One of the early providers of composite doors is embarking on a campaign to refresh the marketplace in what it offers and how its range can be a useful addition to an installer’s armoury of products
The composite door sector of the fenestration industry has been one of the remarkable success stories of recent times. Installers and retailers have embraced the product while homeowners have really taken to having a composite door as the entrance door of choice. Now, one of the early providers of composite doors is embarking on a campaign to refresh the marketplace in what it offers and how its range can be a useful addition to an installer’s armoury of products. The company in question is Rocal and more specifically it’s their Endurance door that they are looking to push. Rocal is a name that is synonymous with doors right back to the company’s inception in 1993. Setting out as a manufacturer of PVC door infill panels, Brigg-based Rocal supplied a predominantly local market from its base in Lincolnshire to supply fabricators and installers. The business grew rapidly and started to branch out, soon becoming a leading supplier of internal PVC doors to the fixed-base caravan market through a customer in Hull. Today this still accounts for a significant part of the company’s business, which also includes a plastic extrusion division supplying products such as trunking as well as garden room operation. But it’s the composite door business that is the one we are here to focus on and the one Managing Director Stephen Nadin is keen to talk about.
Rocal’s move into the composite door market was over 11 years ago and was instigated by one of the country’s leading super fabricators of the time, as Stephen explains: “We were approached by a large manufacturer of windows and doors that had been using a composite door with a GRP skin and a laminated solid timber core. Their supplier had ceased trading and they were looking for someone else to supply the product. With our expertise in doors we saw this as a natural fit to our strategy for growth and were delighted to incorporate the composite door into our portfolio.”
It wasn’t long before Rocal secured another major trade fabricator and it became clear the composite door was the must-have product. Branded nowadays the Endurance door, the composition of the door has been the key to its success. Renowned for strength and security, the 48mm thick cross-bonded veneered laminated solid timber core delivers impressive strength and dimensional stability. Stephen adds: “Endurance doors are made up of 17 laminations making the door nearly 10% thicker than other composite doors. From the onset this is what has attracted customers to our door; it really shuts with a thud and today’s homeowners like the feel and sound of a strong and secure entrance door. To back this up we have all the usual security standards such as Secured by Design and PAS 24.” Endurance doors have attracted a loyal following which has seen customer levels grow over the last 11 years, but Stephen wants more: “The lion’s share of our customers are for the complete door set; we supply the door in a Rehau outer frame that can be colour-foiled to match the 14 door colours we offer. Fab and Fix high-end hardware is standard and we offer two locking options, the Winkhaus Trulock and the Winkhaus AV2 automatic multi-point locking system.”
While installers and retailers remain the main focus for direct sales, Endurance doors are also a popular choice for fabricators who see the benefits of adding a high-end door to their range, Stephen is happy to work with fabricators: “In today’s market it is important to offer a wide range of products, and we have been working with fabricators who are looking to offer something a bit different. Our sales team understand this and we work with our manufacturing customers to help them develop their own sales. We also have a large number of installer customers who buy from us direct and for these we offer an extensive marketing support package which centres on our new retail sales brochure.” Starting out by supplying the firms in its own locality, Rocal now delivers Endurance doors nationally and has customers stretching from Plymouth to Kent as well as in northern England. There is plenty of scope for further growth and Stephen is targeting growth of over 50% over the next 12 months. “There is so much potential for the Endurance door – perhaps in the past we haven’t really promoted the door too heavily. That is all set to change as we look to develop our customer base. Currently, 60% of our customers dual-source their doors and I am more than happy with this situation as many position our door as their premium offering. We are also happy to co-exist with our competitors as we will all benefit from the continued growth of the composite door sector.” A walk around the manufacturing facility at Rocal is evidence that the company is moving in the right direction. Plenty of doors are rolling off the production line and the in-house glass department is busy creating bespoke designs for customers. Stephen is looking forward to the future and is urging installers, retailers and fabricators to take a look at the Endurance door: “I think potential customers would be pleasantly surprised by what the Endurance has to offer.”