Leading trade fabricator, the Glazerite UK Group, is busy transforming its operational and financial procedures. Mark Johnston, Glazerite's Finance Director, shares why the transformation will futureproof the fabricator for years to come.
It’s been a turbulent couple of years for the industry with continued supply chain disruption, price hikes and a shortage of skills and labour. In spite of these challenges and the ongoing pandemic, it’s been an exciting time at Glazerite as we continue to grow the business and take it from strength to strength.
I joined Glazerite at the beginning of 2021, and last July I was delighted to play a major role in the management buyout of the company. It was a time-sapping process involving endless amounts of financial and legal detail but we had to make sure that we got the right deal for the future of the business, and I’m sure we’ve got that with Shawbrook.
Since July, my main challenges have centred around debt management and cost controls. The funding we have in place from Shawbrook is flexible, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t under pressure to ensure we keep aged debt to a minimum. We made great strides in this area in the second half of 2021 but there are still improvements to make.
We have also been challenging costs in all areas of the business to ensure we are as lean as we can be financially. We have negotiated extended payment terms with key suppliers, saved money by changing suppliers on things like insurance and fuel cards and introduced new policies within the business on things like travel.
We have really got into the detail of all of the costs, including ‘hidden’ costs like the impact some of our delivery fleet have had on installers. This led to us placing an order for six new 7.5 tonne vehicles, arriving early 2022, to replace some of our older fleet that we’ve suffered with the last few months. The new stock will also enable us to deliver to customers in those cities with clean air zones where older vehicles might have been subject to charges.
Our operations procedures are also undergoing transformation thanks to the introduction of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement principles, which we’ve rolled out at all sites helping to ensure we have the skills and technology to deliver exceptional service to our customers whilst at the same time being cost-effective and efficient. It’s a journey we are still undertaking, but it’s reaping rewards for us and our customers, with an increase in capacity and output at every site.
Glazerite’s operations have been the subject of heavy investment over recent years, and this is an approach we, as a Board, are committed to continuing. Our North West Division in Bolton has recently doubled in size and to match this increase in capacity we are firming up capability in the form of a new 5 head welder and a corner cleaner, which will free up capacity and increase throughput of our casement window portfolio. We’ve also invested in a new cill welder and saw, which will be central to the planned overhaul of the site’s ancillary department and improve the accuracy of the cuts to the finish on our welded cill range.
At Wellingborough, we have optimised the flow of the beading area and added a new bead saw. This investment forms part of key operational changes aimed at minimising tool and material changes and will increase productivity and improve beading quality. The welcome addition of a new 5 head welder will also further improve capability and efficiencies at the site.
As a fabricator, we have major ambitions for our customers and further growth plans for us as a business. As we welcome in 2022, we will continue to strengthen our foundations in order to support our installers for many years to come.