As specification support for commercial projects becomes increasingly important, Glazerite explains how VEKA is helping it to successfully navigate the demanding technical requirements and performance expectations shaping modern tenders.
During the past decade, tightening building regulations, stricter energy performance requirements and new legislation around fire safety, competence and compliance have had a significant impact on window and door businesses working on commercial projects.
“The commercial sector has changed dramatically over the last 10 years and it’s a complicated market,” says Jeff Dunn, Group Sales & Commercial Director at Glazerite. “Accreditations are key and the performance of the products, in terms of U-values, is also critical.”
As the pressure created by these factors intensifies, good specification support is essential to ensure strong commercial growth. This is something Glazerite understands only too well, having recently increased its footprint in the area dramatically.
“Commercial work has been very important for Glazerite,” confirms Jeff. “We've doubled our volume on commercial sales over the last two years, despite an economic slump.”
Jeff admits such impressive progress would have been difficult to achieve without the right systems partner.
“You need a supplier who's on top of it, who can push the envelope when they're trying to tighten the rules left, right, and centre,” he explains. “We feel like we've got that with VEKA.”
Praising the systems house for its responsiveness, extensive commercial knowledge and expertise, Jeff says VEKA’s ‘excellent’ platform, WinDoPlan, has been particularly valuable for calculating U-values quickly when submitting tenders.
Providing customers like Glazerite with free access to accurate thermal data, project-specific calculations and automated compliance checks, WinDoPlan brings reliable technical information together in one secure online platform, supporting professional competence in an age of increasing scrutiny.
“While VEKA is a top brand in terms of its products, it's also a top brand when it comes to meeting that specification,” adds Jeff.
“You can go a little higher, a little wider than many other systems on the market, and that gives us confidence that we can give the client what they need to get the tender over the line.”
That kind of support becomes particularly valuable when installers are dealing with multiple bids and increasingly complex specifications. According to Jeff, Glazerite's commercial team can receive several tenders every week, with many requiring detailed technical input.
Having VEKA as a systems partner means the team can access specialist support when needed, to help answer any questions that crop up.
“The bonus of partnering with VEKA is we can deal with their commercial team and we can get help. There's always someone there to support us,” confirms Jeff.
“As a manufacturer, you need information, you need a quick response, and you need to have confidence that when you're really up against it, someone's going to come through for you,” he says.
“Whether that's on a site visit, reading complicated drawings or looking at how many hours of sunlight a project's going to have each day, in the middle of Scotland – that's the sort of information that we get from VEKA that we can't do in-house.”
With the commercial sector pipeline remaining strong for Glazerite, Jeff underlines the importance of getting proposals right first time.
“It's taking a little longer to get things signed off, which means it’s essential to make sure every single thing is in order on the tender, when you do submit,” he explains. “You don’t want the client coming back to you because you've missed something, or something’s not quite right.
“Due diligence, making sure that the tender document is correctly submitted, is critical, so having access to VEKA’s experience and expertise is of real benefit.”
While good specification support from systems partners like VEKA is increasingly important for fabricators, Glazerite is also making sure that it holds itself accountable, taking ownership of any failings. With Jeff predicting even busier times ahead for the company’s commercial arm, the company is keen to learn from past mistakes and lost opportunities.
“We do analysis on anything that we didn't land, to find out why we weren’t successful,” Jeff explains.
“Were we unable to meet the accreditation? Was it down to price?
“We want to capture as much information as possible to help us improve, win even more business and offer an even better service to our customers going forward.”
