March/April 2024

Spray Debate
SYSTEMS
IN-HOUSE VS OUTSOURCING
Guy Hubble, Joint Managing Director at RegaLead, discusses the advantages
of taking full control of your painting requirements.
Vertical integration is a popular phrase in
manufacturing – fenestration included. By
bringing as many processes as possible inhouse,
it enables better control over production and
helps to control different stages along the supply
chain, instead of relying on external suppliers.
Many fabricators strive to achieve this through
the production of IGUs as well as their full range
of products, avoiding buying anything in and
ensuring consistent quality across the board.
However, when it comes to painting, this passion
for maintaining full control seems to fall by the
wayside, despite fabricators in foreign markets
and joiners in the timber window and door
market having done so as par for the course for
many years.
The colour of money
Colour is a rapidly growing market and with
consumers becoming ever more discerning and
demanding, this is only going to increase.
According to Tommy Trinder’s analysis of more
than 270,000 PVC-U casements quoted by
installers in 2022, only 59% were unfoiled.
The data also showed that an incredible 1,841
different colour combinations were quoted during
that period.
Homeowners are really switched on when it
comes to colour these days. They want something
unique, something that gives their property real
kerb appeal and sets it apart from the neighbours.
They’re tuned in to the latest trends and aspire
for Farrow & Ball-esque hues – a limited palette
just will not do.
It’s not possible for foiled options to meet
this demand. Not only would it be far too cost
prohibitive, but it would massively exacerbate
the issues fabricators already experience
with ever-challenging stock levels of coloured
profile. Minimum order quantities of special non
stock from syscos means potential wastage or
unnecessary stockholding.
Out of control
So, the simple solution for any jobs that require
a non-standard colour is to outsource to a
specialist paintshop. What’s the problem with
that? Well, where do I start…
Firstly, outsourcing painting will significantly
increase lead times on the products in question.
Then you’ve got the additional admin headache of
booking the jobs in, packaging them up, labelling
them correctly, and extra transport costs ferrying
them to and from the paintshop, increasing your
carbon footprint.
We all know the complications that this can
bring and how easily individual items can get
mislaid. For instance, a missing cill or threshold
would hold the job up even further – booking a
replacement to be cut and then sent out to be
painted again – all extra aggravation that should
be unnecessary.
However, the main disadvantage of outsourcing
is that loss of control. Loss of control over the
quality of finish, loss of control over the palette
of colours you can offer customers, and loss of
control over lead times.
Take back control
By setting up your own in-house paintshop,
you’ll regain control over all these elements of
your production. You’ll be able to achieve perfect
matching colours across each job, offer a wider
palette, cut unnecessary transportation and
admin, and integrate painting into your current
processes for maximum efficiency.
But it’s not that simple, I hear you cry! We’ll need
to hire experienced staff, we haven’t got the room,
the equipment is too expensive, we just haven’t
got the time to do it.
All fair points, but also not particularly accurate.
We remove the aggravation from the process of
taking painting in-house. We can educate your team
and guide you through with minimal disruption.
A spray booth can be set up in a relatively small
area and for as little as £10k, enabling you to
make a ROI in a short period of time.
We’ll give full support to your project manager
and help to plan how you can facilitate it in your
premises, also providing full ongoing assistance
and maintenance.
We will teach your staff all the skills they’ll need
to operate the spraying booth at our own training
centre, and our online ordering system has been
specifically designed to take the hassle out of
replenishing stock. We’ve also got two trade
counters, located in Manchester and Kent.
If you want more information on how to bring
painting in-house and take control of another
element of your production, then get in touch
(sales@regalead.co.uk) – we’ll be happy to
paint you a picture of just how easy it is.
Contact RegaLead:
0161 946 1164
www.regalead.com
20 T F MARCH / APRIL 2024 CONNECTING THE WINDOW, DOOR & ROOF FABRICATION SUPPLY CHAIN