David Salt, Eurocell Building Plastics Sales and Marketing Director, and Martin Saunders, Eurocell Profiles Sales Director, explain how our product development programmes can help customers to combat the downturn

Our relationship with customers is founded on partnership. Everyone we work with is being affected to some degree by the economic downturn and, at Eurocell, we are determined to do all we can to help our customers to maximise their business opportunities. One of the ways we’re doing this is by helping them to strengthen their portfolios and improve their offer to customers by increasing and improving our product range. Martin and David take up the story…

Saunders:
Product development and innovation is ongoing at Eurocell. We’re always looking at ways to develop our existing products or introduce new ones to improve performance, comply with the requirements of new legislation or meet the changing demands of customers. Every year we add new products or accessories to our range, helping our customers to be the best in their markets.

Salt:
For our part, at Eurocell Building Plastics, we’re working hard to increase the range of products available through our branches across the country. We know that many customers are now under severe pressure and we’re hoping to relieve that a little by finding new products that may help them to generate new sales, perhaps enabling them to take on different types of work.

Saunders:
One of our most innovative new products launched recently is the reversible window. This has been developed in direct response to the need for windows for multi-storey buildings that are safe and easy to clean and maintain. Our new reversible window means that there is no longer a need for windows to be cleaned from the outside. The window sash tilts through 180°, allowing the outer glass pane to be cleaned from within the building. Uniquely, the sash pivots entirely outside the building line, so there’s no disruption to furnishings or ornaments inside the home.

Salt:
That really is an impressive product. We are also doing all we can to set Eurocell apart from the competition. We are running a series of trials of new products in certain regions to see how popular they are with customers. In the north of England and the Midlands, for example, we now offer robust underground drainage pipes. These help to enhance to our one-stop shop package for roofline and guttering installers. If they prove popular they’ll be rolled out to all depots nationwide.

Saunders:
One of our newest products is already proving extremely popular with fabricators and architects. It’s our new PVC-u Thermal Inserts, and we’re not surprised it’s doing so well because it is an innovation that’s way ahead of the competition. It’s a PVC-u alternative to the steel reinforcement inserts used in window frames. It’s cheaper than steel, offers proven thermal efficiency gains, is easy to install and enables the entire window frame to be easily recycled at the end of its life. It also enables windows to achieve an ‘A’ rating for energy efficiency without the need for expensive low-iron glass. It really is an outstanding new product and one that’s creating a real buzz.

Salt:
Our EBP branches are thinking outside the box too. Following market research, we have decided to introduce a new product – outdoor floor tiles.

These are 30mm outdoor foam floor tiles for playgrounds and school yards. They are currently on trial in our Southern branches. It’s an entirely new venture for us, but the early signs are encouraging.

Saunders:
As well as introducing new products we’re constantly refining our existing ones. A good example of this is our new improved co-extruded gasket on Eurologik profiles. It is manufactured from a specially developed compound, which provides a consistently high-quality surface finish, essential for minimising air and water ingress. The flexible gasket is designed to work effectively within a wide tolerance band and to provide a tight seal, regardless of the hardware chosen. It’s been independently tested to the highest level and offers a real enhancement to our standard profile range.

Salt:
As well as our own innovations, we’ve been delighted to see that our suppliers are busy innovating and developing new products too. It all helps to strengthen our offer to customers. Marshall Tufflex, for example, who supply our guttering products, have developed a new cast-iron look-alike product in plastic. This premium system could be ideal for listed properties or for homeowners who want to add real character to their roofline. It offers the distinctive looks of cast-iron pipework without the maintenance, corrosion concerns and cost.

Saunders:
It’s good to see so much determination to combat the recession out there, with some really pioneering products being launched onto the market. Hopefully this activity will help to stimulate demand and generate more business for our fabricators and installers.

Salt:
Working in partnership with our customers is essential, in good times and bad. We hope that by expanding our product range we give our customers the opportunity to bring something new to customers that will help increase their sales and see them through the recession.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 12:53 am and is filed under Eurocell Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.