Window Fabrication

Euroglaze is an Exemplar Manufacturer as measured by the Manufacturing Advisory Services, which aims to help companies in the UK improve their performance by adopting best practice. Euroglaze is effectively now a beacon window fabricator and manufacturer for the UK and will be used as a case study and visiting site for other manufacturers from all industries who want to see firsthand how to implement the very best modern manufacturing techniques.

 

This is quite an accolade for the REHAU window and door fabricator which set out a few years ago to achieve World Class Manufacturing status. Martin Nettleton, the company’s MD, says:  “In an industry plagued by negative stereotypes, it is great for us to have independent recognition that we are the very best in the region.  Our focus has been on becoming a ‘lean manufacturer and window fabricator’ in order to maximise both our quality and our efficiency and we have proved that with the right level of training and commitment, this industry can outperform all the competition.”

 

uPVC Manufacturing Process

 

uPVC Window & Door Profile Cutting and Machining

Insertion of Galvanised Steel strips to
reinforce the profile

uPVC Profile
Inline Welding Process

uPVC Profile
Quad Welding Process

uPVC Profile
Corner Cleaning

Window & Door
Sash Fitting

Window & Door
Beading Fitting

Window & Door
Inspection

 

Euroglaze is predominantly a trade window and door manufacturer producing in the region of 1,100 frames per week in REHAU’s S706 70mm system.  We have grown massively in the last two years more than doubling our output and have recently announced plans for major capital investment which will enable it to continue its growth.

 

The company has thrived during a period when many window fabricators have struggled, largely we believe because of our focus on quality and efficiency.  Martin adds:  “Lean manufacturing is not just a buzz word at Euroglaze - it has become our entire ethos and has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on everything from sales to prices, waste, rejection rates and ultimately profitability.” The manufacturing processes and procedures we have adopted such as JIT-Kaizan, 5S's, Kanban, Quality Circles and Standard Operations might be dismissed as fads by more traditional fabricators but they have formed the cornerstones of our success this far and they are what have led to us being named an ‘Exemplar’ company.

 

JIT-Kaizan for example ensures that all supplies are delivered only when they are required with very limited requirement for stock or storage, KANBAN examines in minute detail how work flows through each workstation and then identifies the most efficient patterns and Production Led Maintenance makes operators responsible for monitoring the efficiency and reliability of their own equipment.

 

Supreme efficiency has enabled Euroglaze to improve its output per employee and the same time record routine rejection rates of less than 0.5% which has had a major impact on profitability.  It has also helped to engender real customer loyalty since installers know that a window supplied by Euroglaze will not be faulty or the wrong size and cost them time on site.

 

As a leading window fabricator we offer an on-line ordering service for installers, which reduces administration costs as well as being a very positive benefit for customers who can price, quote and order frames at a time convenient to them.  This has helped Euroglaze to increase sales and to broaden its geographical customer base to cover almost the whole of England and Wales.

 

For Euroglaze, one of the key tasks in ensuring that our target of World Class Manufacturing can be achieved is to win and maintain the support of its entire team.  Regular training, real employee empowerment and continuous motivation from senior staff have created a team which really believes not only that Euroglaze can be the best in this industry but indeed the best in any industry. This training is continuously reviewed and the most recent addition to the programme were ‘Skills for Life’ courses which were used to pin point and then address weaknesses in the life skills of staff in areas such as literacy and numeracy.

 

Euroglaze is in a very competitive market but has found and exploited its point of difference.  We have ambitious plans for the future with our major expansion program. Please contact us on 01226 702553 to enquiry about what we can do as a Window Fabricator to support Trade Installers.