On Friday 15th December 2017, the staff at Selecta arrived at work in their Christmas Jumpers, which was all in aid of Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Established in 1988 Acorns Children’s Hospice provide specialist palliative care and support to local life limited and life threatened children and their families across the heart of England, which they have done so for almost 30 years. In the last year, Acorns Hospice have cared for 876 children and supported 1,097 families, including those who are bereaved across Birmingham and the West Midlands, including Coventry & Warwickshire, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire regions.

Acorns is the only organisation that provides this level of care to these vulnerable youngsters whilst offering a range of support services to the whole family to help them cope at every stage of their child’s life and beyond into bereavement.

As part of the Christmas Jumper Day and to raise further funds for the worthy cause, Selecta also carried out a raffle with a Christmas Hamper and bottles of wine up for grabs. Selecta would like to thank all those that organised, took part and of course donated to this fantastic charity.

Selecta Systems have rounded off, what can only be described as a fantastic year, by being voted Systems Company 2017 at the National Fenestration Awards 2017. So, why is it, that a business that celebrated its 35th anniversary earlier in the year, are now beginning to win accolades and be firmly recognised as one of the fastest growing and most progressive PVCu window and door system extruders and suppliers in the industry? Sales Director, Andy Green, and Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, who have over 50 years of loyal service between them at Selecta, talk openly and honestly about the whys and wherefores behind the Selecta renaissance.

“Firstly, we are absolutely thrilled to be voted Systems Company 2017 and would like to thank everyone who nominated and voted for ourselves, as this award really does mean a lot to everyone at Selecta. The great thing about the NFA’s is that all the awards are nominated by and voted for by your industry peers, which for me, there is no greater recognition than from those that work in the industry, day in day out, so thank you again. The award also epitomises and recognises the amount of hard work that the team have put in to win this accolade. It truly is the icing on the cake for what has been a fantastic year for Selecta!” said Andy.

It is quite clear that Selecta’s presence and activity in the market has grown considerably over the last couple of years, as has the popularity of the Advance 70 Window and Door System and the service and support package of which Selecta provides. The NFA Systems Company 2017 award endorses this, combined with perseverance, hard work and a positive swing in market perception.

Mark explains the approach behind the resurgence, “A couple of years back the perception of Selecta and the Advance 70 System, outside of our own fabricator customer base, was misguided and there was an obvious lack of understanding and naivety towards Selecta, our products and services. The qualities, versatility and value of the Advance 70 Window and Door System, its associated products and our comprehensive service and support packages were not very well represented, and so this led to an overhaul of our marketing strategy and plan. We set about a more direct and open approach, promoting the real values, flexibility and benefits of being part of the Selecta family – a campaign based on Selecta being the only UK based independently and family owned PVCu System House, our company values and ethos. It also enabled ourselves to promote the real potential and stimulating proposition of fabricating and installing the Advance 70 System alongside this well-equipped business that has supported its customer base so well over the last 35 years.”

Not only have Selecta changed the way they present their selves to the industry through what they say and do, but they’ve also changed the way they look with some bold rebranding. Mark describes the rationale behind this move.

“The idea was to be different, bolder and modern when it came to the look and feel of the branding and materials. From a rather bland white to a bold, sleek and modern black enabled the products logos to really stand out! It demonstrated quite a visual change to how Selecta were originally seen and so sat nicely within the marketing strategy, plan and promotional materials.”

The change in perception and positivity surrounding Selecta and the Advance 70 System, has not only resulted in the business being voted Systems Company 2017, but also had major impact on the number of fabricators now converting to the Advance 70 System and choosing to #bepartofthefamily, as Andy highlights.

“By the end of 2017 a total of 50+ fabricators have been converted to our Advance 70 System. This is an amazing achievement when you consider that the industry as a whole was, reportedly, between 5 and 15% down over the year. We have really opened the industries eyes in to what Selecta has to offer whilst attracting a broad array of customers of all sizes. Having customers visit our site, meet and greet the Selecta ‘family’ and leave totally impressed with the state-of-the-art extrusion and distribution facilities has been immensely satisfying. I’m not too sure what people are expecting to see when they arrive, a dated backstreet Birmingham factory maybe, but they leave Selecta Avenue almost surprised but intrigued.”

“Winning Systems Company 2017 on the back of converting a record number of fabricators really demonstrates the progress we have made and puts Selecta and the Advance 70 System firmly in the spotlight. I would personally like to thank everyone involved in our recent achievements, which are already looking likely to continue well in to 2018, with an order book of conversions filling up rapidly!”

Selecta Systems certainly go in to 2018 with optimism and enthusiasm as they look to build further on one of the industry’s biggest success stories of 2017. Fabricators, installers and specifiers, it’s time to #bepartofthewinningfamily

Selecta Systems renaissance has continued with the Birmingham based window and door profile system supplier being nominated finalists in two categories at the National Fenestration Awards – Systems Company 2017 and PVC Company 2017.

The nominations round off a year that has seen Selecta grow both in stature and presence within the industry, as the company heads in to the end of the year with new customer numbers at a point that have not been seen since the mid 1990’s. Sales Director, Andy Green, and Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, talk about Selecta’s impact in the industry over the last 18 months.

Fabricators buy in to the Selecta model
Andy comments, “Building strong business relationships, working closely with customers and providing a strong service and support package have always been key elements in our everyday approach to the Selecta way of working with our customers. Also, our Advance 70 window and door system sits proudly amongst all PVCu profile systems in regards to performance, versatility and practicality, and in most cases exceeding the competitions alternatives. We provide the complete fabricator package and the realisation of this is now coming to fruition. Following greater exposure to Selecta’s products, services and the culmination of our continued hard work is paying dividends as more fabricators buy in to the Selecta model and Advance 70 System.”

Mark continues, “Looking back, it seemed to me that the perception of Selecta and our range of products were somewhat misguided and there was almost a lack of understanding of Selecta’s qualities and the brand outside our own fabricator customer base. This is what led to an overhaul of our marketing strategy and plan – a more proactive, forward thinking and open approach, promoting the real values, flexibility and benefits of being ‘part of the Selecta family’, which in-turn highlighted the true value of our products, service and support packages.”

So far, 45 fabricators have converted to Advance 70 during 2017
The re-branding and enthused marketing approach has certainly captured the imagination of an industry that now wants more from their supply chain, as Andy explains. “As of the end of October 2017, a total of 45 fabricators have been converted to our Advance 70 System this year alone. We’ve found that ‘opening up’ Selecta to the rest of the industry has really opened people’s eyes, especially when they come and visit our site. I’m not too sure what people are expecting to see when they arrive, a dated backstreet Birmingham factory maybe, but they leave Selecta Avenue impressed having seen our purpose built state-of-the-art extrusion facility, distribution centre and hub, after meeting our friendly staff and seeing exactly what Selecta can and will do for them and their business.”

Andy highlights, “It seems, and rightly so, that fabricators are becoming disillusioned with their current suppliers failing to service and support them, by this I mean not doing what they said they would and will do, even from the outset. I know I sound like a broken record, but fabricators really do deal with the ‘doers’ at Selecta and we can be far more accommodating and flexible when it comes to that all important service and support.”

Industry recognition
Mark firmly believes that the two NFA category nominations for Systems Company 2017 and PVC Company 2017 are the result of the perseverance, hard work and a swing in market perception. Mark says, “The NFA’s are voted for by the trade and there is nothing better than being recognised by your industry peers. To be finalists in two categories is a testament to the hard work of all involved and to be nominated for Systems Company 2017 and PVC Company 2017, demonstrates that the industry recognises this.”

Andy concludes, “The NFA nominations and the number of fabricators being converted puts Selecta and the Advance 70 System firmly in the spotlight, as we continue to be one of the fastest growing PVCu window and door system house suppliers in the UK. Expansion and investment plans for extrusion, warehouse and transport are already afoot with key staff recruitment plans, most notably in technical and sales. We go in to 2018 with optimism and enthusiasm as we look to build further on the success of 2017.”