July/August 2021

Article Installation Efficiencies
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Cut out glass bonding and you cut out a host of complexities in R9 installation, making
the system far easier to fit. HWL Trade Frames’ Mark Haley tells Total Installer why such
installation efficiencies are more important than ever in the current climate.
not going to find anyone moaning
about not having enough leads,” says
“You’re
Mark Haley, managing director, HWL
Trade Frames. “But I’d wager there are a lot of
installers who are looking at their order books and
schedules and wondering how they’re going to get
product fitted!”
The first half of this year has been defined by the
explosion in demand for home improvements.
According to the latest figures from cloud-based
CRM and business management tool, Business
Pilot, sales of windows and doors were up 18% in
May on the same time last year.
This has been driven by continuing high levels of
consumer confidence and a supercharged housing
market, which saw average house prices climb
to £333,564 in May. According to Rightmove, this
represents a 1.8% increase on April.
“The thing is, you have to be able to capitalise on
it,” continues Mark. “It’s less about selling the job
right now than it is about getting it fitted. That’s
why we did what we did. We knew R9 had masses
of market appeal, but we also knew that it wasn’t
the easiest system to fit, because it was glass
bonded. Take glass bonding out of the equation and
the opportunities just roll out in front of you.”
“Take glass
bonding
out of the
equation and
the opportunities just
roll out in front of you”
It was this revelation that drove HWL’s pioneering
development of its non-glass-bonded 90°
jointed R9 window. This uses a ground-breaking
application of Timberweld manufacturing
technologies to replicate a traditional 90°
mechanical joint.
“The key point here is that we’re welding it, rather
than ‘actually’ mechanically jointing the sash. You
glass bond because if you’re gluing and screwing
a product you’re reliant to a point of the strength
in the unit. You get that 90° joint but not the
strength in the frame alone,” says Mark.
“That puts the average handling weight of an R9
window at around 100kg. Fitters don’t like handling it,
there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and you’re
looking at a minimum two-man team per window.
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management tool designed by
installers for installers.
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24 T I JULY/AUGUST 2021 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST