Making colour work for you

Replacing bulk orders with single bar lengths from Deceuninck has enabled North-East-based fabricator, Rapid Windows, to expand its colour range and take on niche orders profitably. We report.

“We’re all salesmen at heart because there’s no business without sales,” says Sam Hewitt, Operations Director at PVC-U window and door manufacturer, Rapid Windows.  “I think that’s why we’ve always done so well.”

Founded more than 30 years ago by Sam’s father, Paul, the company operates throughout the North-East, covering Sunderland, Newcastle, Durham, North Yorkshire, Northumberland and Teeside.

“He went from selling windows and doors to saying, ‘Hey, I actually think I can make a go of this’,” continues Sam, explaining Paul’s path into fabricating, back in the ‘90s.

“He’s been very successful,” adds Sam. “We’re firmly established in the industry and it’s always been a family-run business.”

The company formed its partnership with Deceuninck around 18-months ago, after previously ordering coloured profile in bulk from another supplier, with a negative impact on profitability and stockholding.

“The main reason we switched to Deceuninck was predominantly the availability of colours that Deceuninck offers,” explains Sam.

“We’ve always been stung with having to order between 36m and 72m pack quantities, depending on the foil, which priced us out of the market quite a lot as a result.

“Sometimes, we’d get an order for a colour and think, ‘how can we make this competitive?’ The conversion rate was really low.

“Someone might want just one door and a window in a particular colour, but we would have to order 36m of each individual profile, meaning we’ve then got a load of stock sitting on the shelves. So what do you do?” he continues.

“You either price it how you normally would, or you charge them the surcharge, which would then price you out of the market. In turn, you’re left with a job that you’re making no profit on. It has actually cost you to take the order through the door so you’re better off just not taking the order at all.

“Or you take the rough with a smooth and hope you’re going to get another order in a couple of weeks to use up the excess stock that you’re now left with.”

Deceuninck offers more than 30 different colourways ex-stock, with a further 20 available in only a few days.

As part of its continued effort to help fabricators succeed in today’s challenging market, it is now also offering single bar length ordering on a fast turnaround, enabling manufacturers like Rapid to expand their colour range and take on niche orders profitably.

“It was something that I thought we could really benefit from as a business,” adds Sam, on taking up Deceuninck’s offer. “It’s enabled us to cost-effectively manufacture the more obscure window and door colours that we’ve never been able to before.”

In addition, Sam explains how Deceuninck’s “super-smooth” online ordering portal has simplified operations for Rapid, improving communication with customers and reducing margin for error, as well as costly delays​.

“For me, the online portal’s made ordering so much easier,” he says. “It actually shows us how much of the profile is in stock and allows us to notify customers of delivery timescales at the point of sale. That prevents a lot of issues down the line.”

Despite initial concerns, Sam reports that onboarding with Deceuninck was seamless, thanks to hands-on technical support and minimal disruption​.

“I knew Deceuninck was definitely the way forward,” he says, “but it’s a bit of a daunting process to bring on another supplier.

“You’ve got twice as much ordering, twice as much logistics, twice as much to go wrong. You’ve got to make sure you’re pricing it right based on what you’re manufacturing. But Deceuninck have been really supportive and filled me with confidence from day one.

“The technical guys are always there, and they’ll come down whenever we need them. I was worried about the setup and all the upheaval, but Deceuninck took those concerns away from me.

“The whole process was a breeze and its customer support like that, that really sets Deceuninck apart from the rest.”

For more information about Deceuninck’s product and service offer please call 01249 816 969, email deceuninck.ltd@deceuninck.com  or visit www.deceuninck.co.uk