Victorian Sliders celebrates 15 years of success

Victorian Sliders is Europe’s largest manufacturer of PVC-U vertical sliding sash windows. But what’s the secret to their success.Back in 2005, ambitious CEO Scot Starkey saw an opportunity in the fenestration market for an affordable PVC-U sash window product. His determination saw his then small team at Victorian Sliders push hard to offer the best value and quality product to the window trade.Fifteen years later, Victorian Sliders is the largest specialist sash window manufacturer in Europe, supplying over 3,000 trade customers throughout the UK. They’ve built a 240,000 square foot manufacturing facility, boasting over 2,000 windows made per week. They also have six depots across the country, and employ over 180 people.Last year, they won both a National Fenestration Award for Best Vertical Sliding Window Company, and a West Wales Business Award. Now, as the company celebrates its 15th anniversary, business is booming, despite the challenges that the last few months have caused.Perfect solutionMuch of the company’s success stems from their vision of providing a solution to a common problem. There was a time when sash windows were all made of timber – which, while it looked appealing, had its downsides. Timber changes with the climate, is prone to rot, mould and fungi attacks, and tends to look dull without regular maintenance.Victorian Sliders decided to solve these problems by offering sash windows that look the part of timber, but are more affordable, more thermally efficient, and environmentally friendly.ECOSlide PVC-U sash windows imitate the charm of a classic timber vertical slider, but have all the benefits of a modern PVC-U system, offering the best of both worlds.Victorian Sliders use their own profile system which they extrude in-house, they make their own IGUs, colour bond their windows, and supply their own hardware. The ECOSlide sash window is one of the most successful sash window products in the history of UK fenestration.Striving for moreWith a state-of-the art product boosting sales, Victorian Sliders has made continuous investments over the years. Always striving to be self-sufficient, they previously invested over £10 million on a new 240,000 square foot factory filled with state-of-the-art equipment.This includes quad-welding and corner cleaning lines, high-speed extrusion lines, cutting and machining centres, conveyor belts, a barcode tracking system, and most recently, a new fleet of HGV lorries and delivery vans.Group Managing Director Andy Jones comments: “By continually investing in purpose-built, state-of-the-art production facilities, we want to demonstrate that Victorian Sliders are undoubted champions of low cost, best value fabrication, efficiently serving the UK fenestration industry.”Environmentally friendlyNot only does Victorian Sliders invest in business growth, but in the environment, too, with their very own market-leading PVC-U recycling facility at their Ammanford headquarters.The facility allows them to take old plastic window frames and turn them into PVC-U thermal inserts, which play a critical part in delivering ECOSlide’s excellent energy-efficient performance. In addition, Victorian Sliders manufacture almost every component they use, limiting the transportation of goods between suppliers, making a major contribution to reducing their carbon footprint.“For a business of our size, we have a relatively low carbon footprint,” explains Andy. “We carry out the whole manufacturing process in-house, thanks to our long-standing commitment to supplying the best quality PVC-U sash windows.”“I’m very proud of everything Victorian Sliders has achieved over the last 15 years,” says Andy. “I believe the secret to our success has been a combination of always striving to be self-sufficient, doing our bit for the environment, and always putting our customers first.“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the unfaltering support of our customers, and for that, we are extremely grateful. We can’t wait to see where the next 15 years takes us.”Based in South Wales, Victorian Sliders started up in 2005 and is now Europe’s largest specialist manufacturers of PVC-U vertical sliding sash windows. For more information visit www.victoriansliders.co.uk or call 01269 846200.