Bison Frames has just seen sales growth of 40% compared to the same period last year. For Mark Tetley, one of the reasons for the sales growth is simple: strong sales and marketing messages. “We put together compelling marketing messages that clearly highlight what makes our products different. These make it easy to sell our products to our market because people can see at-a-glance what makes our products so special.”

A key part of Bison’s portfolio is the Genesis Vertical Slider and is the perfect example of a product that has something genuinely different to offer. Mark says, “The Genesis vertical slider is a PVCu window that has already been accepted for use in Grade II listed buildings and conservation zones. It lets homeowners enjoy elegant heritage aesthetics and the low maintenance, energy efficient benefits of PVCu.”

More than 55% of all home owners have requested cash-in-hand building work to avoid paying VAT according to new research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “This research confirms what we already suspected – too many otherwise law-abiding individuals are asking their builder to carry out cash-in-hand construction work at 0% VAT in order to cut costs. What’s more, when the professional builder refuses, the home owner will all-too-often find a rogue trader that is willing to operate within the black economy. That’s when home owners inevitably become ensnared in nightmare situations with sub-standard refurbishment work that has been carried out with little or no regard for health and safety.”

Friday 9th May saw Prime Minister David Cameron take time out from his busy schedule to pay a visit to HL Plastics’ headquarters in Derbyshire, home of the Liniar brand.

Cameron spent the afternoon meeting workers at the state of the art factory and taking part in PM Direct, a question and answer session with 150 of the growing workforce. No questions were off-limits for the 40 minute session, which followed a private meeting with Roger Hartshorn and his team and a full tour of the factory, warehouse and mixing plant. Also present were local MP Nigel Mills and Councillor Stuart Bradford from the Amber Valley district where HL is based.

The most energy efficient windows and doors on the market are to be showcased at a new commercial innovation centre for environmental building designs, products and services launched today.

The CMS Innovation Hub in Cumbernauld will feature the latest energy saving products and devices for the building of homes and workplaces, produced by leading construction and supply firms.

Builders, architects, specifiers, public and private sector buyers and contractors, as well as homeowners, will be able to meet with manufacturers and will have access to the most advanced products available to reduce energy use.

Edgetech UK, a Quanex company, launches TruPlas SDL. This is a new Simulated Divided Lite system that gives more choice and greater rigidity.

“The unique I-beam is designed to eliminate any potential twisting within the largest units,” says Alan Fielder, Edgetech’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “We knew this can be a problem with other box section or duplex systems so we engineered TruPlas SDL to overcome this issue.”

The new TruPlas SDL system is available in three colours: black, grey and white. And there’s a full range of connecting keys. The cruciform clip anchors the I-beams in place to prevent rattling. TruPlas SDL also comes in two widths 18mm and 23mm to suit both 12mm and 16mm glass unit cavities.

Proventus Capital Partners III has provided a 5-year GBP 46 million credit facility, including both a term loan and an acquisition facility to the UK-based Synseal Extrusions Ltd (“Synseal”).  The facility will be used to refinance existing debt and to continue to fund the buy-to-build strategy.

Synseal is the leading manufacturer of extruded PVC-U window and door profiles, sealed glass units and conservatory roofs.  Synseal operates from three facilities in the midlands, serves over 700 customers and is the prime UK consolidator in its industry.  The firm has revenues in excess of GBP 100 million and employs more than 900 staff.  Synseal is owned by the mid-market private equity firm H.I.G. European Capital Partners LP (“H.I.G.”) and management,

As new figures show that more than half of homeowners admit to paying tradesmen in cash in order to avoid VAT, a practice that is costing the Treasury £2 billion per year, the Build Show has reiterated its calls to lower VAT on housing renovations by five per cent.

The Cut the VAT Campaign, which is targeting all three major political parties, recently issued a report outlining the massive benefits of a tax reduction on boosting the economy and reducing UK carbon emissions. It claimed that reducing VAT would create 42,000 full time jobs in the construction industry and could save almost 240,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2020.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live last week Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) highlighted that the public are ripped-off by rogue traders to the tune of £170 million per year.

Romford’s Crystal Windows is one of the South East’s largest manufacturers and installers of PVCu windows and doors. The company has been trading since 1995, and in that time has built a strong reputation for great value and exceptional service within the M25 area.

Since changing over to Liniar systems for its profile, the team at Crystal has seen business soar.

A coincidence?  Tony Morris, Crystal’s Operations Manager, thinks not.

“We’ve already a built a very successful business – sales have increased to £30m in the last year in spite of the recession – but since getting on board with the Liniar system at the end of 2013 we’ve seen a significant uplift in our revenue based on last year’s results, and look to be heading towards a record year,” Tony explains.

The recent win for TuffX Brand ambassador, David Price, has placed the former British heavyweight champion back in the top ten ranking.

David, who has 17 wins to his record including 15 Knock Outs stopped Euro level heavyweight Ondrej Pala (33-5, 23 KO’s) on 12th April 2014 at the Blue Water Dokken, Esbjerg, in Denmark.

Initially, David was caught off balance when Pala threw one of his few power shots of the fight, but he fought back and came on strong in the second round by landing a couple of strong right hand punches which sent Pala dropping to the canvas. After a second knockdown, referee Freddy Rafn halted the fight at 0:33 of the third round.

Graham Price, Managing Director at TuffX states that there has been a very positive response to the company’s sponsorship of David, by the industry in general.

The Double Glazing and Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) is delighted that all domestic installation guarantees must have financial backing from 6th June.

“This legislation from the DCLG is long-overdue,” explains DGCOS CEO Richard Christie. “However, DGCOS since its inception has mandated its members to issue every retail customer with an Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG).”

“The existing system of ‘offering IBGs’ can lead to worrying problems for consumers,” continues Richard. “Often where an IBG is offered it isn’t always taken up – in my experience very few consumers offered an IBG after installation do so. Not least because consumers have to pay for IBGs themselves at this stage. Add to this the fact that it can be easy for consumers to mess up the paperwork, with many –