Despite rising inflation and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, there is still a sense of cautious optimism in the aluminium sector, buoyed by the fact that demand remains relatively strong at the higher end of the market.
That optimism is reflected in the ongoing investments being made at trade and commercial fabricator Alu-tec in Southend, as it prepares to increase its output of AluK products.
Boosting the company’s current factory area of 11,500 sq ft, an extra 5,800 sq ft of production space has been added dedicated to bifolds and patios, leaving additional space for fabricating windows and doors. A new bead saw set-up has also been installed to increase beading capacity, and a further saw has been ordered for facilitating larger profiles such as curtain walling.
Phil Bates, Alu-tec director, explained: “We’ve seen consistent growth over the past eight years as our reputation has grown for quality windows and doors in AluK, backed up by a wealth of knowledge and industry experience.
“The excellent relationship we have with AluK, and the scale and efficiency of our operation means we can always offer high quality products at competitive prices, so even if demand does start to falter, we have every reason to be confident about what lies ahead. We still have big ambitions to increase the amount of commercial work we take on, as well as welcoming new trade customers and showing them why Alu-tec and AluK are the right supply partners.”
As well as the investments in its factory, Alu-tec has just appointed a new estimator and order processor to support trade and commercial buyers and extended its office to accommodate four further new staff members going forward.
Phil Bates added: “We work very closely with the whole team at AluK, which means we are always quick to introduce new product options and we get great support when it comes to targeting new business opportunities right across the product portfolio.
“Later this year, we’ll be introducing the AluK SL52 curtain walling system, which is already well proven in the commercial market, and will be amongst the first to launch the new AluK patio door to the trade.”
Alu-tec is part of The Climatec Group and, together with PVC-U specialist company Climatec Windows, they provide a One Stop Shop option for customers right across the UK.
