Archives for April 2020

From the Top
John Agnew
GGF Managing Director

It’s been an unprecedented start to the new decade for the GGF and our industry as the UK trading environment finds itself in its most troubling time since World War Two. Firstly, there was the uncertainty around the UK leaving the EU and though it is now in its Transition Period, there are still concerns for companies with regards to potential labour and materials shortages as well as changes in legislation.

Secondly but of much more immediate concern, is the adverse effect of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) which is seeing businesses in the UK and Ireland struggle to remain solvent, as each day the Government announces more measures to stop the spread of the deadly virus, whilst simultaneously trying to support companies and employees.

The GGF has set up a special COVID-19 Business Continuity Support section on the Members’ Area of the GGF website. In addition, the GGF is also sending out daily emails to provide guidance, support and information to help companies cope through this crisis. We have also cancelled all our face to face meetings until further notice, and have temporarily suspended our conciliation and consultancy service as well as the postponement of the Trustmark Scheme and Consumer Code audits. The GGF Deposit Indemnity Fund is also no longer taking new deposits from 1^st April. These necessary measures have been taken due to the current market conditions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

In this issue of GLASSi, we have a full summary of the Government’s support and guidance so far and also an outline of the GGF plans to continue to help you through this crisis.

On a lighter note, in the first quarter of the year, the GGF has seen some new arrivals and fond farewells. Firstly, my congratulations to Mark Austin of Hazlemere Windows who has become the 25^th President of the Federation and was welcomed by Members, Staff and guests at the President’s Reception held in London on in February. In this issue of GLASSi, Mark shares his background in the industry and his route to the Presidency of the GGF. I very much look forward to working with Mark during his tenure as GGF President.

Talking of the GGF Board, I am also pleased to announce that Richard Sellman of Thermoseal and Paul Kellett of Anglian Home Improvements have been elected to the GGF Board as Chairmen of the Glazing Executive and Home Improvement Executive respectively.

The Board changes have also seen David Thornton and Mike Butterick recently step down from their positions as GGF Board Directors. I would like to thank both David and Mike for their great commitment, time and work whilst on the Board.   

On the subject of changes, in January I took up my position as incoming Managing Director following the decision by Steve Rice, Managing Director to retire at the end of February 2020.

It is only fitting that in this edition, we interview Steve has he reflects on his three decades at the GGF where he was instrumental in advancing the GGF’s technical department and establishing the Federation’s status as the industry’s leading technical authority.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Steve for all his great service to Federation over the last 30 years and also for his handover during the first two months of this year, which has been invaluable in preparing me for the role of GGF Managing Director.

In February, the GGF held an inaugural Chairpersons’ Forum which was attended by 31 Chairs from the Regions, Countries, Technical Groups and Committees. It was a significant meeting that showed the diversity and strength of the Federation. At the Forum, Members raised their concerns and aired their views on subjects such as training and skills, standards, compliance and the GGF’s operations and activity. Rest assured, we have taken stock of the concerns raised by the Chairs and plan to integrate their positive suggestions to make the required changes and ensure we continue to deliver the very best services for the benefit of our Members.

Over the next few months, trading and remaining solvent will be difficult for many companies in our industry. The GGF staff, though working from home will continue to be fully committed to helping you cope in the current crisis and will continue to deliver the core services you may need to help sustain your business and also to help you prepare for when the business environment returns to normal in the UK. In the meantime, please follow the Government guidelines and stay safe and well.

John Agnew
GGF Managing Director

Gaby Mendham, Director of Ecoglass and Glass & Glazing Federation board member, discusses her recent partnership with Amplifi Solutions, a leading R&D tax credit specialist. 

As Ecoglass’s joint Managing Director, I lead our business strategy and work with a range of customers across the UK. We are a Norwich based insulating glass manufacturer, toughened and laminated glass processor.  Established in 1947, with over 70 years of experience, we’ve seen the countless benefits that innovation can bring to the glass industry. Research and development is part and parcel of our business model and investing in state-of-the-art machinery mean we can utilize the latest glass technology to bring our customers the very best quality products. 

All this innovation has meant that we’ve been able to partner with Amplifi Solutions to secure a successful R&D tax credit claim. 

As a member of the Glass & Glazing Federation, we heard about Amplifi Solutions through the association. They were extremely straightforward to work with, including their Managing Partners Chris and Jeff – who we worked with directly. R&D tax credits can seem like a bit of a red-tape minefield at first, but Amplifi Solutions really broke it down for us. It was an incredibly smooth process that was completed to our tight deadline. 

We ran two recent innovative projects that made up our R&D claim. In one instance, we set out to improve the flexibility and responsiveness of how our existing software system by Clear Thinking – created and communicated information within Ecoglass. We explored new customisable tools and created bespoke connections back to our existing software, which has enabled us to have a truly in-depth vision and excellent control throughout all the manufacturing processes.

As part of a separate project, it’s very important to our ethos that we lead innovation. With ever-improving U-values and finer glass coatings to radically improve energy efficiency, we are creating bespoke online inspection to ensure we can immediately locate unacceptable defects quickly, which are flagged up by our Viprotron scanning system, prior to unit assembly.   

After a lot of experimenting, we created a bespoke visual inspection unit prototype, which we are currently perfecting before fabricating it into a full production inspection unit.

Amplifi Solutions helped us to realise that both these projects were great examples of R&D and qualified for the scheme. 

Now that I’ve seen what partnering with Amplifi Solutions can mean to our business, I’d thoroughly recommend getting in touch with them – I only wish I’d done it sooner! As our claim was our first, we could claim for two financial years’ worth on qualifying R&D spend and saw a substantial reduction in our corporation tax liability. 

GGF Members can avail of expert R&D tax credit advice from Amplifi Solutions and benefit from a discounted entry rate on their fees.

For more information visit www.amplifi.solutions or call 028 9008 0125.