Clearway Doors & Windows

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Clearway Doors & Windows's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Clearway Doors & Windows is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

clearwaydoorsandwindows.co.uk

19CLEARWAY DOORS & WINDOWS LTD |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

Jeremy Phillips, managing

director

Clearway Doors & Windows Ltd head office

and manufacturing facility in Cheltenham

Clearway Doors & Windows Ltd is celebrating 35 years of

manufacturing and installing made-to-measure window

and door systems in Gloucestershire. For 30 of these

years it focused on the commercial sector. Five years ago, the

company expanded into the high-end domestic market. It now

offers a complete range of products to a wide customer base in

the Midlands and southwest. Managing director Jeremy Phillips

shares his thoughts on how Clearway has achieved this success.

Evolution is the key to survival and Clearway has certainly had to embrace this

mantra over the past 35 years. The window and door industry has changed

dramatically from the early eighties, when aluminium windows were very basic in

design with rudimentary double glazed units, to the present day when demand for

quality, choice and performance has helped to develop cutting-edge products with

world-class credentials.

Strong partnerships with aluminium systems companies, component manufacturers

and suppliers have helped Clearway to navigate this path of continuous

improvement, a task made easier with many of these businesses based around

Cheltenham. Keeping things as local as possible goes hand in hand with the green

credentials of aluminium which is Clearway’s core product – in fact, 75 per cent of

aluminium produced since 1880 is still in use today.

Having identified the potential of aluminium in both the commercial and domestic

markets some time ago, the company is now reaping the benefits of consumer

demand. The ability of aluminium frames to deliver slim, strong, energy-efficient

windows and doors in pretty much any colour or combination of colours means

FACTS ABOUT

CLEARWAY DOORS

& WINDOWS LTD

»Managing director:

JeremyPhillips

»Established in 1983

»Based in Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire

»Services: Management-owned

manufacturer and installer of

aluminium and PVCu windows,

doors and glazed roofing

systems

»No. of employees: 30

»Operates in 8 counties in the

Midlands and southwest

»Turnover: Over £2.5million

»clearwaydoorsandwindows.co.uk

Clearway Doors &

Windows Ltd

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

20 | CLEARWAY DOORS & WINDOWS LTD

that demand is continuously growing.

Testament to this is the fact that, in

2013, domestic sales accounted for

less than five per cent of Clearway’s

turnover; five years later this has

increased to over 40 per cent. We aim

to reach 50 per cent while expanding

both markets.

Investing in staff

Manufacturing and installing

aluminium products is still a skilled

practice and any company can

only be as good as the staff that it

employs. To this end Clearway has

embraced continuous staff training

and development. Using a combination

of in-house teaching and local training

providers has proved vital in improving

abilities and developing the younger

workforce.

Our factory environment has proved to

be the ideal springboard for staff who

want to develop extra skills and in the

past few years we have seen three staff

move from the shop floor to take up

key roles elsewhere in the company.

Of course, that means that we have

constantly to nurture and train new

employees to fill the gap left behind.

Again we have had considerable

success in this area.

The skills shortage within the

construction industry as a whole is still

a very real problem faced by almost

every sector and is a concern going

forward. However, by adapting your

strategy you can build for the future.

Experienced labour “on tap” can no

longer be relied upon for recruitment,

as career window and door fabricators

and installers reach retirement. As

they disappear from the labour market

they leave a void created by neglect of

apprenticeships and a perceived lack of

glamour within the building industry.

We have to get creative if we are to

keep up the high skill levels of the

previous decades. As employers we

have to build an appealing work place

and offer career prospects. We need to

put as much effort into setting out our

stall for new employees as we do for

new customers.

Customer service

You have to make your company

stand out from the crowd especially

in an industry as competitive as ours.

At Clearway we have concentrated

on the basics of quality and service.

The company has grown considerably

over the past five years from a staff

of 19 to over 30. This growth has

Clearway manufacturing

staff

Inside the showroom

building in Cheltenham

The skills

shortage within

the construction

industry as a

whole is still a

very real

problem faced

by almost every

sector and is a

concern going

forward.

However, by

adapting your

strategy you can

build for the

future

“

21CLEARWAY DOORS & WINDOWS LTD |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

been necessary to cope with increased

demand. However, we have not

allowed this to detract from our

corevalues.

It is important to take a critical

look at ourselves – and to do this

continuously. It’s a fact of life that

things do not always go to plan and it

is vital to have the ability to deal with

any eventuality so that we can still

deliver the right product at the right

time for our customers. Whether the

job is a single door or part of a multi-

million pound commercial project we

have to perform. One area that we

have developed recently is our ability

to react quickly and efficiently to any

service issues that occur with our

products. The old adage that it’s not

the problem itself but how you deal

with it is as important today as it ever

was. Today’s consumer is demanding –

and rightly so.

Sampling customer opinion is a really

useful tool. We now regularly send out

concise feedback forms to evaluate

and improve our procedures. Indeed,

we have introduced new quality

control procedures and improved lines

of communication based on comments

from our customers. We have fixed

one problem area by splitting duties

carried out by one manager into

three separate areas of responsibility

with dramatic results. Again, we have

relied on customer feedback to let us

know that we are now on the road to

getting things right.

The next 35 years?

Perhaps this is too much of a crystal

ball challenge. However, we do have

a plan – a very simple one – to keep

investing in staff, customers and

products. The future is full of promise

for the window and door industry

especially the aluminium sector. Here

at Clearway we will continue to play a

leading role in shaping and improving

ourselves and the industry as a whole.

Keep investing

in staff,

customers and

products

“

The factory in

Cheltenham

Aluminium curtain wall

façade by Clearway

clearwaydoorsandwindows.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Clearway Doors & Windows. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy