Garnalex CEO Roger Hartshorn says now is the time for fabricators to put aluminium windows and doors back on the podium.

How the economy does over the next 12 months is anyone’s guess. Economists and others have been doing a lot of guessing, but we are living in extraordinary times. Figures this summer show UK economic output shrank by 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020. In normal times 2% would have made for long faces, but for every negative headline, there’s a positive story. The housing market has bounced back, and the home improvement market is booming. Andy Haldane, Bank of England’s chief economist, says we’re in a V-Shaped recovery.

Some people must have thought we were crazy to launch Sheerline in the midst of a pandemic, but we’ve adapted and in a way there’s never been a better time. The glazing sector has recovered well, particularly at the top end of the market as homeowners look for ways of spending pent-up cash on improving their properties with high-end, ‘aspirational’ products. This premium market is bolstered by a growing group of older homeowners who’ve seen a huge increase in the value of their homes over the past 20 years. They have money in the bank, and they’re spending it to make their homes more comfortable, secure, energy efficient and desirable, while adding even more value to their properties. Aluminium has a lot to offer, but we identified a clear gap in product innovation, service and on demand colour.

Putting aluminium back on track

When I started looking at aluminium seriously, I was surprised at the lack of real product development in the past 30 years. The material itself is superb, and I was a convert to its potential, but I saw many things that could be improved. It was time to put aluminium windows and doors back on the podium.

Over the past two years, Garnalex’ team of top designers looked at every aspect of aluminium windows to design a new system from scratch. Our mission was to reinvent aluminium with systems that are easy to fabricate, easy to install, look beautiful and are a dream to sell. Listening to former customers talk about the failings of service and support in aluminium was also a real eye-opener! So, we used our experience in PVC-U and our understanding of what installers and fabricators want, from extruded profile and installed frames to delivery, service, and aftercare.

The result is Sheerline classic, an ultra slim, ultra-secure beadless aluminium window system packed with unique features that bring real benefits to fabricators, installers, and end users. It’s designed as an ideal replacement for slim heritage-type steel windows, with outstanding energy efficiency (U-Values as low as 1.4 W/(m²K)), enhanced security (PAS24:2016) and ultra slim sightlines that let in more daylight. People say it’s beautiful. Sheerline’s patented corner construction brings profiles together in a controlled way to form a right-first-time mitre joint without unsightly junctions, steps, misalignments or wasted materials.

But service is perhaps the biggest difference with Sheerline. Every major component of a Sheerline window or door is made by us here in Britain. That gives us full control of the supply chain, so we can deliver our aluminium profile in 11 different stocked colours in just 5 working days, including the full range of 110 dual colour combinations! Bespoke colours are also available in just 10 days. Keeping all these colours, in all the profiles, in stock in our large warehouse changes everything.

‘Aluminium delivered on PVC-U terms’

We launched Sheerline Classic this summer and feedback from our launch partner fabricators has been just as we hoped. Roy Frost, Group Managing Director of GJB and Listers says: “Sheerline is aluminium delivered in a PVC-U system way: simple, clever design that’s easy to fabricate, with a host of product innovations. Aesthetically, the windows are exactly what today’s homeowners are looking for, with a choice of beautiful colours and the thermal performance to match.

“Sheerline support has been first class, something that’s typically lacking in aluminium suppliers but is very important to fabricators and installers. The simplicity of the Sheerline system is great. Fewer components mean we have to carry less stock than other systems. Sheerline Classic comes in 11 colours from stock, which is unheard of in aluminium and a huge advantage, allowing us to pass on very short lead times to customers.”

Classic is just the beginning

Sheerline Classic is just the start. Our next window and door system – Sheerline Prestige – is coming soon with even more options and designs. Discover more about Sheerline Classic and Sheerline Prestige at www.sheerline.com and www.sheerlinevideo.com and follow @SheerlineSystem.