is the GGF. The Green Deal is being threatened to be swallowed up by massive UK chains entering the double glazing industry for the first time, Tesco and Homebase for example. Weeks and weeks ago they promised that every company, no matter how big or small they were, would be able to have good access to the benefits the new scheme would bring. They said they had plans either in place, or being developed to make sure the boost would be shared equally. Again, so far, other than a debate about the scheme, I've heard absolutely nothing, despite the GGF assuring me they would be working hard to make sure we would all see a benefit.


So, FENSA and GGF. What are you going to do about it? This is a challenge to both of you. Either email me, or come on here and show how you are going to sort out the issues I've mentioned above. I won't let this drop and I won't let this go away. Both are important issues in my opinion and both deserve a speedy resolution.

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Friday, November 11, 2011

Homebase Windows!

Here's the 'I told you so' moment!

As well as Tesco launching their own double glazing company, Homebase have now decided to enter the fray and have also launched their own double glazing service.

Having a very quick look through their online brochure, it looks relatively well set out, clear - easily explaining the order in which a customer can go about ordering their new windows. They make it clear which products are what and the brochure itself has a fresh and modern look to it. I was also particularly impressed with the price on the very back page. They quote £2900 including VAT for four casement windows and an entrance door. This to me is what four windows and a door should be being priced at, given the economic conditions right now.

So, both Homebase and Tesco look to be similarly priced, both with slick and professional sites (though Tesco's is more in-depth, but given time I'm sure Homebase will expand their site also), so look set to go head to head once the Green Deal is implemented in just eleven months time.

If you're involved in any way with these two giants of the commercial world, this is probably good news, especially if you're the companies supplying the windows and doors to them. However if you're one of the 14,000+ specialist double glazing companies in the UK hoping to get a slice of the Green Deal pie when it's put in place, it's probably just become a little harder to make the most of it. The whole reason why these companies, which have never ever sold windows before until now, are now selling them know that once the Green Deal starts, there's probably going to be a pretty sizable boost coming to the double glazing industry and they want to make the most of it. Problem is, most of us will most likely be shoved out of the way in the mean time.

Message to the GGF: don't let the commercial juggernauts swallow up what could be a potential big boost for the genuine double glazing community.

Homebase, according to their website, claim to be FENSA accredited installers. Though it's more than likely that they will be using a home improvements company, like Tesco use AJWD, to install the windows on their behalf.

As I get to know more details about this I will post them on here! 

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

False Growth

Growth. The word has been used so much over the past couple of years that it is starting to wear a bit thin now. Quite frankly, I only want to hear about growth if it has been genuinely achieved.


Over the last few weeks, the industry magazines have been littered with reports of growth from various companies and organisations. This is where I'm going to split growth into two types. The first, growth through expansion of branches or franchises. The second, growth through increased revenues and profits.


To me, there is only one type of growth that matters and that is growth through increased sales and revenues. If jobs are priced right in the first place, this leads to increased profits - exactly what matters in times like these.


There have been various tweets and reports from a UK wide double glazing company, stating record weeks/months in terms of sales and frames produced. At first it sounds impressive, but when you consider the extra dealers that have been signed up over the last few weeks and months, this was always going to be the natural outcome - hence false growth.


Growth to me is always more credible when a single company or small group of branches manages to grow. Not by expanding the business. You can expand as big as you want but still not make the correct level of profit to make it work. But by increasing sales from the existing business. That sort of growth is a showcase of that business's ability to make the most from what it has got, rather than having to expand in order to post better figures which are a little bit misleading.


Would be interesting to hear all your thoughts on this one!

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Scottish Glaziers AC Yule And Son Collapses

Scottish glazing firm AC Yule has become yet another established name to fall victim to the harsh economic climate. The company announced it has been placed in administration with KPMG, putting 211 jobs at risk. Here is the full article, from the site www.building.co.uk



Scottish glazing firm AC Yule and Son has collapsed into administration, with the loss of 211 jobs.


The company, an established window fitter and glass processor, confirmed it will keep on 61 staff to try to complete current projects and outstanding orders.


Blair Nimmo and Gary Fraser of KPMG have been appointed joint administrators, and are seeking a buyer for parts or all of the business.


AC Yule is headquartered in Aberdeen, and has branches in Elgin, Livingston and Glasgow.
Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said: “As a result of prolonged difficult economic conditions over the last three years, AC Yule & Sons Ltd sustained a reduction in its turnover together with considerable erosion in its margins.”


“The directors proactively implemented a number of restructurings - both financial and operational - which involved significant additional share capital being injected. Unfortunately, despite these actions, losses continued to ensue which led to the directors concluding that they had no option other than to seek the appointment of administrators.”



Obviously KPMG will hope to find a buyer for AC Yule. But with only the biggest of the big boys with the cash to perform such acquisitions, the chances of a purchase in such an anxious economic situation seem slim at best. However, I wish the company and the staff all the best. I hope they do find a buyer, I hope that as many of their employees retain their jobs. And I hope for all those that do unfortunately lose their jobs that they find new and rewarding ones soon.


The above report can be found here.

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Monday, November 7, 2011

Guest Post: Energy Saving Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas

As always, I like to open the floor as it were, to others to be able to contribute on this site. The guest post below focuses on energy efficiency and how the UK's businesses could still be doing more to improve and reduce their carbon foot print. Enjoy!


By Ian Penfold, Architectural Manager, Solar Gard


For many UK businesses, the ENDS Sustainable Business 2011 report makes for
uncomfortable reading.


Amid findings that carbon emissions, energy intensity and electricity have all increased
over the last twelve months, the report concludes that UK business is ‘nowhere near’
its target of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Judging by
practises currently exhibited by companies across the country, this is not a surprising
find.


It was revealed earlier this year that businesses seem to be significantly
underestimating the financial benefit of saving energy. This helps to explain why the
Carbon Trust found UK businesses are still wasting an astonishing £1.6 billion a year on
energy bills.


The energy consumed by UK businesses contributes around 38 per cent of the country’s
total carbon emissions, and with better business practices a large chunk of this could
be avoided. In a time of slow economic growth, these savings would be a major step
towards businesses becoming more efficient, more productive and more profitable.


So why does energy efficiency remain such a low priority for so many organisations? In
many cases, changing the attitudes and behaviour of staff is seen as too costly, too time
consuming or too difficult. But the advice being given on the most appropriate and cost-
efficient steps to take also needs to be called into question. At this time of year, most of
that advice is on the topic of insulation.


The Hot Topic


With winter just around the corner, conserving heat should be high on the agenda for
every UK business. But surprisingly, despite a wave of government-backed schemes
including the Renewable Heat Initiative and the Green Deal, there remains no funding
incentive for companies looking to invest in insulation measures. Therefore any
organisation that truly sets energy efficiency as a priority will have to bite the bullet and
cover the costs themselves.


Furthermore, for most companies, cavity wall insulation is often regarded as the most
sensible investment to make. Schemes such as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target
and Warm Front programme, which offer insulation grants to the homeowners market,
are very vocal of the benefits and returns that it can provide. But for UK businesses that
lack the grants to make multiple energy-saving upgrades, it may not be the change that
provides the most enduring cost and carbon reduction benefits.


Whilst cavity wall insulation is a positive step to take, and helps to prevent heat loss to
a certain extent, businesses appear to be ignoring another surface that takes up a huge
percentage of their wall space: windows.


The outside walls of an office often consist more of glass windows than they do anything
else. This fact becomes important when the relative U value of each surface is taken into account.


http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/news/news/press-centre/2010/pages/uk-businesses-energy-efficiency.aspx


U-Value? U-what?


The U-value of a material defines the level of heat that can be transmitted through it. In
simple terms, the higher the U-value, the more affected your building will be by changes
in the weather. In most buildings, you only have to reach out and touch the surface of
your windows to know that an untreated glass surface has a far higher U-value than
an un-insulated wall. Therefore in terms of insulation, windows should be seen as the
number one priority for energy-conscious companies this winter. The problem is that
most businesses will not know how to go about insulating their windows, or be aware of
the possibilities available to them.


The most logical step, many believe, is to install low-emissivity (low-e) glazing. By
absorbing a significant amount of energy created by heating systems inside the building,
low-e glazing is extremely effective at preventing heat loss and keeping energy bills
down as a result. However, low-e glazing requires a set of new windows to be installed,
a very expensive and un-environmental investment that will make a significant impact
on financial and energy ROI.


Fortunately, it isn’t the only option that facilities managers can choose from. A
new product has emerged onto the market that gives existing windows a superior
performance to low-e glazing, and at a fraction of the cost of replacement windows. Yet
despite the major difference it can make to business energy performance, low-e window
film may currently mean very little to you.


Savings All Year Round


Window film is a retrofit product so can be applied to existing windows. This eliminates
the need for a ‘rip and replace’ upgrade that requires old windows to be thrown away,
contributing to landfill and harming your company’s environmental responsibility.
This is not just an easier option; it’s also around 80 percent cheaper, and by reflecting
63% of interior heat back into the room, there’s no compromise on performance either.
Additionally with window film, the promise of energy saving extends beyond the winter
months, allowing for reduced consumption when the sun comes out, too.


The energy-saving focus is rightly pointed at insulation during these colder months. But
it needs to be acknowledged that during summer, internal temperatures dramatically
increase due to solar heat gain, and end up being remedied by the use of another costly
and energy-hungry solution, air conditioning. Left unchecked, this represents a huge
energy burden on businesses that totally negates the energy savings that insulation may
provide.


Unlike most low-e glazing, low-e window film is able to keep the office warm in the
winter, and also cool in the summer. By blocking a significant amount of solar heat
from entering the building when temperatures are high, interiors remain at a stable
temperature and the need for air conditioning is reduced. Coupled with its insulation
benefits, the result is year round comfort, and a greatly reduced energy burden no
matter what the weather is like outside. This can only be positive news for a business’
efficiency targets, and more importantly, its bottom line.


Putting theory into practice


The ENDS Sustainable Business report states that ‘It is theoretically possible that new
technologies will appear that are efficient and cheap enough to radically alter the
[energy] picture’ – but does not propose any products that can yet provide the results
that are needed. But with strong and immediate benefits available for a relatively low
financial outlay, window film is clearly a step in the right direction.


For businesses that are jaded with the mainstream energy-saving options currently
being made available to them, it’s time to bring lesser-known alternatives out from the
cold, and start turning our carbon emissions targets into reality.

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A Little Help For Sophii!

I've now managed to get my girlfriend @SophiiMaria into the bloggersphere properly, and today she's launched her site: http://www.sophiimaria.blogspot.com

She's a drama student at Aberystwyth University and if you like anything to do with music, drama, arts or any form of entertainment (with a little bit of analyzing) then I think you'll like her site.


I'm going to help her add bits to it as she goes along, so expect the site to become more interactive and in-depth as it develops. But for now, you would be doing her massive favour if you could all click on the link above and take a look at what she's passionate about!

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Silly Season About To Begin

This is the time of year that always perplexes the industry. There are only seven working weeks left of the year, and it seems that a lot of our dear customers have left it till now to tell us they want their windows and doors replaced...all before Christmas!


So, get ready for the abrupt phone calls when you tell customers that you're fully booked and won't be able to fit them in before the Christmas tree goes up in the front room. Look forward to the rushed paper work so you can meet your deadlines while trying to worry about what you're going to buy your wife for the holidays. Get ready for trying to skirt round the office staff frantically trying to put the Xmas tree up. 


It's a fun time of year we all look forward to! Happy holidays!

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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Little Bit Of Showing Off

I don't get many opportunities on here to be able to brag about the people that are closest to me, but then I was shown this video by my girlfriend last night of her singing and I thought that she ought to be heard and seen by many more people than just me. Yes it's a little bit soft and soppy, but I'm beyond caring. I'm trying to help Sophii get noticed in any way I can, so that's why I'm posting this video on here. Feedback welcome!


PS: the girl just sitting in the background not really doing anything is Christy, also a decent person!


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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Economic Woe Tightening It's Grip

Details released by Insight Data show that they have quarantined 847 companies which have changed their details, moved or have become completely unreachable.


For all the efforts made by companies to stay afloat, the dire trading conditions are obviously still proving too much for many to handle. My feeling is that more than 847 companies will have disappeared this year. 


Over the past year I've made a conscious effort to keep these posts more positive. I've always believed that if we were more positive about the outlook then maybe we could help push the industry into more positive territory. But over the last few weeks, with feedback from our sector becoming ever more negative, with Europe in economic meltdown and our recovery slower than after the Great Depression, I can't help but feel we are all going to be in for a very few tough years ahead. With many more double glazing companies set to hit the wall.


So what can be done to help prop up an industry which is practically on life support? Well, not that much to be honest. Public confidence in spending is in the gutter. I could say that banks could help out by lending more, but their lending policies at the moment are so tight they make Yorkshire folk look more generous! The Green Deal is still a year off, and even so, I think that most of the business created by that will be swallowed up by some of the major national companies muscling their way in, so we'll be left to fight over the scraps.


The window industry is in a funny old position right now. We have the best windows ever made right now, we have the highest energy ratings - with energy conservation high on people's agendas, the logical outcome would be for the industry to be boosted. But we've arrived at this point at a bad time. Anemic financial health has stopped any potential boost in it's path. Just think how much money our sector would have made 5-10 years ago with all the products at our disposal now! 

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