Total Installer May-June 2019

Questions & Answers
“THE MARKET IS SHIFTING”
Total Installer magazine caught up with Steve Cross, Director of Gloucester-based specialist
fabricator Mercury Glazing, to talk amongst other things, installer support, product
innovation, up-selling and interesting projects...
TI: Tell us a bit about Mercury Glazing
Supplies and what you do…
SC: Mercury Glazing manufactures a
comprehensive range of high-quality window and
door products suitable for trade, retail, new build
and commercial projects.
Our specialist product range includes PVC-U
vertical sliders, a full range of aluminium
products, casement windows, PVC-U flush sash
windows and a full range of residential, patio, bifolding
and composite doors.
Established in 2002, we operate from our
manufacturing centre in Gloucester and deliver
throughout the UK offering the best in product
manufacturing and service support.
TI: Your products are utilised in a number
of sectors including new build,
commercial, refurbishment. Which
products are performing well at the
moment and where has the growth been
this year?
“Today’s installer is
looking for a range of
products to give them a
competitive edge”
SC: The market is shifting toward higher value
products across all sectors. Providing modern
alternatives to traditional timber windows is one
of the areas we specialise in and has seen year
on year growth. Our PVC-U vertical sliding range
is a good example of this shift. The windows are a
design-classic which sympathetically captures
many, if not all, of the key features of traditional
design combined with all the benefits that a
modern replacement window should offer. The
trend towards even greater authenticity such as
white foils, astragal bars and mechanical joints
continues to gain traction and we are seeing a
greater acceptance of our windows in ‘heritage’
projects where once timber was the default
product of choice.
TI: As a specialist fabricator in what is an
extremely competitive market, how has
your relationship with your customers
developed in recent years? Have their
demands in terms of support changed?
SC: Our customers are looking for product choice
in order to keep ahead of the curve when it comes
to market trends. Similarly, they are looking for
reliability, quality and a quick turnaround on all
product groups. At Mercury, we work closely with
our customers to keep lead times as short as
possible. Plus, our responsive delivery fleet
means we are going to most places in the UK at
least twice per week.
TI: You offer a broad range of products.
How important is it for the installer to upsell
and diversify their offering? Is this a
trend you recognise in customers?
SC: Today’s installer is looking for a range of
products to give them a competitive edge. As a
specialist fabricator we manufacture feature-rich
products that add value to an installer’s portfolio
and help deliver a clear differentiation. We also
offer up-sell opportunities; for example, we have
recently introduced the new Blink integral blinds
which gives another up-sell opportunity for the
installer into the consumer when selling window
and doors.
TI: Doors, including bi-folds, sliders etc.
seem to be growing in popularity. What
trends are you seeing?
“We have witnessed a
massive 90% increase
in sales of large-scale
aluminium patio doors”
22 TIJULY/AUG 2019 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST