www.ggpmag.com January 2020
6
NEWS
Looking ahead to FIT Show 2020
Quickslide outlines £2m investment
In brief
• Staff, customers and
suppliers at Barnsley based
trade fabricator, Euroglaze,
recently completed a 1,600km
virtual bike ride covering
the equivalent distance from
Lands End to John O’Groats.
They even added on an extra
100km when they reached the
nish line so that they could
head to a virtual pub for a
well-deserved drink! It was
all in aid of Retina UK, which
Euroglaze has adopted as
its chosen charity in its 40th
anniversary year and helped
to raise around £1,500.
The bike was set up in the
Euroglaze canteen for a
month, with the staff dividing
themselves into evenly
matched teams to take part
in a series of weekly time,
distance and sponsorship
challenges to help clock up
the miles. The most ercely
fought was the 12km ‘time
trial’, with managing director,
Martin Nettleton, throwing
down the gauntlet with a time
of 19.04 only to be beaten by
three members of his own
team, including the eventual
winner, Dale Brettoner, with a
time of 16.10.
• Everglade Windows will be
celebrating its 40th birthday
year as a double nalist in the
West London Business Awards
2020.
The Perivale-based business
has been shortlisted for
Manufacturing/Reprocessing
Business of the Year and High
Growth SME of the Year for
the third consecutive year,
having won in 2018 and 2019.
“We’re over the moon to be
shortlisted in the West London
Business Awards again, after
winning big for two years in
a row,” said Yogesh Gopal,
managing director.
Commenting on last month’s landslide
Conservative election victory, Paul
Godwin looks ahead to FIT Show
2020.
When Matthew and I started FIT
Show back in 2013, it was based on
a real need and desire from across
the industry to have a platform,
a UK showcase for the amazing
products being fabricated, the latest
technology, all the innovations,
everything under one roof.
Since the demise of Glassex, great
work was still being done, but there
wasn’t a single place where every
corner of the industry could come
together, display their products,
network and do business on a large
scale. FIT Show was developed to fi ll
this gap in the market.
Almost seven years on from that
debut show in Telford, and following
recent political uncertainty, the
industry is still buoyant. And even
better than that, with advances in
materials and technology across the
industry is more exciting than ever.
FIT Show today, is more relevant and
important than it’s ever been.
“We cannot afford to stand still
as an industry, and we rarely do. We
trade through tough times, maintain
our activities and create as many
opportunities as possible to connect
with the market. I welcomed the
recent election result and hope that
this will further boost the industry,
and spur anyone who has been
holding back to take the plunge in
2020.
FIT Show is not only a vital fi xture
for the industry calendar, it’s an
essential part of your marketing mix.
Nowhere else can you bring your
products to life, engage with all of
your customers and prospects under
one roof, at the same time, standing
side-by-side with your peers.
We’re approaching FIT Show 2020
with the same level of commitment,
spend and enthusiasm that we have
done since we launched back in
2013. The 2019 FIT Show was the
biggest yet and the most innovative
so far, with a huge number and
variety of new products never before
seen at a UK Show; and we’re excited
to see what exhibitors deliver in
2020.
I sincerely believe that many
companies held back from
exhibiting at the 2019 event as
they prepared for the unknowns
of a Brexit that most believed
would be done during 2018. And
conversations I have had with many
of those confi rm that they regretted
missing the 2019 FIT Show after
seeing the numbers of visitors
coming through the doors and fi lling
the stands of their competitors.
We have a duty to try and
anticipate any and all factors that
will affect our businesses, both
favourably and negatively. But
we know that Brexit will happen
now, that it will be driven by a
Government that no longer needs to
go begging for favours. We have to
plan positively, the bunker mentality
no longer being an option.”
Quickslide’s Brighouse factory has
recently seen the addition of two
Urban corner cleaning machines
and two quad welders following an
investment of £350,000 in its factory
infrastructure.
Quickslide says the spend is part
of a £2m investment plan which
spans 12 months. This centres
around increasing capacity while
improving quality and effi ciency.
Urban machines are known
for their machining quality and
excellent precision and, says
Quickslide managing director, Ben
Weber, will increase throughput
at key points of the company’s
fabrication process.
Ben affi rmed how much
Quickslide has grown over the last
decade and how the fabricator is
now manufacturing close to 1,000
windows a week.
He explained: “We have installed
the Schirmer ‘Rolls Royce’ of
cutting centres and machinery. We
have already made huge strides in
system and product innovation and
this latest step is all about futureproofi
ng the business for the next
fi ve to ten years.”
Chairman, Adrian Barraclough,
added: “Quickslide is constantly
looking at ways to remain at
the forefront when it comes to
technology and the advancements in
product variety and quality it offers.
By ensuring that we continue with
regular investments in high quality,
modern machinery means that our
customers will always be able to
expect the fi nest quality products,
for the right price, delivered within a
sensible timeframe.”
Dale Brettoner
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