Some people may still think of timber windows as a niche product. But Fitzroy Joinery chairman Nick St Aubyn is definitely not one of them and to prove the point the company has just invested heavily in a major new initiative to expand and develop production.
An all-round fan of all things timber, Mr St Aubyn sees wood windows as very much in the market mainstream. Not only can they beat plastic rivals on looks and environmental performance, due to latest innovations in manufacturing – like those made by Fitzroy – they can compete on price, durability and ease of maintenance.
“The British Woodworking Federation, of which we’re a member, has reported that timber windows are regaining market share and we’re confident that can continue ,” he said. “The latest evidence of their popularity was at the recent Homebuilding and Renovating Exhibition where nearly all windows on show were timber.”
Environmental awareness
Specifiers and consumers, he maintained, are becoming ever more aware of the environmental arguments for timber.
“Using wood construction products is increasingly recognised as a positive environmental choice – planting more trees is seen as the way to combat carbon emissions.”
And wood windows, he added, are winning over consumers on design.
“Not only do they give more styling options, they can also be refurbished to appear as good as new. People are increasingly realising that plastic just does not keep its looks and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Mr St Aubyn acknowledged that there are a number of manufacturing routes the timber window maker can follow when it comes to taking on their rivals on a quality for price basis. But he maintained that Fitzroy’s is probably unique. The company is attacking the market with a two-pronged strategy after setting up an alliance between its modern plant in Plymouth and Poland’s leading timber window manufacturer Stolarka Wolomin SA. And the first fruit of this strategy is now coming onto the market. This is a high specification, ultra energy-efficient double-glazed range of windows targeted at some of the most demanding cost and quality sensitive sectors of the market, including the social housing and self-build sectors and top quality builders.
Restructuring
The roots of the strategy go back to 2001 when Mr St Aubyn restructured Fitzroy. This was actually history coming full circle since the company began as the joinery arm of the St Aubyn family construction firm before being hived off in the 1950s.
The firm had been in older premises near the Devonport Dockyard. “But last year we got the opportunity to move to our current modern unit in Plympton and at the same time another local joinery firm, Carkeek, closed and we recruited some of their skilled crafts team, taking our direct staff to 24,” said Mr St Aubyn.
“When we moved we also upgraded machinery or bought new equipment, including a state-of-the-art programmable SCM Windor machining centre for making window and door components and a Dust Control Systems extractor,” added Fitzroy managing director Robert Le Masurier. “We’ve now got a much more modern, efficient and flexible operation.”
The aim for the new Fitzroy plant – which cost £500,000 – was to make a certain volume of windows, but also to continue to produce the top-grade bespoke general joinery for which the business is renowned – and the work in progress when we visited ranged from office screens, stairs and doors, to desks, cubicles and an ornate kitchen.
European partnership
To complement this operation and enable Fitzroy to meet the volume requirements of the window market sectors it wanted to target, Mr St Aubyn started the search for an eastern European partner.
“Finding a company that could meet our quality and service demands was needle in a haystack stuff,” he said. “But with contacts in Poland we found the right company. Stolarka Wolomin have been going as long as Fitzroy, but are somewhat bigger, with 600 staff. They’re modern, well-equipped and accredited to ISO 9002.”
The two businesses, he added, now have a close, exclusive relationship.
|
“Using wood construction products is increasingly recognised as a positive environmental choice” |
|
Fitzroy Joinery chairman Nick St Aubyn |
“We have two people permanently based at their plant so we can work together even more effectively and monitor quality on site.”
So far the collaboration has gone smoothly. “There have been no problems – the Poles just had to get used to making a casement that opened outwards. Like most of the rest of Europe, theirs open inwards!”
Fitzroy insists that its initiative has not turned it into an importer. “We are a manufacturer taking a modern approach to meet customers’ needs and we retain complete control over specification and quality.”
The other vital element of the Fitzroy strategy was, of course, the design of the window to be made by the Plymouth/Poland partnership.
“It took 18 months to develop and then we put it through the Building Research Establishment‘s quality assurance scheme,” said Mr St Aubyn.
Laminated softwood
Interestingly Fitzroy opted to make the new casement range in Nordic laminated softwood.
“Laminated wood gives excellent stability,” said Mr St Aubyn. “It also has very good environmental credentials and ours is FSC certified.”
The timber, he added, is anti-fungal pressure-treated and given three or four coats of stain or paint in the factory, with the frame guaranteed to last at least 30 years.
“We recommend that customers add a final coat – although that’s not essential – then repaint every five or six years,” said Mr St Aubyn.
The windows are also factory double-glazed using argon-filled units in Pilkington soft K-Glass. “These give an insulation U-value of 1.1 compared to 1.8 for a standard double glazing,” said Mr St Aubyn. “That’s among the best performances on the market.”
Fitzroy has also not scrimped on fittings, including espagnolette locks.
“We’re using top grade products from Mila and Roto and, if required, can add extra closures to achieve the Secured by Design standard.”
The Fitzroy window has been designed so that it can be simply fitted using standard insulated cavity closers and frame formers and it features a sliding pivot system so that the casement can be turned inside for cleaning.
The finished product will usually be delivered, carefully wrapped, from Poland in six to eight weeks, although an order can be turned around in four.
“As we’ve got the UK facility, we can also deliver an initial batch even more rapidly,” said Mr St Aubyn. “And Plymouth additionally gives us the flexibility to produce complementary designs as part of the order.”
Now the production system is up and running – and the first consignments of windows have been installed in an NHBC-approved development in Truro and a social housing project by Rockbuild – Fitzroy is stepping up its marketing campaign. It is a sponsor in this year’s National Homebuilder Design Awards and is setting up a display at the Building Centre in London.
Given the new range’s initial reception, Mr St Aubyn believes it could soon win over 1% of the timber window market. It should also, he predicts, help drive forward the comeback of timber windows in the UK and dispel the myth that they’re a niche product once and for all.
