The Worldwide VEKA Group has announced today that the acquisition of German competitor GEALAN Holding GmbH has finally been completed. All European Monopolies and Mergers authorities involved in this process have approved of the takeover.

By acquiring its competitor GEALAN – a company that is established and well-known on the European market for many years and one that has recently been implementing a differentiation strategy – the VEKA Group is strengthening its competitive position in Germany, Europe, and the World.

The family-owned VEKA Group is one of the world’s leading producers of PVC-U profile systems for windows, doors and roller shutters. The Group employs more than 3,600 people at 25 subsidiaries on three continents around the world. 1,300 of them work at the company’s headquarters in Sendenhorst. The VEKA Group generated €793 million in turnover in 2013. Internationally, more than 2,200 specialised companies use VEKA systems to create top-quality PVC-U structural elements. With its takeover of GEALAN Holding GmbH from financial investor Halder, the Group will be increasing its staff once again, by 1,150 employees, and its total annual turnover will reach more than €1 billion. Whilst the acquisition of GEALAN will not impact directly on The VEKA UK Group – it will continue to be business as usual

Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive defended the double glazing industry live on BBC Radio Leeds on Thursday 26th June (at 11.40am) outlining why homeowners should always use a GGF Member company.

The programme featured a case where the homeowner was dissatisfied with the finish around PVC-U doors that had just been installed. Presenter Wes Butters expressed surprise on the programme that in all the time he has being doing his consumer complaint shows, this was the first complaint on double glazing.

The presenter contacted the GGF to pose questions to Nigel Rees. Here is an edited transcript with a selection of the questions asked and answers given.

Wes Butters: Why does double glazing get such bad press?

Nigel Rees: The (industry’s) image was poor many years ago, but a lot has been done to try and improve it. Certainly at the Glass and Glazing Federation and though our Membership we strive to put consumers first. The shame is, there are millions of installations each year and the good ones go unnoticed but it’s the bad ones that stand out and unfortunately tarnish our industry.

Aluminium door specialist, Dutemänn has sustained growth to report a 30 per cent year on year increase in turnover in the first half of 2014.Set up in 2010 as a specialist supplier of Schüco aluminium bifold doors, Dutemänn doubled its turnover last year on the back of increased demand and the expansion of its core product offering. This included the addition of Dutemänn Glide, the manufacturer’s aluminium patio door, also introducing a range of contemporary aluminium entrance doors and panels – Dutemänn Haus.With a UK wide distribution, Martin James, Managing Director, Dutemänn, said that the company remained on target to achieve its goal of 30 per cent growth at the year’s end. He said:

“We have had an excellent year to date, achieving sustainable and most importantly manageable growth. “We started out as a specialist supplier of bi-fold doors and that remains our core business. – we’re now manufacturing more than 120 panels or 40 three-panel bi-fold doors each week. “Glide, our patio door is performing well, while Haus, our aluminium entrance door, which we launched at the FIT Show last year, has also generated stacks of interest, it seems to be something that the industry just gets.”

Available as either a panel or completed door set and with a choice of 90 styles available, Haus Door can be manufactured to 950mm wide by 2150mm high. 44mm thick and featuring a highly insulated inner core, they achieve a panel U-Value of just 0.71w/(m2k).

Dutemänn Glide, exploits increased structural integrity and sophisticated opening and closing mechanisms, to span a space of up to 6.7metres wide and 3.2m high with just two panels. Capable of accommodating a sealed unit of up to 55m thick, the system’s gearing means that operation of panels weighing as much as 400 kilos is effortless.

The UKAS-accredited Assure Competent Persons Scheme is proving itself to be more and more popular, as increasing numbers of installers make the move over to become Assure-registered.

A new range of aluminium windows has been launched by Origin, the leading UK manufacturer of bespoke aluminium bi-folding doors, offering premium quality aluminium flush casement windows.

The Origin Window has been designed and engineered at the company’s High Wycombe factory following demand from trade partners seeking a window to match the aesthetic and quality of Origin’s folding sliding door system.

The Origin Window is a perfect match for any modern build, but also an ideal replacement for windows in a period property.

The aluminium window frames offer the right combination of strength and weight, allowing for narrow sightlines, whilst providing superior thermal performance and improved acoustic dampening.

Aluminium doors and windows are rapidly becoming the first choice for homeowners, builders and architects due to their low maintenance, as the frames don’t rust, rot or warp. The Origin Window offers supreme security through its ‘Secured by Design’ Yale locking system with night vent opening.

Aluminium door specialist Dutemänn has launched its new look website www.Dutemann.co.uk, bringing the latest in product development, technical data and product specification to the finger-tips of its trade customers.

Launched today 07/07/14 the new platform features simple navigation and drop down menus, to deliver a comprehensive overview of the niche manufacturer’s product range.

This includes its core Schüco bifold door, Dutemänn Glide, its aluminium patio door and Dutemänn Haus a range of contemporary aluminium entrance doors and panels.

Martin James, Managing Director, Dutemänn, said: “Our new website is geared around giving the trade the information they need about products from technical performance to finishes but also a sense of what they should expect from us as a supplier and how we can support their growth.

“This includes our commitment to quality, service and the values that we apply to doing business – we still hold to the belief that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”

The website features an overview of each the company’s core products, plus sub-pages giving further detail on technical performance to choice of finish, standard sizes and accreditations. It also features downloadable specification guides and the latest news and product updates.

Winners have been announced for the Origin Trade Awards, a new initiative that champions trade agents in the glass and glazing industry. The awards, hosted by leading British manufacturer of bespoke aluminium bi-folding doors, Origin, acknowledge window and door companies throughout the UK that have achieved impressive growth and sales success over the last 12 months.

Neil Ginger, CEO at Origin, said: “We launched the Origin Trade Awards to celebrate the success of trade agents that have strived for business and sales growth, as well as the very best customer service, over the last year. We are hugely proud of the trade agents that we work with, so this gave us the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ and acknowledge their hard work.”

The new £150m government fund to help finance plots for custom build housing is good news for both homebuyers and the house building industry, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “In recent decades the house building industry has suffered from the loss of too many small firms. The capacity of the industry and diversity of what it offers has suffered as a result. The government today released the prospectus for the £150m fund which will provide loans to developers to finance infrastructure provision for up to 10,000 serviced plots. Growing the custom build sector could better utilise the capabilities of many skilled small firms with experience of delivering one-off projects, but who have stopped building in recent years.”

Berry added: “Different models will suit different businesses, but the model of taking sites, putting in the infrastructure and then selling on as individual serviced plots to buyers wishing to commission their own home, often with the possibility of taking on that commission, is a model which will also have appeal to some small developers. While finance remains difficult to come by for smaller firms, this funding will act as a boost.”

Berry concluded: “The fact that this fund can apply to any site of five units or more is extremely important and shows that government has listened to advice from the FMB. Recent government funding initiatives, while welcome, have set a 15 unit threshold which effectively excludes the large number of small firms who do not build to this scale.