PROFI L E S & SYS T EMS
The WarmCore system
www.ggpmag.com June
product strategy, backed by our customers, so we
can build further trust in our bold plans for the UK.
While stability is the word for , we’re looking
at acceleration in terms of sales for . As a global
powerhouse, we also have the infrastructure and
willingness to make further investments in tooling
and in new products.
GGP: What about the existing Profine UK facility
at Fradley Park, Lichfield. Will this be closed
sometime soon?
GJ: We have already served notice on our
current facility at Fradley Park but recognise that
relationships at the sharp end are critical for
success. For this reason, we will retain a scaled
down physical location for our key staff who don’t
want the -mile commute to Huthwaite.
There are already plans to move some of
the senior management to Huthwaite, but the
integration of the businesses will be done in a
disciplined way to ensure a seamless transition.
GGP: There’s considerable capacity at the
Huthwaite site and even an injection moulding
facility, but how will these be best utilised for the
group?
GJ: As you can expect, we will look to bring all
the UK tools over from Pirmasens and Berlin to
Huthwaite in a planned manner later in the year,
with a view to extruding all systems from this supersite
early in .
With the only injection moulding facility in the
group, we have the opportunity to open up export
opportunities and as the UK looks to open up
global trade deals, this could also prove favourable
for our new UK facility.
GGP: You mention opportunities for export
markets, an opportunity that’s been historically
different to the UK market. So how can you make
this happen where others have failed somewhat?
GJ: We have requirements from the group for
outward opening window and door systems in hot
climates. With our own blending and mixing site, we
can easily achieve this. The window systems are all
ones that we now have in our product portfolio and
the North American and Australasia markets are an
obvious destination.
There’s also WarmCore, which has already
generated interest in North America and other
countries across the globe. In Europe we have a
number of aluminium/PVC-U hybrid systems and
so naturally there has been interest in this unique
system design.
GGP: Clearly there’s a lot of work to be done
for the remainder of …†…†, but what are your
longer-term plans for the business?
GJ: We must execute the short-term plan carefully
as I’ve previously mentioned. As an international
group, we can also look at specific projects for
certain markets, but our core market is the UK and
we believe there’s considerable potential for growth
with the new brands and systems.
There’s investment to be made which will
be available from the group, but the state of
the extrusion facility that we’ve acquired was
surprisingly good, which I mentioned before, and it
is testament to the staff who worked hard right until
the final hours prior to going into administration.
GGP: And finally, it’s difficult to see beyond
COVID-Ž‘ at the moment, but what do you think
the implications of Brexit will be for the industry,
given that the government’s time to implement
the final stages of it have been hampered.
GJ: We’re facing two unprecedented hurdles at
present which is a challenge for all. We’re slowly
coming out of lockdown and if there’s anything I’ve
learnt in this industry, is that it has an uncanny way
of surviving the peaks and troughs well.
In the first few days order intake has been very
strong across the business for all brands and at
the end of May we were operating at 6% from a
standing start, yet I expect things to get stronger
throughout the summer. The irony is that as we
come out of the COVID-• crisis, we’ll be faced
with the final stages of the Brexit process.
However, we’re well planned for it and with a new
extrusion facility, our exposure and business risk has
been considerably diluted. Our strong relationships
with suppliers have also been further galvanised
through the acquisition and so we’re looking
forward to working in partnership with them for the
future and with a strong financial footing.
While we can’t influence Brexit, what we can
do as a global group is to harness our resources,
expertise and financial firepower to help withstand
any economic and political volatility. We’ll also be
closely working with our customers to help assist
them through the process and together I believe
we’ll have a rewarding future together.
The blending and mixing plant at
Aperture's Huthwaite site was said to be of
particular interest to Profine Group and a
key element to the acquisition
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