Leitz Tooling will be exhibiting at Holz-Handwerk this July – providing joinery companies with the ideal opportunity to find out how they can grow their business by manufacturing a complete timber window and door system that is fully tested and compliant.
Proud to claim that it is has the largest number of wood machining technical engineers in the UK, Leitz Tooling is a founder partner of The Joinery Network, designers of the Lignum timber window and door system, created to bring certified windows and doors to joinery companies.
“While PVCu and aluminium systems have kept ahead of regulations and accreditations, the bespoke nature of joinery has made it difficult to show compliance and consistency across the board with timber,” says Owen Dare, founder director of The Joinery Network. “But imminent changes to building regulations means that compliance is now more important than ever.
“Larger joinery manufacturers have invested in developing and testing their own window and door suites and created strong sales in the new-build, conservation and fire door sectors. But without an independently tested timber window and door system, timber is now a niche material in the much bigger replacement market, and their higher price has allowed other products to fill the gap.”
Popularity of timber is growing fast
However, homeowners in the UK still love timber and the tide is beginning to turn, with an increased awareness of environmental issues also affecting consumer actions. The recent Global Sustainability Study of 10,000 consumers across 17 countries revealed 85 percent of people say they have shifted their purchase behaviour towards being more sustainable.
A third of Millennials state that they actively seek out more sustainable products – this is the same demographic of homeowners that are now spending the most on their home improvement projects.
As the price gap continues to close between timber glazing products and alternative materials, Leitz Tooling is seeing the beginnings of a shift towards timber in the replacement window and door market. This was in evidence at the FIT Show held in May this year, with many more timber product manufacturers exhibiting and a real interest from installation company visitors.
To ensure this switchover in products stays with UK manufacturers, it’s vital that timber windows and doors are made more accessible to installers.
Expertise in high-volume precision tooling
To support this, The Joinery Network collaborated with Leitz Tooling UK to adopt a systems company model and design high-quality windows and doors that are fully certified and made easily available for joinery companies to manufacture.
“By combining The Joinery Network’s extensive knowledge of timber window and door production, as well as the wider glazing market, along with our manufacturing expertise in high-volume precision tooling design, we created the Lignum range,” says Simon Liddell, MD at Leitz Tooling UK.
“Lignum is the UK’s first independent timber window and door system with Secured by Design accreditation and full compliance with the latest Building Regulations. The system approach reduces the set-up cost by approximately 70 percent for manufacturers. There are currently 40 joinery companies either already manufacturing Lignum or in the process of setting up.
“With an engineered approach in the creation of the Lignum system, taking into account all the requirements needed in modern windows and doors, we also factored in design flexibility to enable traditional, contemporary and aluminium hybrid variations to suit any UK house style.
“The tooling expertise that we’ve been able to provide means that we’ve been supporting joinery companies and fabricators to set up efficient timber window and door lines in a way that simplifies manufacturing through de-skilled processes and tooling solutions, whether it’s a small workshop, semi-manual production, or a fully automated facility.
“The easy handling and low maintenance benefits that our tooling provides means increased productivity and efficiency. With 30 percent longer tool life, there’s less machine downtime and extended runs. The high-quality surface finish not only means there’s fewer rejects and less waste, but also reduces the finishing required before painting.
“We’ve also engineered the tooling to reduce noise and dust during production for a safer, cleaner, and healthier working environment. These dustproof elements also contribute to lower maintenance.
“The new Leitz Lignum Window System brochure features all the products and details of the tooling required, plus information on The Joinery Network and the system.”
Designed for installers and homeowners
Featuring slim sightlines for stylish aesthetics, Lignum is proud to claim that it is the only UK timber and door system that’s available at a low entry cost, backed up with technical and marketing support to reach more customers than ever before.
Owen concludes: “The collective understanding that The Joinery Network has of the domestic and commercial window and door industry has also enabled us to make Lignum a superb system for installers. Simple and safe to fit, installers of PVCu and aluminium will have no difficulty adapting to timber with this system.
“Internally-beaded frames mean safer glazing from the inside to reduce health and safety risks and the associated cost of access equipment.”
Visitors to Holz-Handwerk can find Leitz Tooling in Hall 10 on booth 206 to find out more.
