November/December 2019

Aluminium Bi-folds
MEETING CONSUMER DEMAND
With USPs in short supply and the market increasingly crowded, how do you find an
aluminium bi-fold with genuine retail USPs? John Leary, Sales and Marketing Director
Emplas, feels he has the answer...
As the aluminium bi-fold market continues
to grow, it is increasingly congested, if not
crowded. The positive is that aluminium
accounts for 59% of all bi-fold sales. This
reportedly compares to just 24% for PVC-U, 14%
wood and 3% composites (Palmer).
The other side of the coin in this case is that the
number of fabricators supplying into it, is also
growing.
What is perhaps even more startling is that 68%
of all aluminium bi-folds go into the already
competitive home improvement market, making
retail the critical market place for aluminium bifolds.
“That figure is pretty stand-out”, says John Leary,
Sales and Marketing Director Emplas. “For most
products you’re looking at a split of around 60/40
home improvement and new build/commercial.
With more than two thirds of all aluminium bi-fold
doors supplied into retail, it’s a key market.
Below: Emplas offers the Luminia– or F82 aluminium bifolding
door – from ALUK.
“That’s a massive positive – consumers want
aluminium bi-folds – but the problem is an ageold
one: maintaining margin, with the industry
edging perilously close to over-supply.”
Emplas started manufacture of its new
aluminium bi-fold door in May this year. A
departure from its core PVC-U manufacture, its
choice of system is the F82 from ALUK.
The F82 aluminium bi-folding door – or Luminia –
was launched by ALUK in 2017, designed to tap
into end-user demand within the aluminium bifolding
door sector but at the same time, offering
USPs within it.
“We could have manufactured any system”,
continues Leary. “We chose the F82 because it
offered us – and more importantly our customers
– a series of USPs in retail, as well as
commercial sectors.
“As a new system, the F82 has been designed to
tap into the key drivers within the aluminium bifolding
door market. This includes slimmer
sightlines; improved hardware; ultra-smooth
operation – but most importantly, thermal
efficiency.
“This is something which has been an ‘Achilles
heel’ for the bi-fold sector up until now. In
addressing it head on, you have a distinct
message at point of retail.”
This is Luminia’s key USP, although by no means
its only one. It offers strong thermal performance
with U-values of 1.4W/m²K with a double-glazed,
unit and as low as 0.9W/m²K when triple glazed.
“Consumers are incredibly switched on to the
environment and thermal efficiency as part of a
much larger movement”, Leary continues. “If you
compare Luminia to standard aluminium bifolding
doors with U-values of 1.6 W/m²K or even
1.7W/m²K it offers a step change in thermal
efficiency.”
Accommodating larger spans and individual leaf
width of up to 1200mm, Luminia also maximises
the glazed area of the door, heavy duty rollers
44 TINOV/DEC 2019 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST