Last month John Kettell, Managing Director of Kettell was invited to be part of a select panel of installers at the Industry leading Glazing Summit 2023.

The event is exclusively for the window, door and conservatory industry and brings together business owners, directors and senior management from across the entire industry.

The discussions held were focused on tackling the supply chain crisis, skilled labour shortages, to threats from upcoming regulatory changes, namely the Future Homes Standard 2025

The summit also maps out the future of the industry, with expert speakers sharing views on the wider economy, to data insights on consumer trends in the ever changing landscape.

One of the key objectives of the summit is to have representation from all area’s of the industry & previously there has been criticism that the installer network, who really are on the ‘Front-Line’ have been under-represented. So it was great for the views of those SME’s to be featured as part of the day.

John was joined on the panel by Natalie Little, who not only runs truhouse with her husband, but is also the President of the Glass & Glazing Federation, the only recognised body within the glazing industry by the Government.

Kettell have been a member for many years, with those approved adhering to high levels of competency, needing to produce high quality products as well as guaranteeing our customers the GGF consumer protection.

Never before has the presidential position been held by a member of the installer network. We see this as great for the industry as Natalie can provide first hand insight to the manufacturers & also into Government policy creators the impact on the retailers and fitters changes will have.

One such point was the introduction of triple glazing being a minimum requirement to achieve u-Value targets due to be introduced in 2025.

This on the face of it sounds brilliant, however it will add increased weight to every door and window, perhaps meaning investment in lifting equipment or increased team members on each install, thus not only adding costs for the product to the consumer, but also its installation.

Also on the panel was Nicola Harrison, Managing Director of Bereco. Not only was Nicola representing installers, but Bereco are a timber window and door provider. Nicola’s unique perspective allowed her to raise the agenda on sustainability and supply to high net worth individuals including footballers.

The final panel member was termed as a ‘rising star’ in the industry: Rakeem Porter-Young, Director of Signature Home Improvements based in West Sussex. Rakeem started Signature during the pandemic & has quickly become a leading supplier of Doors & Windows in Chichester, West Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire, rated excellent on TrustPilot!

This was definitely outside of John’s comfort zone, with a packed audience of over 500 delegates, but it was not an opportunity to be missed! John is hughley passionate about the industry & raising its profile in a positive way. In fact, with the opening question being around what you ‘love & hate’ about the industry John was clear to share how we need to stamp out the old style selling tactics, silly discounts, calls to managers & sitting in customers home’s for hours on end!

Lisa Kettell was sat in the audience, also feeling a little nervous for John, but quickly John got into his stride. After all windows & doors are definitely John’s first love!

After discussions on the market conditions, key product trends for consumers, and technological innovation it was time to wrap the session up. John came away wanting to say more! But with new found friends from across the installer network, Kettell can continue to share best practice and challenges with them & continue to change the face of double glazing.

Well done John!