Summary
• Crittall Windows was the subject of a management buyout in 2004.
• It launched its timber/aluminium composite window in 2008.
• The timber profiles are supplied and machined by Brooks Brothers.
• Crittall is looking for additional timber suppliers and installers.
Perhaps the best indication of the increase in market share of timber windows is when a manufacturer best known for using other materials adds them to its range. That’s exactly what happened in April 2008 when Crittall Windows Ltd, a company whose name is to steel windows what Thermos is to picnics, launched a timber/aluminium composite window.
The last five years have seen a great deal of change at the Essex-based company. Established as a family business way back in 1849, it remained in the family until the mid-1960s, at which point it passed into US ownership, changing hands several times. Then, in 2004 John Pyatt, now managing director, led a management buyout.
“We restructured the business, got controls back in place, and issued shares to the whole workforce, so it’s run on a ‘John Lewis model’,” said Mr Pyatt. “We looked at where we were based and our product range and thought: ‘how do we grow?’”
New factory
The first step was to up sticks and move the factory which was “too big, too expensive and didn’t offer long-term security” from Braintree to a 65,000ft² factory, plus 14,000ft² of office space, in Witham. The £750,000 investment involved reconfiguring and rebuilding the electro polyester powder-coating plant – a crucial part of the steel window manufacturing process – and tightening up the operating area. “The whole process is much more efficient and production is faster,” said Mr Pyatt.
“By 2008 everything was running as it should be and we could look at our product offering,” he added.
Steel windows were always going to be the core business, but the intention was to add three or four niche “modules of growth”. After considering other materials, such as PVCu, Crittall opted for timber/aluminium – aesthetically pleasing and thermally efficient on the inside and low maintenance on the outside.
The new range is produced at the same factory, but on its own designated production line and with its own workforce. “It’s a substantially different process using substantially different equipment from that used for steel window production,” said Mr Pyatt. “Our investment in this product was in excess of £200,000.”
Sound investment
Money well spent, as the result is a top quality product.
The composite comprises an internal frame profile of radiata pine or European oak (both PEFC or FSC certified) supplied and machined by Brooks Bros (UK) Ltd to profiles specified by Crittall. The aluminium sections making up the external frames are bought in as extruded profiles of 6063T6 alloy which are then powder-coated in-house. The frames can accommodate insulating glass units up to 28mm in thickness and are internally glazed with matching timber beads to allow re-glazing from inside the building, if necessary.
Crittall’s patented “monolithic construction” ensures an inherently strong, mechanical connection between metal and wood, eliminating the need for adhesives and clips. The timber is completely isolated from the effects of the weather.
“The difference between our composite and others on the market is that most of them are imported, while ours is UK manufactured,” said Mr Pyatt. “The other major difference is that our windows feature significant sections of both timber and aluminium – it’s not a case of one just being clad by the other. The timber and aluminium elements are engineered to fit together and each adds its own strength characteristics. The timber and aluminium can’t be prised apart – unlike clad windows where facings can be forced away from the base timber.”
The product range includes fixed light, side hung (inward and outward opening), top hung (outward opening), bottom hung (inward opening) and tilt and turn. Window walls are also manufactured, as is a matching range of composite doors.
Weather performance-wise, the composite windows are tested to BS 6375-1:2004, achieving up to 600pa Class C air permeability; 600pa water tightness; and 2,000pa wind resistance. In terms of thermal performance, the windows and doors are fully Part L compliant for both newbuild and refurbishment. They’re no pushover for breakers and enterers either, meeting the requirements of BS 7950:1997 for resistance to forced entry. British Fenestration Rating Council testing is also under way.
The composite range is manufactured on a bespoke basis and is targeted at both newbuild and refurbishment markets, including hotels, education facilities, commercial outlets, hospitals and housing developments. “We also do a lot of work in conservation areas,” said Mr Pyatt. “When we launched in April 2008 there were brownfield sites where the developer wanted to incorporate an industrial character at the front – steel windows – but be more flexible at the back – timber/aluminium windows.”
Installation service
Crittall is one of a rare but growing band of window manufacturers that has an installation service – in fact it can provide the whole package of removal of existing windows and design, manufacture and installation of new ones. However, it’s also on the lookout for installers looking for a supply only partnership.
Likewise, Crittall is also open to using components supplied by other timber companies and is investigating the possibility of using modified timber.
With a target of around 5% of output, or 5-10,000 composite units per year as against 50,000 steel units, Crittall’s new baby is definitely a niche product line, but it has widened the company’s customer base and is partly responsible for a 10% increase in turnover in 2008 to £13m and an “enormous” increase in profits.
“We’ve just had our best year ever and we’re bidding for a lot of work and getting into projects we wouldn’t have before,” said Mr Pyatt. “Despite the uncertainty in the market, we’re set fair for the future.”
