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FABRICATOR V I EW
A wake up call for the GGF?
GGP’s resident fabricator, Danny Williams of Pioneer Trading, voices his frustration with
the glass and glazing sector’s most established trade association – as well as his admiration
for a much smaller organisation that has been fundamental in helping to resolve one of the
www.ggpmag.com January 2019
Why does the industry
need a modern trade
association? That was
the title of a press
release issued by Jon Vanstone,
who is now the chair of the newly
formed ‘Certass Trade Association’.
Jon, formerly a senior figure at
the Glass & Glazing Federation,
says that ‘Trade associations
have a crucial role to play in
improving the perception of an
industry.” He continues: “As well
as helping installers improve their
professionalism with practical
business advice and training, it’s
their job to be the representative
voice for the industry at Government
level.”
Jon makes the point well and of
course, the clear inference is that the
GGF is not performing that function.
And while it could be suggested of
course, that Jon has an axe to grind,
many would agree that not all is
well with the monolithic, often
impenetrable and, many would say,
out of touch GGF.
I have never been a fan of the
GGF for all of the above reasons,
and many more. But I also believe
that every industry should have a
industry’s most serious crises of recent times.
powerful representative body to lead
it, to resolve its issues and positively
promote its image. Sadly, the GGF
fails at many of the things it should
be doing. But neither do I believe
that creating another body will do
anything other than divide and
dilute.
Nonetheless, this should be a
wake up call for the GGF: that an
ex-employee believes that such an
audacious act might be possible
speaks volumes. But the powers
that be at the GGF must not let it
prosper. We need a single, strong
and responsive representative
organisation, not a dysfunctional
one with a yapping irritant snapping
at its heels.
My challenge to the GGF is: ‘Get
your house in order, listen to your
very many critics, and turn yourself
into an organisation for which
membership is compelling for the
majority within the industry’. When
I believe the GGF is heading in that
direction, I will join, as will others.
Having said that…
The sales of GRP fire doors have
formally been resumed after
voluntary suspension since June,
indicated by an announcement from
something called the Association
of Composite Door Manufacturers.
Who? You may well have never
heard of this august body, which
was virtually unknown until it was
thrust into the limelight in May this
year after the government named
and shamed brands of GRP fire
doors that were discovered – as part
of the Grenfell Tower investigations
– to be non-compliant with their
certification.
Although fire doors had nothing
to do with the tragedy at Grenfell,
the attention drawn by the installed
doors revealed that the vast majority
of GRP fire doors sold and installed
in British buildings have not been
strictly compliant with the Building
Regulations. These state that such
doors should be fire tested on
both sides, whereas the test houses
responsible had deemed, arbitrarily
it seems, that just the side facing
the likely fire risk should be tested.
So, whilst it would appear that
there has never been an issue with
failure of such doors, they were not
by the book. And nothing less than
by the book was acceptable to a
government that had to be seen to
be doing everything that way.
The ACDM all of a sudden
became the primary negotiator for
an industry sector that it barely
represented with just a handful
of the total of composite door
producers as members. These,
however, included the large
distributors of door blanks from
which the vast majority of the UK’s
composite doors are produced.
But the UK government likes to
talk to representative organisations
rather than individual companies
when it conducts such discussions.
And whilst the GGF was involved
initially, the ACDM was actually
more representative of this small, yet
increasingly important niche sector.
So, the ACDM quickly gathered up
its skirts and, having first agreed to
a moratorium on sales of fire doors,
negotiated terms under which GRP
fire door sales could recommence.
And all within around five months
of apparently highly intensive and
often fraught discussions.
So, I would say hats off to the
people that took the reins at the
Association of Composite Door
Manufacturers, who despite the
unknowns of dealing with hardline
government officials and in the face
of criticism from elements of the
sector, have apparently resolved one
of the most serious crises to have
befallen our industry in recent times.
He’s at it again…
My old pal and shooting partner,
Roger Hartshorn, is at it again,
proving that money is seldom the
primary driver for successful people.
Having sold and moved on from
HL Plastics, the indomitable Mr
Hartshorn has purchased the former
Sheerframe trade extrusion business
from Synseal, renaming the business
LB Plastics in recognition of the
influence that the brand once carried
in the industry; a classy touch.
The new operation, owned by
Roger’s Garner Holdings, bought the
old LB Nether Heage site a couple
of years ago. Next door is Garner
Aluminium Extrusions, which is a
new operation formed to become a
leading player in the boom market
being enjoyed by aluminium
windows and doors. Garner
Aluminium is being fitted out now
and, knowing Roger’s perfectionism,
it will be state of the art when it
comes on line in the spring.
The LB Plastics extrusion facility
will be highly complementary to the
aluminium profiles to be launched
by the company, says Roger. Whether
that leads in time to a new PVC-U
suite must surely be limited by all
sorts of covenants with Quanex,
to whom Roger sold his Flamstead
Holdings operation, owner of
HL and Liniar, in 2015; and also
Synseal, as the last thing they would
want would be another competitor.
But with Roger, who knows…
Danny Williams
/www.ggpmag.com
