Specialist fabricator Mercury Glazing has just revealed that sales of its Spectus Vertical Slider are up 15% year on year. Chris Reeks, Mercury’s Sales and Marketing Director, commented: “Double digit growth in a year is impressive and reflects the market’s increasing interest in specialist windows as well as our ability to deliver a quality product.”

But Chris says that what is interesting about the growth is how it breaks down. “We tend to think of Vertical Sliders as being products for heritage projects. But our sales breakdown reveals something very interesting. While white foil is the most popular colour, over half of orders are for coloured profiles. And of those, one of the biggest sellers is Anthracite Grey, indicating that the market is mixing the traditional looks of a VS window with a modern colour.”

Chris says that the most popular choice of glazing detail remains the Astragal bar, which Mercury colour codes to foils where required. He has also noticed an increased demand for curved verticals and commented: “The interest in what is a very specialised area indicates two things. First that the market is making bolder decisions in modern window design and second that PVCu Vertical Sliders have gained complete acceptance in heritage properties.”

Mercury Glazing is one of the UK’s largest Spectus Vertical Slider manufacturers. It means that the company’s sales figures are an excellent guide to wider trends in the market. And as the company embarks on a three year period of planned expansion, its figures look set to become even more of a barometer in the future.