Sliders UK celebrate 10 year anniversary
Posted on 18/12/2012
2013 looks set to be an exciting year for Sliders UK, the UK's premier specialist product fabricator. The company recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary and marked the occasion in style - launching their new Veka In-Line Patio Door and composite door with a Veka outerframe into the market.
Ian Longbottom, managing director of Sliders UK comments on the big birthday and the launch of the new products: "Trading successfully for 10 years is an achievement for any company and I am very proud that we have reached this milestone. Sliders UK have grown impressively over the last decade and I would like to thank our customers for their continued support - after all without them we would not be where we are today. We wanted to do something special in this celebratory year and launching the new Veka patio and composite door seemed like the perfect solution. Both products are manufactured to Sliders UK's exacting standards and we anticipate they will open up new and profitable sales opportunities for our customers."
Sliders UK was formed in November 2002 by Ian Longbottom and Mike Spain. They started with eight employees and specialised purely in the fabrication of Duraflex patio doors, selling them to installers, builders and fabricators who preferred to concentrate on the manufacture of their core volume products. The company built a loyal customer base and in 2006 had grown to 38 staff and were producing an impressive 280 patio door units per week.
2008 was a particularly big year for Sliders UK. They moved into their current location, a 40,000 sq foot factory in Preston, and achieved Secured By Design accreditation on their Duraflex In-Line Patio Door (which is branded the 'Ultimate Patio Door') - making it the first patio door on the market to hold this status. They also added the Veka vertical sliding sash window to their portfolio, giving their trade customers a stepping stone into the lucrative heritage and conservation sector, and introduced the Duraflex bi-folding door, achieving SBD accreditation on the product in 2010.
Late in 2011 Sliders UK invested over £1/4 million in new machinery and launched their composite range of high specification edge banded doors, stable doors, French doors and FD30 fire doors into the market.
2012 was another remarkable year, with SBD accreditation being achieved on both its vertical sliding windows and composite doors, enabling the company to supply high security products across its entire range of specialist products.
Today Sliders UK employ 57 people and manufacture 400 patio doors, 150 composite doors, 20 bi-folding doors and 100 VS windows every week, making them one of the UK's biggest specialist fabricators. 2013 looks set to continue in a similar vein as the company plans to introduce yet more products to its already impressive armoury.
"Sliders UK have experienced significant growth over the last decade and it's been a pleasure to work alongside such a dedicated and hardworking team during that time" Mike comments. "Everyone at the company is delighted to be celebrating such a big milestone and we look forward to enjoying another successful 10 years."