The Selecta success story continues to go from strength-to-strength with record numbers across all areas of the business. Sales Director, Andy Green, talks about the ‘winning formula’ at Selecta and the huge opportunities of being part of the UK’s only independent, family owned and award winning PVCu systems company.

As newly crowned winners of PVC Company 2021 at the National Fenestration Awards, we are extremely proud to be recognised by our industry peers for our achievements, especially after what has been a demanding 18 months for everyone in the industry. It’s our third win at the much-coveted awards ceremony, after picking up Systems Company in 2017 and PVC Company in 2018.

This is even more gratifying when you consider it was a year fraught by supply chain issues and rising costs with 2021 certainly being a challenging, yet prosperous year for many involved in our industry. With consumer demand at levels not seen for many years, it has pushed many of a business to their limits and beyond.

Indeed, Selecta have been caught up in the torment of supply chain issues. However, I believe we have come out of this far more quickly and respectfully than the majority in the industry, in-turn making us stronger, more focused and determined to continue to provide not just a quality range of products, but also a first-class service and personal support package to our customers.

Quality, reliability and trustworthiness have and continue to be of paramount importance to ourselves, just as they are to our customers, when we talk about the products, services and support of which we provide. It’s definitely a winning formula and one we have honed and personally developed with our customers over a number of years. It is often said we go above and beyond on what other systems companies do, but it is what we do and again that is down to the flexibility, knowledge and longstanding experience within the business.

During our record-breaking year, we have grasped the opportunity with both hands to bring forward our expansion and growth plans with new silo’s, extrusion machines, lamination machine and delivery vehicles, coupled with a staff recruitment drive. These investments demonstrate our ongoing commitment to our customers and employees, or Selecta family as they are fondly referred to. These kind of expansion and growth plans are a big statement to the industry as a whole and clearly shows our intent to support and grow with our customers.

From a marketing support perspective, 2021 saw Selecta broaden our focus on furthering our personal customer and marketing support package. Our flexible and engaging approach to providing a personalised marketing support package has been greeted with great positivity, with more customers than ever taking advantage of our free graphic design service for re-branding, logos, flyers and vehicle graphics.

To support this even further, we have some very exciting plans well underway to stay ‘connected’ with our customers in 2022 and we are confident of taking our service and support package to a completely new level. For us, winning PVC Company 2021 at the National Fenestration Awards has certainly put the icing on the cake, as we look back on a record year at Selecta. We’re certainly looking forward to a positive 2022, where we will be celebrating 40 years of helping fabricators build and grow their businesses!

It seems that many companies are adopting ‘new’ strap lines and hashtags around new-found sets of values and a fresh company ethos in light of the current pandemic and industry plight. Selecta Systems Sales Director, Andy Green, talks about the strong and longstanding values and ethos of the family-owned business, that has become characteristic of Selecta and have really shone during recent events whilst also standing the test of time.

Over the last 12 months or so we have seen the way we live change considerably, with almost every person having to adjust and become accustomed to the new living conditions. The same can also be said of how many have had to do business and communicate. It does, however, seem that it has taken a pandemic and an industry boom, during which the industry has suffered material and product shortages, for a number of companies to react and actually realise that customer care, complete customer support and the whole customer experience are just as important as the product and services of which they provide.

When we opened up and shared our #bepartofthefamily company ethos at the beginning of 2016 it was both bold and unique as a systems company, especially as we were within an industry where large investors and investment groups had taken control of system houses. We were and continue to be the only UK based, independently and family owned PVCu profile systems company, something we are extremely proud of, especially when you consider how many systems companies have fallen by the wayside over the last twenty years.

This valuable and focused message has allowed us to lift the lid on the Selecta ethos and company values, connecting with the industry as the friendly, approachable and caring company who are more flexible and accommodating than the competition. The clear message being that customers become ‘part of the family’ and not just another number on the books. This whole family ethos is ingrained within the business, with longstanding, knowledgeable and experienced staff looking after those that choose to be part of the journey and more importantly the family.

Providing a personal and unrivalled customer care and support package has always been an integral part of Selecta’s culture with the approachable and flexible nature of the business being fundamental in our recent success, especially over the last 12 months or so. Sales records have continued to be broken, with March recording our strongest sales ever and new customer numbers exceeding all expectations.

It is often said we go above and beyond on what other systems companies do, but it is what we do and again that is down to the flexibility, knowledge and vast experience within the business. You deal with the ‘doers’ on a daily basis and decisions can be made quickly without a large board of directors and shareholders breathing down your neck. All-in-all, what I am trying to say is that Selecta have always been customer care driven, approachable and supportive to our customer base, one big family and the recent events haven’t changed that stance. With some now adding the ‘family’ hashtag into their communications, we haven’t had to change our family ethos and values during these challenging times for all. It is like we got it right, right from the start. In fact, here we are some five and a half years on from sharing our #bepartofthefamily ethos and values with the industry and it is a message that now seems even more stronger and pertinent than ever before.

The developments in door design, over the last few years, have truly whet the appetite of the homeowner as they seek to improve the versatility and kerb appeal of their home. Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, describes how the advancement in doors has led to them becoming more of a lifestyle choice and design statement.

What we should remember, first and foremost, is that an entrance door to any home has to serve three main purposes; to act as a welcome to the homeowner, family and friends, to keep unwanted visitors out and also to protect the property from inclement weather. However, homeowners are now looking for more from their doors, with greater expectations on styles and colours, as they look to not only enhance kerb appeal, improve the space and light in their home, but they also need to fit in with the homeowners lifestyle.

The events of the last 18 months or so has certainly demonstrated this, as the home and garden improvement boom gripped the nation. With restrictions on movement and more time spent within the home, people have been paying more attention to their property, spending more time in their gardens and it has generally changed the way they live. There is certainly more of an appreciation of the home and garden as homeowners look to add that ‘wow’ factor to their home or garden improvement project.

One of the greatest appeals of modern doors, on top of improved security and thermal performance, is colour choice. This has now given homeowners the opportunity to create a bespoke entrance to their home or garden that sits comfortably into the style, period and location of their property. So, whether it’s a classic Chartwell Green, Cream or wood grained effect or a modern Anthracite Grey, Black or smooth effect, there’s a comprehensive colour palette now available to blend into their home and make a style or design statement.

Homeowners have also a newfound desire to create a glass wall and panoramic view they are proud of and comfortable to live with – almost becoming a lifestyle choice. The opportunity to open up their living space and create large glazed walls is appealing, particularly when extending properties or when looking to open up the home to the outdoors.

The popularity of garden rooms, garden offices, summer houses and the proverbial man-cave have increased during these times as homeowners make use of their garden space, whether for work, relaxation or entertaining purposes. The style, colour and design of doors chosen during these projects vary in how the space is used and depending on its purpose and style. Speaking from a personal level, I’ve also caught the home and garden improvement bug! I’ve added my own man-cave / pub shed to my garden, where I installed our Advance 70 Anthracite Grey French doors to my build, providing me with a secure, thermally efficient and elegant entrance to my project.

So, whether it’s standard single leaf and French doors, sliding panoramic patio, bi-fold or Selecta’s EASi-FOLD doors, it now means that the type of door you choose can now be an integral part of your everyday life, be a design statement and add that elusive ‘wow’ factor to your home or garden build. With all these latest developments in doors, they are no longer seen as just an entrance to your property or build. They’ve become more than just a door. A chic choice to fit in with your newfound lifestyle, a security option to protect their family and home and an astute decision to improve energy performance and reduce energy bills. Modern doors are now a product that the fashion and technical conscious consumer is ready to invest in, open up their living space and create that grand entrance to their home or garden build.

Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, talks about how on-line interaction, sales and social media engagement have soared in recent months and the necessity to adapt marketing and communication strategies and plans to suit the current climate.

Over the last 12 months or so we have seen the way we live change considerably with almost every person having to adjust and become accustomed to the new living conditions. The same can also be said of how we have all had to do business and communicate. Those that have and do adapt are the ones who seem to have had the best chance of retaining and picking up new business in the future. Movement restrictions have seen a boom in on-line interaction, video and social media engagement and so, can any business afford not to have these form part of their current marketing strategy and plans?

With our industry experiencing a boom, some may proclaim to be ‘too busy’ to market their business, communicate and build their online and social media presence, but surely now is the ideal time to market yourselves and not sit back. Why not demonstrate your success via social media and grow your future potential audience and customer base? And improve your communication and support channels with your existing customer base? It’s certainly far tougher and more costly to market your business and brand, to generate new and maintain existing business, in bad times than it is in good times. Building your reputation and putting in solid foundations during those good times will prove vital when and if bad times hit.

For me, it’s very easy to fall into the trap, when business is good, to think you don’t need to invest in marketing, when in fact it’s the ideal time to invest for the future good of the business. Think of all those businesses over the last 12 months that have been extremely successful throughout the pandemic. Have the likes of Amazon and your large supermarket chains reduced their marketing presence and yet they have been seen as essential and used by millions on a daily basis. They’ve continued to communicate and have a marketing presence to their customer base.

At Selecta, we have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and adapted our sales, marketing and communication strategies and plans, to both existing and potential customers. Regular communication updates have been sent to existing customers regarding coronavirus restrictions, business updates and industry news to ensure that every customer is fully up to date with the latest information. These have been communicated through email, post and Connect, our on-line support centre, which has been an invaluable source of information. Social media platforms and our website have continued to be important routes of communicating with everyone outside of the business.

With our Business Development Managers and Technical Engineers working remotely for the majority of the last 12 months, extended support has come from the internal team to offer alternative support and service solutions. For me, nothing beats traditional face-to-face interaction, but the extended use of phone, video and email communication with existing and potential customers, have been the perfect solution to combat the enforced restrictions of which we have all faced. Taking advantage of the technology that we have at our fingertips has been essential and smartphones have been an invaluable piece of armoury during these times.

Continued support has been offered through our marketing team, to assist our customer base, with social media and website support, branding and promotions with our free to use graphic design service proving very popular. We have also introduced a brand-new Marketing Support brochure for our customers, which includes a guide on promoting your business on social media and a series of do’s and don’ts for social media management and how Selecta can assist those who are unsure where to start.

The new Marketing Support brochure also provides customers with a comprehensive insight into our range of marketing support materials and services, from brochures and point of sale materials to our free to use graphic design service.

Increased market presence and communication have certainly been very important to both ourselves and our customers in this period of crisis, albeit abnormally a successful crisis. Our marketing and communication strategies, over the last 12 months, have certainly seen ourselves evolve and grow stronger as a business, continue that close bond with our customer base, whilst still being able to remain true to our roots. We continue to pride ourselves on being able to provide a personal and unrivalled service and support package, for whoever chooses to #bepartofthefamily, through both the good and bad times.

The number of PVCu window and door fabricators operating within the UK has seen a steady decline over the last few years and with it the emergence of the ‘super’ fabricator. Nevertheless, the number of window and door installation businesses has increased, with a surge in small installation businesses. However, Selecta Systems Sales Director, Andy Green, has seen a change in this pattern emerge over the last couple of years or so, as he explains.

We’ve all had to adapt in some way within our personal and business lives over the last 12 months, as we were all confronted with the damaging and heart-breaking effects of a global pandemic. From our industry point of view, we have prospered heavily with a newfound boom in the home improvement market. This in turn has generated its own issues, with our industries supply chain coming under severe pressure, owing to the increase in demand and the knock-on effects of the pandemic and Brexit.

Although recent times have been good, from a business perspective, there have been some high-profile casualties within our industry over the course of the last 12 months. There have been large trade fabricators and profile systems suppliers whose business models were insufficient to see them through these times. Casualties like these have increased the pressure on the supply chain as the home improvement boom continues.

What is interesting is that Selecta have seen an increase in both installers and new businesses moving into fabrication, with the clear reasoning from installers being, to ‘take back control’ of their business, whilst others have seen it as an opportunity to benefit from the increased interest in consumer demand.

The rationale behind this ‘taking back control’ spate has been clear and concise. Installers have recognised that ‘buying in’ manufactured products removes control over the fabrication, quality and service provided by the trade supplier and any vendor failings can significantly affect their installation businesses reputation. Being almost at the end of the supply chain has had its issues and so taking out the ‘middleman’ has been seen as a positive step forward for some.

We appreciate that in these times there has been increased pressures on delivery timescales, but these time and resource pressures can also extend to poorly and incorrectly fabricated products causing installation headaches of which they have no control over. These have damaging knock on effects to their installation business, not only their reputation, but also on the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.

There’s nothing worse for installers than booking in a job, their customer having time off work and then having issues where the product hasn’t arrived or damaged during transit or when there are mechanical and fabrication problems, when fitting on site. There are certainly issues that may not be able to be resolved by the installation company, whereas it is seen that if they were fabricating, they have the opportunity to apply their own corrective actions. More importantly they see having greater control over what goes out the door and when as a key factor in moving in to fabrication. As for manufacturing and delivery timescales, the philosophy seems to be why wait when you can fabricate?

I’m not saying this is the case everywhere for trade fabrication companies, as there are a lot of quality fabricators businesses providing a first-class service, but we have certainly seen an increase in installers wanting to be in control of their own destiny. We have also seen an increase in other construction-based businesses looking at diversifying their businesses and start fabricating. Selecta have a strong and successful history of setting up fabricators and fabrication facilities from scratch and assisting in all aspects of the process from layout and floor plan design to full blown training, with your own personal technician making the transition as smooth as possible.

Window and Door Fabricators

Whether you’re a fabricator or installer, our aim at Selecta is always to provide a service and support package that suits everyone, from sales to delivery, technical to marketing. We have an extensive range of retail and trade-based marketing brochures, literature and sales videos, whilst providing a free to use graphic design service for all your branding and marketing material requirements.

There is further back up from our four strong team of technical engineers, whom have a wealth of industry fabrication and installation experience and provide a personal and first-rate technical support service for you and your business.

With the Advance 70 System now firmly recognised as one of the leading and most versatile window and door profile systems, whether you are fabricating, installing or both, you can be sure of a quality and comprehensive range of window and door solutions at your disposal. It is vitally important whether you’re a fabricator, installer or both that you have, not only the right window and door profile system, but also the right supplier that can service and support you and your business during the good and bad times. This I believe is essential in building a successful business partnership. That’s why fabricators are choosing our Advance 70 System and Selecta, as they become #partofthefamily