Morley Glass, Author at Morley Glass

Morley Glass named finalist in Yorkshire Children’s Charity’s business awards

Morley Glass has been shortlisted for an award in ‘The Yorkshires’ Business Awards 2024 in recognition of our commitment to environmental and social sustainability.

We have been announced as a finalist in the ‘ESG Excellence’ category of the awards programme organised by Yorkshire Children’s Charity. These awards are held every year to celebrate Yorkshire’s entrepreneurial spirit whilst at the same time raising money to support children and young people who are living at a disadvantage.

Strong environmental and social governance – ESG – is an area in which Morley Glass has invested significant time and resources over the past 20 years, ensuring we operate in a way that not only minimises our impact on the local community, but work to actively improve it.

Our ESG approach is demonstrated in a number of ways, including in our pioneering post-consumer IGU (insulating glass unit) recycling service. This scheme enables Morley Glass customers to arrange for the end-of-life IGUs that they remove during window and door replacement work to be collected and crushed into cullet for the remanufacture of new building glass.

This scheme generates revenue, all of which goes into the Morley Glass GreenVision fund. This fund was set up to provide grants to charities, groups and individuals who are involved in all kinds of social and environmental improvement projects in communities across Yorkshire, and so far more than 180 grants of £500 have been awarded.

In addition, we work to maximise the re-use of waste materials, particularly the high quality wooden boxes in which we receive all our ScreenLine integral blind systems. These are donated to schools and the PIECES Project, a community interest company which delivers a number of programmes designed to help young people unlock their creative and entrepreneurial potential.

And in the latest development of our ESG strategy, we have partnered with a waste management specialist to divert the waste metal drums used by our sealant supplier away from recycling into re-use. This means hundreds of metal drums every year will now be reconditioned and sold on for new industrial uses, raising further revenue for GreenVision in the process.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “We’re thrilled to be shortlisted for the ESG Excellence Award at The Yorkshires and we are looking forward to what is set to be a superb awards ceremony. And the awards programme has significant extra value given that all the businesses entering are supporting the Yorkshire Children’s Charity – this is a fantastic organisation that does incredible work to help young people in more challenging circumstances.”

The Yorkshires Business Awards 2024 ceremony will take place on Friday 6th December at The Queens Hotel in Leeds City Centre, and is expected to be attended by around 400 professionals from across the Yorkshire business community. The event will celebrate the very best in Yorkshire business with entrepreneur and BBC Dragon’s Den ‘dragon’ Sara Davies.

Find out more about The Yorkshires Business Awards 2024 here.

Morley Glass MD Ian Short Wins Outstanding Achievement Award

Ian Short, founder and managing director of Uni-Blinds® integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass, has received the prestigious ‘outstanding achievement’ award in the 2024 GGP Installer Awards.

Described by the judges as “a great success story in our industry”, Ian has been the driving force in the UK’s integral blinds market since he started manufacturing premium quality units using globally renowned ScreenLine® systems 20 years ago. Today, his company, Morley Glass, is the world’s largest manufacturer of bespoke integral blinds with up to 4,000 units produced every week at its state-of-the-art factory near Leeds.

Commenting on his award, Ian said: “I’m thrilled to win this outstanding achievement award. I’d like to thank GGP and the judges for choosing me from a shortlist of amazing people and congratulate all the other winners.

“This award recognises the efforts of the whole Morley Glass team who work hard every day to do the best that they can for our customers, whether that is in the service we provide or the quality of our products. Without their dedication, enthusiasm and passion, the business would not have grown to be the success that it has, nor would we have been able to achieve what we have in our post-consumer glass recycling scheme.”

Ian founded Morley Glass in 1998, initially as a general glass processing business, before spotting an opportunity to manufacture integral blinds for the UK market in 2004. Having seen how these shading and privacy solutions had been embraced in other countries, he believed there was great potential to be unlocked here, providing that he worked with the right supply partners and offered a comprehensive package of technical and sales support for installers.

Twenty years later, Ian’s decision to partner with ScreenLine® systems company Pellini S.p.A., who pioneered the integral blind concept in Italy in the 1970s, has proved to be extremely successful. As was his decision to partner with Saint-Gobain and Glassolutions for glass, who have collaborated with Morley Glass to develop their award-winning circular economy scheme to reduce the amount of post-consumer glass going to landfill.

The IGU (insulating glass unit) recycling initiative involves Morley Glass collecting end-of-life double glazed units from its customers and crushing it into cullet. This is then used as a raw material for making new float glass by Saint-Gobain, which saves the need for millions of tonnes of virgin raw materials (mainly sand) and significantly reduces both energy-use and CO2 emissions.

The glass recycling scheme has broken new ground by clearly demonstrating how the collection and re-manufacture of post-consumer glass is not only viable but commercially advantageous. Importantly, it has also provided a model for closed-loop recycling of glass in the window industry which is now being adopted by other businesses in the sector.

Double G24 Awards shortlisting for Morley Glass

Morley Glass has been named a finalist for two of this year’s prestigious G-Awards.

We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the G24 Glass Company of the Year Award and the Customer Service Initiative of the Year Award.

In being named a finalist in these two competitive categories, we are hoping to repeat our 2023 G-Awards success when we won the award for Sustainability Initiative of the Year in recognition of our pioneering post-consumer glass recycling scheme.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “We’re thrilled to be named a finalist for these two awards in what has been a momentous year for us. The new products we brought to the UK market in 2023 – many of which are exclusives – have proved to be hit, and our Uni-Blinds Registered Installer scheme is going from strength to strength. This has helped to ensure our integral blind sales have continued to increase during 2024.

“We’ve also reached important milestones in our glass recycling service, which involves us collecting end of life IGUs removed by our customers and crushing them into cullet for the re-manufacture of new glass. We surpassed the 1,000 ‘energy years’ mark in terms of the amount of energy our cullet has saved – an energy year being the amount of energy a typical UK household would use in 12 months – and we have now saved the need for over 2,500 tonnes of virgin raw materials.

“I’d like to wish all the G24 finalists the very best of luck. Reaching the finals is a tremendous honour and we look forward to the awards evening in November.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Morley Glass manufacturing integral blinds, during which time we have played an instrumental role in the growth of this market. Today we employ more than 100 people at our HQ and manufacturing facility near Leeds, from which we supply bespoke integral blind units to window and door customers across the country.

Morley Glass boosts GreenVision funding through steel drum re-use initiative

Morley Glass has added another dimension to its ‘three R’s’ waste reduction, re-use and recycling strategy by developing a partnership which gives a second life to the steel drums used by its IGU (insulating glass unit) sealant supplier.

We have partnered with WasteCare, a unique recycling and waste management company that specialises in the disposal, recycling and recovery of industrial waste products. This enables the high quality 210 litre steel drums used by Fenzi to be reconditioned and re-used, rather than simply melted down for recycling.

WasteCare have agreed to buy the 40 post-use steel drums that we go through every month and recondition them for re-sale. Once reconditioned, the steel drums are suitable for a number of potential uses, and to date we have been able to divert 1,417 steel drums away from recycling into re-use.

Every penny generated through the sale of the waste steel drums is going into the GreenVision initiative, a fund to support environmental and social improvement projects which was established in 2021 as part of our post-consumer glass recycling scheme. GreenVision gives charities, schools, volunteer groups and individuals across Yorkshire and beyond an opportunity to apply for financial support for their initiatives, and so far more than 180 grants have been awarded by the fund.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “Sustainability should be at the heart of every manufacturing business, and that includes continuously looking for ways to reduce waste. Recycling is vital to reducing landfill, but the process of taking a product back to its raw material state does have its own carbon footprint.

“Hence why re-use of waste materials is always a better option wherever possible and we already do that with the wooden boxes in which our ScreenLine integral blind systems are supplied from Pellini. Hundreds of these are used by local schools for design and technology projects every month, as well as by young people taking part in the ground-breaking Creative Enterprise Challenge, where budding entrepreneurs are tasked with developing a new product and launching it within just five days.

“Given WasteCare’s expertise in being able to handle industrial waste materials, they have now enabled us to take a big step forward with our IGU sealant drums. As part of their reconditioning process, they are able to remove and dispose of the Visqueen linings and restore them to a standard which meets the same legal and safety requirements of a brand new steel drum.

“And the icing on the cake is the extra revenue this process raises for GreenVision. Our post-consumer IGU recycling process is generating ever greater volumes of cullet for the manufacture of new glass, which ensures there is always a healthy fund available for good causes to apply for. But the extra money raised from the sale of our steel drums is going to allow us to support even more projects which benefit the environment and local communities.”

Amongst those who have benefited from a GreenVision grant is Leeds based CATCH (Community Action To Create Hope), a youth charity formed of volunteers dedicated to making a positive difference in their local area. One part of their work involves preparing food parcels for those affected by food poverty, for which the volunteers grow their own fruit and vegetables where possible. A GreenVision donation funded the growing tunnels to help achieve this.

Other beneficiaries include ‘village in bloom’ groups, a vegetable-growing initiative in the village of Kippax near Leeds called Incredible Edible, and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where GreenVision supported the development of a wellbeing garden. Larger charities have benefitted too, including Yorkshire Children’s Charity and Cash for Kids.

Find out more about our GreenVision and the sustainability strategy here.

Freedom 2 Dance Joins in Leeds Pride Carnival

Freedom 2 Dance students will join the PRIDE party in Leeds on a special float, that will be part of the main parade. Teachers and students have worked hard to reach the £5k goal needed to have a float of their own.

Morley Glass, as one of the main sponsors of the dance school, will be honoured with their logo emblazoned on the t-shirts that students will be wearing for the event.

Students and staff will be on board the float that will tour the city centre for the carnival parade at the annual LGBT+ festival on Sunday 6th August.

This will be the first time Freedom 2 Dance has entered a float in its own right in the Pride parade with support from the Friends of Freedom 2 Dance, the schools not-for-profit fundraising arm. The Friends of F2D group was set up in 2018 to enable the school to raise funds transparently in order to help them achieve their aim of making dance accessible to all.

Inclusivity and diversity are two key aspects that the Dance School owners consider focal to their success story. Freedom 2 Dance was launched 8 years ago by Laura Jaggar and Michelle Dickinson.

Laura comments, “PRIDE and the LGBTQ+ community align with our values at Freedom 2 Dance as we believe that dancing should be available to everyone.
It is not just about learning to dance, but incorporates building self-belief, boosting confidence and provides a safe place to enjoy the socialising aspects associated with learning a real skill. The F2D School wants to encourage people to be themselves, in a safe and healthy environment.”

50 dancers together with their teachers, will perform on the float as the carnival parade passes through Leeds.

Michelle comments, ”We want everyone to see how much fun dancing can be and that anyone can give it a go. We have been practicing our routines and have 2 full days planned to rehearse the routines. We are all so excited to be part of the PRIDE event with the students looking forward to performing, waving to the crowds and just having a really good time on the day.”

Ian Short, Managing Director at Morley Glass comments, “To be involved with such diverse and inclusive talent is so rewarding for everyone, particularly the students; but more than that it also reflects how the wider community can come together to enjoy the medium of dance whilst also celebrating the differences anyone can bring to a performance. It will be wonderful to see the dancers enjoying themselves by helping to spread such a positive message during this equality and diversity-themed event.”

Freedom 2 Dance is an outstanding dance school based in Castleford, WestYorkshire. Since opening in 2015 F2D has quickly evolved into one of the areas most diverse and successful dance schools, where children and adults can learn to dance.

Find out more about the Freedom 2 Dance school via the website:
www.freedom2dance.co.uk

Morley Glass wins FIT Show Marketing Award for ‘Best Use of Social Media’

Morley Glass has been recognised for the creativity and effectiveness of our social media campaign in the run up to, during and after the 2023 FIT Show by picking up a highly sought-after industry award.

We have been named the winner of the award for ‘Best Use of Social Media’ in this year’s FIT Show Marketing Awards, a programme designed to acknowledge and celebrate the very best of the fenestration sector’s marketing efforts aligned to the event. As winners are selected by a judging panel of industry professionals, every FIT Show Marketing Awards trophy is greatly respected, particularly given the number of high calibre entries that are submitted every year.

The social media campaign undertook by Morley Glass for the 2023 FIT Show spanned multiple platforms to ensure there was an opportunity for people across the industry, at all levels, to find out about our presence at the show and register for VIP tickets. From LinkedIn and Twitter to Facebook and Instagram, consistent messaging and creative posts gave thousands of people the chance to engage with us and explore more about the show.

It was a strategy underpinned by many months of work behind the scenes in the months prior to the show to coordinate the launch of several new products at the NEC. These included the new switchable glass system, Uni-Switch, and an integrated blackout blind for flat glass rooflights, which were ultimately our showstoppers.

Charlotte Gilbert, Marketing Assistant at Morley Glass said:

“This year’s FIT Show was an amazing experience all-round that left us all buzzing for weeks after, so to win this award for best use of social media is absolutely fantastic! Being recognised by our industry peers in this way confirms that our hard work, creativity and consistency of messaging was the right approach, and this was reflected in the high levels of engagement we saw.”

A major focus for the Morley Glass team was to register as many visitors as possible via our unique URL, which resulted in a conversion rate of 51% from registered contacts to attendees – more than any other exhibitor. But our FIT Show marketing campaign was not only about social media – we also supported the PIGS networking event and the show itself through sponsorship, as well as running an extensive advertising and PR campaign.

MD of Morley Glass, Ian Short, added:

“We’re delighted to win this award, which really is the icing on the cake of what was an amazing experience – and perfect to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our business. The show was our busiest yet and the ideal platform to launch our new products – and we are already looking forward to being able to do this all again when the show returns in 2025!”

Morley Glass MD named finalist in 2024 GGP Installer Awards

Ian Short, founder and managing director of Morley Glass, has been shortlisted for the ‘outstanding achievement’ award in this year’s GGP Installer Awards.

In being named a finalist for this category, Ian is one of four industry trailblazers in the running to win this prestigious accolade, the winner of which will be announced at the awards presentation at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on 14th March. The highly respected award is presented to the person who the judges believe has worked most to raise the profile of their business and the industry as a whole throughout their career to date.

The ‘outstanding achievement’ shortlisting comes in the year that Morley Glass marks 20 years since it began producing integral blind units with ScreenLine systems inside. Over two decades the company has grown under Ian’s leadership to become a £30m turnover business employing 108 people and producing around 4,000 integral blind units every week.

In addition to being a driving force for the growth of the integral blinds market in the UK and working hard to help installers open up sales opportunities for these premium products, Ian has also pioneered our scheme to reduce the amount of post-consumer glass going to landfill. Our widely acknowledged IGU (insulating glass unit) recycling initiative, developed in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass, has broken new ground by clearly demonstrating to the industry that the collection and re-manufacture of end-of-life double glazed units is not only viable but commercially advantageous.

Ian commented, “I’m delighted to be named a finalist for this award and looking forward to what I’m sure will be a fantastic presentation event in Manchester. Whilst it may be my name on the award shortlist, it actually recognises everyone who has played a role in the growth of Morley Glass over 25 years. Without the enthusiasm, drive and focus on quality and service of my co-directors and the team as a whole, I certainly couldn’t have achieved what I have with the business.”

Glass recycling service helps Yorkshire window installer save thousands of pounds every year

The pioneering free glass collection and recycling service developed by Morley Glass, in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass, is helping East Yorkshire based window and door installer Savills Glass save thousands of pounds every year by reducing its landfill waste disposal costs.

The family run company based near Goole fits between 200 and 250 uPVC, timber and aluminium windows and doors every month, many of which are domestic replacements. After years of having to routinely dispose of any post-consumer sealed units in the general waste skip, since 2021 Savills Glass has instead been collecting this valuable waste product for Morley Glass to collect for re-use in new glass.

Savills’ post-consumer glass is collected by Morley Glass when it delivers new Uni-Blinds integral blind units and, once back at its Leeds factory, this is fed into a machine that crushes it into cullet (broken glass). This is a valuable raw material that is bagged and collected by Saint-Gobain Glass for use in the manufacture of new float glass, closing the loop so old windows can become new ones.

In addition to cutting raw material and energy use in the glass industry, this scheme helps window installers to reduce their spend on waste disposal, as Julian Savill, Managing Director of Savills Glass explained.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the service provided by Morley Glass for the collection of our old sealed units,” said Julian. “Prior to hearing about the service, all our waste glass normally just went into the general skip in our yard and then into landfill. We have been sending our uPVC for recycling for years, and we always have local people who want our waste timber, but glass was always a problem.

“We looked into arranging our own waste glass collection service, but it was unfeasibly expensive. It was actually cheaper to throw the glass into general waste along with all our rubble, plastic packaging, etc. – which was a real shame.

“But with Morley Glass now collecting our old units, we are saving on landfill and seeing the old units being recycled into new glass – and saving a lot of money too. We used to need about ten 20-yard skips a year, but with the Morley Glass recycling service that’s probably down to five. In the last year that has saved us around £2,500 plus VAT alone.

“The service works like clockwork too – Morley Glass collect our waste glass every week, usually on a Wednesday. We’ve set an area aside in our yard to store any waste glass that comes back from window replacement jobs. Morley’s driver knows exactly where to pick this up, and in the time it takes to make and drink a cup of tea, they are loaded up and away.”

We are encouraging other fabricators and installers to take advantage of this post-consumer glass collection service as it has far-reaching benefits.

Since the scheme started just in 2021, more than 2,700 half-tonne bags of cullet have been produced by Morley Glass, which has saved nearly 1,200 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and cut the demand for virgin sand by over a million kilograms. This is because every 1 tonne of cullet (post-consumer recycled glass) used saves 1.2 tonnes of new raw materials.

In addition, all the revenue raised by generating cullet to use in place of virgin raw materials goes into a fund called GreenVision to support social and environmental improvement projects. This benefits a wide range of organisations, small groups and individuals who are dedicated to making a difference in their local communities.

Morley Glass named finalist in Made in Yorkshire 2024 Awards

The post-consumer glass recycling initiative developed by Morley Glass in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass has been shortlisted for another prestigious award, putting it in the running to be named as one of the best companies in its home county of Yorkshire.

We have been named a finalist in the ‘Sustainable Ethical Manufacturer Award’ category of the Made in Yorkshire 2024 Awards. This is an annual awards programme which highlights excellence in businesses based in Yorkshire and the Humber, with previous winners including Senior Aluminium Systems, Gripple and the UK’s largest caravan and holiday homes manufacturer Swift Group.

The shortlisting recognises the Morley Glass post-consumer glass recycling scheme as one of the best sustainability initiatives in the region over the past 12 months, reflecting the collaboration between two Yorkshire-based firms.

We crush end-of-life IGUs collected from installers into cullet at our Leeds HQ, which is then used by Saint-Gobain Glass to manufacture new energy efficient glass at its Eggborough factory near Selby. Even the state-of-the-art machinery developed to crush intact IGUs into high quality cullet in one process was created in the region by Hull-based Concept Engineering.

Revenue generated through the production of cullet is also used to benefit community initiatives seeking to deliver environmental and social benefits, the vast majority of which are also located in Yorkshire.

In being shortlisted for the sustainability award, we are hoping to repeat our success at the G23 Awards and 2023’s GGP Installer Awards. We received accolades in both awards programmes in recognition for how the scheme provides a viable approach to diverting waste glass away from landfill.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said, “Yorkshire has such a rich heritage of manufacturing excellence and innovation, which is why it is particularly special to be recognised as one of the best. And it is pleasing to be shortlisted given how we’ve structured the scheme to benefit the region at a local community level through the thousands of pounds worth of funding we’ve made available to charities, groups and individuals working on environmental or social improvements.”

The winners of the Made in Yorkshire 2024 Awards will be announced at a presentation ceremony taking place on 7th March 2024 at New Dock Hall in Leeds.

Find out more about the post-consumer glass recycling initiative here.

Keeping your cool in the height of summer

According to a 2023 survey by John Lewis (Source: The Mirror 13.06.2023), just over half (51%) of people in the UK say the summer is their favourite season. But when it does finally arrive, many of us realise that our homes are not necessarily very well equipped to deal with the sunshine and heat.

Unlike hotter countries where homes are built to withstand the effects of constant warmth and strong sunlight, British and Irish properties are constructed to accommodate a year-round temperate climate – and that makes them more susceptible to hot and cold extremes.

One of the ways we can make our homes more comfortable in the summer is to utilise the latest technology in our windows and doors – either when we are renovating or extending the property. In particular, the double and triple glazed units that are installed into most windows and doors today can be made using advanced heat-reflective or ‘solar control’ glass and incorporate integral blinds within the cavity.

Realising the benefits of solar control glass

Anyone who has been in a greenhouse on a sunny day will know just how well standard glass enables heat to transmit through and retain it within a confined space. Our homes respond in a similar way where we have rooms with large areas of glazing on elevations where there is prolonged sunshine. The result is that rooms can warm up to an uncomfortable level and take a long time to cool down.

Fortunately, glass technology has advanced significantly in recent decades which means we can now address this issue with dramatic improvements possible. This takes the form of solar control glass, which is ultra-clear glass with a microscopically-thin coating applied to it. This acts as a reflector of heat without a noticeable impact on the window’s overall clarity.

Morley Glass offers some of the world’s most respected solar control glass products from Saint-Gobain which can be specified for any Uni-Blinds integral blind unit. Two options are available – COOL-LITE SKN 176 II and COOL-LITE SKN 183.

Both offer outstanding solar control performance with the additional benefit of being super-insulating to help our homes retain the heat during winter to cut heating costs. The right type for your property will depend on budget and whether you want the highest possible levels of light transmission, which is provided by SKN 183.

Reduce annoying glare in your rooms

Strong sunshine in our rooms can be a nuisance when it makes spaces excessively bright. When sunlight is extreme, the glare can make it feel like we need to wear our sunglasses when indoors. And at the very least, it can make everyday activities such as watching the TV or viewing our laptop screens difficult.

Traditional curtains or blinds may provide the solution, but they can have the opposite effect and make rooms depressingly gloomy – going from one extreme to another – and they are impractical when you may want to keep windows and doors open to let air flow through the home. Drawing a curtain across an open window or door, for example, will usually mean having to put up with them flapping around as the wind blows!

This is not a problem when you have a blind integrated within the glass unit – an integral blind. Morley Glass are specialist manufacturers of this type of blind which is permanently sealed within the glass unit so it will never need cleaning or become damaged easily. Available as a Venetian or pleated blind, integral blinds provide an effective way to reduce the intensity of light so there is far less glare inside a room. There is even a pleated blackout option available from Morley Glass to minimise the infiltration of sunlight.

Choosing the ideal summer-ready specification

Uni-Blinds integral blinds work well in both traditional and contemporary properties and they can be fitted into all kinds of windows and doors, including French doors, bi-folds, sliding doors, vertically sliding sash windows and standard casement windows. And one of the most recent additions to the Uni-Blinds range is an integral blind that can be fitted into flat glass rooflights.

Black, anthracite and agate grey Venetian blinds are perfectly suited to contemporary grey and black windows and doors frames, but white and sliver slats are hugely popular too. What this means ultimately is that there is an integral blind solution for every home.

With the Uni-Blinds range, there are five different control systems available including a manual corded system and the biggest-selling system, the SV Sliding Venetian which is operated using a cordless magnetic slider.

But for those seeking the ultimate in climate and comfort control inside the home, the smart-home compatible motorised MB System is the solution. This can be integrated with all major home automation systems, including Loxone, offering the opportunity for the integral blinds to open and close automatically as changes in the room conditions are detected.

Regardless of which operating system is selected, however, the double or triple glazed unit can be combined with either COOL-LITE SKN 176 II and COOL-LITE SKN 183 to achieve the optimum solution to cope with the summer. And there are no long lead times to stand in the way of making improvements – all Uni-Blinds are made to order and supplied with complimentary delivery in as little as 10-12 working days.

Find out more about Uni-Blinds integral blinds here.

Sliding Venetian integral blinds offer magnetic appeal for installers and homeowners

Ease of installation and popularity with homeowners due to a simple, reliable and cordless operating mechanism mean the SV & SV+ integral blind systems continue to account for the majority of Uni-Blinds sales.

These two Venetian integral blind systems, which are both operated using a patented magnetic slider positioned to the side of the window, accounted for around 80% of all Uni-Blinds sales in 2023 according to our data.

Both manufactured using world-leading ScreenLine integral blind systems from Italian company Pellini S.p.A., these systems have always offered the easiest installation of the five control systems available from Morley Glass, something our managing director Ian Short believes is one of the reasons for its dominance in the market.

Ian says: “Fitting an integral blind system is straightforward whichever Uni-Blinds system you choose, but the SV and SV+ sliding Venetians are particularly simple. The IGU (insulating glass unit) is supplied complete with the blind unit sealed permanently within it, which means all you have to do is fit the IGU as you would normally and, once in place, attach the magnetic slider to the profile on the face of the glass – it’s that simple.

“But it is not only ease of installation that makes the SV and SV+ a bestseller. Homeowners love them too because the magnetic slider takes care of all functions – raising, lowering and tilting of the slats. No external cords, wiring or electrical connections to think about as it works through the power of magnetism.”

The Uni-Blinds SV integral blind system features a headrail which houses the main blind unit, and a narrow side rail at the left or right to enable the magnetic slider to function. The SV+ works in exactly the same way as the SV, but it provides a symmetrical appearance thanks to a siderail being visible left and right, regardless of which side is used for the magnetic slider.

The patented magnetic systems, known as the SL20SV and SL20SV+, are encapsulated within double glazed units featuring a 20mm cavity. The magnetic slider can be placed on the right or left-hand edge of the glass with a narrow adhesive transparent profile guiding the linear movement of the slider.

Ian continues: “Innovation is at the core of the SV and SV+ systems because of the way it is designed with friction reduction in mind. Its closed-loop belt transmission system allows for smooth and long-lasting function of the blind, making these systems super reliable with minimal need for repairs or service call-backs.”

Homeowners can choose from 14 colours for the Venetian SV and SV+ integral blind systems, including anthracite, black and agate grey, which are exclusive to Morley Glass. There is also a choice of colours for the header, side rails and slider to achieve a visually stunning look.

As with all Uni-Blinds integral blind systems, the SV and SV+ are available in industry-leading turnaround times – as little as 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on any Thursday. They are manufactured by Morley Glass in Yorkshire exclusively using ScreenLine integral blind systems and supplied to installers nationwide via the company’s own fleet with complimentary delivery.

Full technical assistance and installation support is available to all Uni-Blinds installers to ensure they can provide the right solution to homeowners, fitted to the highest standards.

Find out more about more about Uni-Blinds.

New slider option brings SV System integral blinds in easier reach

We have added an innovative option for our hugely popular cordless magnetic sliding SV System and SV+ System integral blinds, which makes controlling the blind easier in hard to reach windows, and provides a practical option for wheelchair users or people with reduced mobility.

A new device developed by ScreenLine integral blind systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A. combines the magnetic slider, which is mounted on a profile guide down the left or right hand side of the glass, with a wand. It is similar to the wands typically used to tilt cord-operated manual Venetian blinds. This is designed to ensure the slider can be moved up and down to operate the blind with ease – performing all the usual functions at arm’s length.

Available for both the Uni-Blinds SV System and the symmetrically-designed SV+ System, this option was developed to ensure people who may find it difficult to reach up to the top of a window can still choose these popular integral blind systems for their homes.

Feedback from wheelchair users and homeowners whose mobility may prevent them from being able to extend their arms to move the slider by hand, helped Pellini’s design team create the most practical solution. Another driver for this new option was homeowners who may want to install SV or SV+ integral blinds in windows which are harder to reach, such as above a kitchen sink or high up in glazed gable ends.

The slider with integrated wand combines the standard, high quality SV slider device with a robust aluminium wand to maintain the visual appeal of the installed integral blinds.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “This is a clever innovation which is really simple in principle but beautifully engineered, as we would expect from Pellini. While many Uni-Blinds customers with reduced mobility may opt for an electronically controlled integral blind, such as our smart-home compatible MB System or solar powered W Smart, the SV or SV+ System are our biggest selling systems and we felt it was important to ensure they are not excluded from choosing them.

“It also makes life easier for homeowners who may want to use the SV or SV+ throughout a particular room or property but some of the windows may be higher up and, hence, more difficult to access. Adding a wand to the slider makes situations like this easy to overcome, meaning there is no need to use a step-stool or balance on a chair to be able to raise the blind to the fully open position.”

The SV System uses a patented design to allow all the functions of the blind to be controlled by powerful magnets. This means there are no cords on the face of the glass unit, offering a sleek, easy to clean result.

The SV+ uses the same technology and control device but it offers a different aesthetic. Both blinds feature a slim guide down one side of the glass unit to allow the magnetic slider to connect with magnets inside the blind unit, but with the SV+, an additional side guide is fitted down the opposite side to provide a symmetrical appearance.

As with all bespoke ScreenLine integral blind units manufactured by Morley Glass and sold under our Uni-Blinds brand, the SV and SV+ systems are available in a choice of colours including exclusive black, agate grey and anthracite.

Uni-Blinds are easy to fit and offer a long, virtually maintenance-free lifespan. They are all made to order by Morley Glass at our Yorkshire factory and supplied with complimentary delivery in as little as 10-12 working days, when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

To find out more please contact us.

The finishing touch for agate grey and black windows and doors

White window and door frames may continue to dominate sales in the UK, but the new kids on the block are undoubtedly agate grey and black.

This is reflected in sales of Uni-Blinds integral blind units, which are now available in both these colours within the Venetian range. Despite white and anthracite continuing to take the lion’s share of our sales, as we announced in our ‘Top colours of 2023 article’ in February, there is a noticeable shift to other colours as homeowners and architects experiment with different approaches to the look of their windows and doors.

Innovation by profile manufacturers has provided end-users with easy access to high quality, visually appealing uPVC and aluminium systems which are gradually shifting the perception that frames should be white. The anthracite boom has certainly turbocharged this shift, which means it accounts for an estimated 10% of all uPVC windows installed, and the colour is the most popular in aluminium according to some fabricators and installers.

What is particularly interesting to see is the greater variety of colours being chosen today by customers compared to, say, ten years ago, particularly when it comes to our Uni-Blinds. All the bespoke integral blind units that we manufacture for customers are created using ScreenLine systems from the global market leader, Pellini S.p.A. who have been extremely active on new colour development in recent years.

The arrival of new ScreenLine Venetian blind colours in agate grey (S120) and black (B160) during 2023, which are exclusively available in the UK from Morley Glass, was particularly welcome as they give homeowners the opportunity to complete their windows and doors with integral blinds for a fully ‘on-trend’ result. Other integral blind colours, such as silver (S157), anthracite (S159) and slate grey (S158), can look amazing within coloured frames, but agate grey and black have made an instant impact in the market.

When to choose agate grey integral blinds

Agate grey has been a popular alternative to anthracite for the past few years. Some people regard it as the same colour as ‘Painswick’, but whatever it has become known as, it offers a more calming colour option versus the bolder greys given its hint of green, which makes it an excellent choice for homes with lighter coloured bricks or stone.

For homeowners looking for timeless appeal, combining agate grey integral blinds with the same colour frames is an excellent choice. But it doesn’t always have to be about being complementary and colour-matching – agate grey blinds can also provide a contrasting look when installed into windows and doors with darker frames, such as black or anthracite, to achieve a statement look.

When to choose black integral blinds

As a powerful colour, black Uni-Blinds are suitable for use in both contemporary or traditional windows and doors. As with the other colour options, they can be used to achieve a complementary look with matching frames or to contrast, sometimes with very distinctive, even unique, results.

We have seen the popularity of black window and door frames grow as the colour’s appeal has increased for all kinds of interior features and fittings, such as taps and internal door handles. They look particularly striking in properties featuring rendered walls with a light finish, as well as with lighter brick and stone, and these are the types of homes where we see the greatest appeal for black integral blinds, especially for ultra-modern styles such as bi-fold doors.

Looking ahead to a more colour-diverse future

Neutral colours are undoubtedly dominating home décor trends at the moment, but that’s not to say we won’t see a very different set of colours in fashion in five or ten years’ time. The rise in popularity of black and agate grey windows and doors is partly a response to these changing trends, but also a reflection of the level of product innovation today in the fenestration sector versus previous generations.

Pellini S.p.A. has a team of colour specialists whose job it is to ensure the colours applied to the Venetian blind slats within all ScreenLine systems are consistently high quality. This is crucial when you consider the intense heat that can build up inside an integral blind unit in the strong summer sunshine, coupled with the impact of UV light, which means any new product must be able to stand the test of time to meet customer expectations.

The upshot is that the window industry is getting better all the time at creating products with lasting colour, whether that’s on integral blinds or frames, and that provides greater inspiration for homeowners looking to make their properties just the way they want them.

Find out more about Uni-Blinds integral blind colours here.

Why integral blinds are a perfect fit for holiday homes

Every holiday home needs an effective shading and privacy approach for the windows and doors to maximise comfort and help protect it during unoccupied periods. But why do Uni-Blinds integral blinds offer advantages that traditional blinds and curtains don’t?

Anyone who owns a holiday home or lets a property to holidaymakers ‘Airbnb style’ will know how important it is to create a welcoming environment that is aesthetically pleasing as well as being durable, easy to clean and maintain. Interior décor and furnishings will not stay pristine for long, particularly with holiday lets where a high turnover of guests inevitably results in damage and wear and tear rates far in excess of what we would expect in our permanent homes.

According to the latest industry data from 2023, the holiday rental market in the UK reached a new peak in August with 346,000 listings, of which 280,000 were ‘entire properties’ such as houses, cottages and apartments. It is an increasingly competitive marketplace which means owners have to work harder than ever to make their holiday let stand out from the crowd and gain those all-important five star ratings.

But even where a holiday home is not let out to anyone, the last thing owners want to be doing when they visit for a well-earned break is to have to spend time deep-cleaning or making repairs!

Low maintenance, durable products, therefore, have massive advantages for properties of this type. Interior features that require virtually no cleaning and are not easily damaged will pay dividends in the long term, especially when they help create visually stunning rooms – exactly as integral blinds manufactured using ScreenLine systems do.

Well-dressed windows and doors make an extremely positive impression in any home, not just holiday homes. Curtains and traditional blinds may be well-suited to the décor of some properties, but where the goal is to add a wow factor, nothing beats integral blinds – and they can work well in both modern and heritage properties.

Crucially, because the integral blind is permanently sealed inside an IGU (insulating glass unit), it will never become dirty or attract moisture or dust. The only parts of the blind that will ever need cleaning are the devices used to operate it – that could be a cord winder, a remote control, a switch or a magnetic slider. Even then, these will only require a quick wipe over as part of routine cleaning.

The only way the main integral blind unit can become damaged is if the IGU is smashed in a high impact accident or deliberate attack. The control system is mounted onto the window or door glass and designed to be highly durable, but should it ever become damaged it is easy to repair using ScreenLine parts readily available in as little as 24 hours from Morley Glass.

All five control systems offered by Morley Glass as part of the Uni-Blinds range of integral blinds can be used in holiday homes to great effect. From the simple but elegant corded integral blind, the C System, to the smart-home compatible motorised MB System and solar powered W Smart, the range includes options to suit virtually every type of window or door and budget.

The control system that provides the optimum solution for holiday homes is perhaps the SV System, the best-selling Uni-Blinds integral blind. This is a Venetian integral blind that is controlled by a magnetic slider mounted onto the face of the glass – no cords, no requirement for an electrical connection and very easy to raise, lower and tilt the slats.

Pleated Uni-Blinds are also available, offering a softer appearance and diffusion of light that may be more compatible with certain interior décor. These are also available with a magnetic slider control device, this time positioned on the base rail of the blind, called the S System.

Whichever control system is chosen, however, integral blinds represent an excellent investment for any holiday home. Not only do they contribute to excellent aesthetics, but they are more durable than other shading and privacy options and need almost no cleaning – all these things have a value to boost letting potential or simply to ensure the home is the perfect place to holiday.

Find out more about our range of integral blinds suitable for holiday homes.

Integral blinds provide a practical, stylish upgrade for garden rooms

Incorporating Uni-Blinds integral blinds into the windows and doors of garden rooms is an easy way to provide the all-important shading and privacy required in these stand-alone buildings in a sleek, stylish and low maintenance way.

Garden rooms have become a popular choice amongst homeowners with sufficient outdoor space who want to extend their living and working accommodation without the hassle of undertaking a full scale building extension project. Whilst the garden room concept had been gaining traction since the early-2010s, the pandemic boosted sales hugely as more people were forced to work, learn and exercise at home, and these buildings provided a quick and easy way to add space.

One of the most attractive aspects of adding a garden room is the fact that many suppliers offer standard, ‘off the shelf’ designs and sizes with a set specification. In the case of many garden room manufacturers, all buyers need to do is choose the garden room model that best suits their needs and the supply and installation process can begin.

However, like any new extension, garden rooms will still require tailoring when they are ready to use, and this is often when the question of window and door shading first arises. Whilst some garden room manufacturers will offer integral blinds as an additional extra, many will not, which means the home gym, home office, hobby room, yoga studio or granny annexe will need blinds or curtains to make it fit for purpose.

The good news is that Uni-Blinds integral blinds from Morley Glass can be easily retrofitted into garden room windows and doors. Whether the room is used as a space for work, leisure, or relaxation, replacing the standard IGUs (insulating glass units) with Uni-Blinds can transform its comfort and useability by providing an easy way to control the amount of light entering the building.

These integral blind units are suitable for the PVC-U, aluminium and timber frames used in the vast majority of garden rooms given that they are manufactured in the standard IGU thicknesses of 28mm and 24mm. All five of the manual and motorised Uni-Blinds control systems are compatible with garden rooms, and a choice of glass types is available to help maintain a warm, stable internal environment in winter whilst reducing the risk of overheating in summer.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “Garden rooms offer great versatility for homeowners who have the available outdoor space, which is demonstrated by the huge variation in what people use them for. But like every room in the house, it is important to ensure a garden room offers the right level of privacy as and when it’s needed, as well as being protected from the effects of strong sunshine.

“Uni-Blinds are a great solution because they are encapsulated within the double glazed unit. This results in a sleek appearance and they don’t add clutter inside a garden room where space is often fairly restricted. They provide a contemporary look too with modern appeal versus more traditional curtains and blinds – and they require virtually no cleaning or maintenance during their lifetime.”

All Uni-Blinds are manufactured by Morley Glass at its HQ and production facility near Leeds using ScreenLine integral blind systems – the world’s leading brand in this sector. Customers can choose from a variety of colours in both Venetian and pleated integral blind styles and the units are suitable for all types of windows and doors, including French doors, bi-fold doors and standard casement windows.

Uni-Blinds integral blinds are also supplied in the industry’s fastest turnaround, enabling window installers to offer garden room owners the opportunity for a quick transformation. Installers can receive their Uni-Blinds in as little as 10 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays, with the added bonus of complimentary delivery.

Find out more about Uni-Blinds integral blinds here.

Thank you to Bucks Garden Rooms for supplying the photos featured in this article. All images copyright of Bucks Garden Rooms.

Top integral blind colours of 2023 revealed

An analysis of our sales data has revealed that anthracite was 2023’s most popular colour for our bespoke ScreenLine Venetian integral blinds, narrowly pipping white to the post.

Anthracite accounted for over a third (34.5%) of all sales of Venetian Uni-Blinds, with white coming a close second at 32.4%. Both these colours have dominated for several years now, but the sales data does suggest the arrival of a new kid on the block – black.

Whilst pleated Uni-Blinds have been available in black for a number of years, it was only in 2023 that a new black (B160) Venetian blind was introduced to the ScreenLine range. And, given the orders already received in the first 12 months of manufacturing of black Venetian units this colour appears to have captured the imagination of property owners, already accounting for nearly 6% of all sales.

Grey and silver blind slats are also still highly popular, with standard silver (S157) taking third spot with nearly 1 in 10 of sales, and light grey (S155) seeing similar volumes to black.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We continue to see white and anthracite windows and doors dominating across the market, whether that’s for PVC-U, aluminium or timber frames. But that doesn’t mean homeowner tastes are not changing, which is why we continue to work in conjunction with ScreenLine systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A. to add new colour options to our portfolio.

“The rapid growth of black Venetian Uni-Blinds sales shows how customers respond positively to colours that enable them to achieve an ‘on trend’ contemporary look in their home. Black fixtures and fittings have become hugely popular in interior décor in recent years, and now we are seeing the appeal of black integral blinds grow too.”

One of the stand-out advantages of choosing Uni-Blinds with ScreenLine integral blinds inside is that all the colours are developed to the highest standards, which means they will resist fading and stay in pristine condition throughout their lifetime. Pellini’s R&D process for new colours is extensive, designed to replicate prolonged periods of the strongest sunshine and temperature extremes over a period of five years to ensure all ScreenLine colours represent the most trusted choice in the industry.

Whichever colour or control system is specified for Uni-Blinds integral blinds, Morley Glass will supply them with complimentary delivery in the industry’s shortest lead times. Venetian and pleated integral blinds, including pleated blackouts, can be delivered in as little as 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

Find out more about the colour options available for Uni-Blinds integral blinds here.

Morley Glass supports Yorkshire Children’s Charity’s ‘egg-cellent’ campaign

Morley Glass is stepping up its efforts to make sure disadvantaged children across Yorkshire do not miss out on a chocolate treat this Easter by launching a prize draw in partnership with the Leeds Knights ice hockey club.

We are providing three fantastic prizes which supporters of Leeds Knights will stand a chance of winning simply by bringing an Easter egg to the club’s four March fixtures ahead of the Easter weekend , and donating it to Yorkshire Children’s Charity. Their volunteers will be in attendance on entry to the Leeds Knights games against Swindon Wildcats (Sunday 3rd March), Hull Seahawks (Friday 8th March), Bees Ice Hockey Club (Sunday 17th March) and Sheffield Steeldogs (Sunday 24th March).

Leeds Knights fans who donate an Easter egg will be able to enter into the Yorkshire Children’s Charity prize draw simply by scanning a QR code at the donation point, or posting a photo with their chocolate egg on social media tagging Leeds Knights, Morley Glass and Yorkshire Children’s Charity. You can find out more here.

The top prize will be a Leeds Knights season ticket, with the runner up picking up a half season ticket, and the person with the third place ticket winning a signed Leeds Knights jersey. The winners will be announced on Good Friday at the last Leeds Knights home game before Easter versus Solway Sharks.

All the Easter eggs collected will be distributed by Yorkshire Children’s Charity to children living in some of the region’s most disadvantaged communities who may otherwise not be receiving one this year. Their goal is to provide an Easter egg for every child in each of Yorkshire Children’s Charity’s partnered schools, totalling over 5,000 children.

Morley Glass, who are the ‘title sponsors’ of Leeds Knights, hope the initiative will result in hundreds of Easter eggs being donated to the charity thanks to the generosity of the club’s devoted fans.

Commenting on the partnership, Charlotte Farrington, CEO at Yorkshire Children’s Charity said, “We‘re enormously grateful to Morley Glass and Leeds Knights for setting up this Easter egg collection scheme and, most importantly, to all those ice hockey supporters who will be donating a chocolate egg.

“Holidays such as Easter can put an additional strain on families, especially in the current climate, with the cost of living crisis having a devastating impact on family finances. Yorkshire Children’s Charity’s School Network programme works closely with schools to help understand how best they can support their pupils, and one of the ways we were able to do this successfully in 2023 was through our Easter Egg campaign. A gesture as simple as a chocolate egg can put a huge smile on a child’s face, helping them experience some childhood magic and creating lasting positive memories,”

Morley Glass has proudly supported Yorkshire Children’s Charity since the charity launched in 2022 by providing a mix of financial and hands-on assistance. The charity works to transform childhoods to make things better for the thousands of disadvantaged children living in the region, to make sure no child or young person is left behind due to ill health, disability, or financial circumstance.

Find out more about Yorkshire Children’s Charity at www.yorkshirechildrenscharity.org.

Peak sales opportunity for summer-ready pleated blackout integral blinds

With the late winter and early spring period being peak period for homeowners preparing their homes for summer, now is the perfect time to promote the benefits of pleated blackout integral blinds.

We have offered a pleated blackout variant for several years now, and every year we see an increase in enquiries and quotes for the system in the first quarter. It enables homeowners to switch a room from light to complete darkness in an instant, even during the strongest sunshine, given its design which means there is no light ‘bleed’ around the edges of the blind or along the cords.

Pleated blackout Uni-Blinds are manufactured by Morley Glass exclusively using ScreenLine integral blind systems, the world’s number one system, and can be fitted into all kinds of new windows and doors as well as for retrofits. They are available in a variety of manual and motorised control systems and customers can choose from eight different colours for the internal face of the high quality blackout fabric.

Importantly, the integral blind units are produced in the industry’s shortest lead times, just 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays, and all UK mainland customers benefit from complimentary delivery. This rapid turnaround means installers can respond to customer requests well ahead of the arrival of the long summer days.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass, said: “This year British Summer Time begins on 31st March which many of us will welcome as we can start to enjoy the great outdoors much later into the evening. But for parents of young children whose early bedtime isn’t so compatible with lighter evenings, shift workers who need to sleep during the day, or for those with a cinema room or other space where bright sunshine affects its use, the April to September period comes with its problems.

“That’s where our pleated blackout integral blind can help. It is designed to provide darkness in an instant due to how it blocks light transmission in a way that Venetian blinds and standard vanity blinds won’t. The system has proved really popular since we introduced it to the range, with end-users not only choosing it for children’s bedrooms or nurseries, but also for bedrooms which face out on to busy streets where streetlights and car headlights can be a nuisance through the night.”

The Uni-Blinds pleated blackout integral blind is ideally suited to retrofitting into existing window or door frames because it can be specified for slimmer double glazed units which have a 20mm cavity. This is exclusively available from Morley Glass and makes the system more compatible with many older profile designs.

Find out more about the pleated blackout integral blind system www.morleyglass.co.uk/pleated-blackout-blinds.

Morley Glass recycling initiative crowned winner in G23 Awards

The post-consumer glass recycling scheme developed by Morley Glass in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass has been named the winner of the G23 Award for ‘sustainability initiative of the year’.

Winning the prestigious award in the ‘industry Oscars’ is high level recognition for the scheme which, in the space of two years, has saved a vast amount of resources, energy and CO2 emissions, as well as providing thousands of pounds in financial support for numerous good causes.

The Morley Glass and Saint-Gobain Glass collaboration has shown that old, end-of-life double glazed units removed during window and door replacement work can be successfully diverted away from landfill into the re-manufacture of higher performing new glass.

Under the scheme, Morley Glass collects post-consumer IGUs using our fleet of delivery vans. Drivers pick up the old sealed units from installers free of charge when we deliver new orders of Uni-Blinds, and these are transported back to Morley Glass HQ where they are crushed into cullet. This high quality raw material is then supplied to Saint-Gobain Glass who have invested in the facilities and processes to use it in place of virgin raw materials for the production of new float glass.

So far, Morley Glass has generated nearly 2,500 bags of cullet, which has saved the need for more than 1,850 tonnes of sand and reduced CO2 emissions in the glass manufacturing process by over 1,000 tonnes. This is because the use of cullet in place of virgin raw materials means less energy is needed to operate the furnace.

The initiative is not only improving the sustainability of glass manufacturing, however. It also helps installers to save thousands of pounds every year on waste disposal costs, and benefits the wider community through the GreenVision fund. All revenue raised through the production of cullet is made available to eligible charities, groups and individuals who are working on initiatives to deliver environmental or social improvements in their communities.

The post-consumer glass recycling scheme has been so successful that it now provides an effective model for others in the industry to adopt. Saint-Gobain Glass is, in fact, already partnering with window fabricators and installers across the UK to roll-out similar schemes.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said, “We’re absolutely over the moon to win the G23 Award for sustainability. There really is no bigger honour to receive in the UK fenestration industry so it is fantastic for our hard work and commitment to be rewarded in this way.

“The scheme could not have succeeded, however, without the positive mindset and buy-in from our partners at Saint-Gobain Glass, everyone in the Morley Glass team and, most importantly, our installer customers. We’re delighted that so many of our customers have already accepted our offer to collect their waste glass, and it is really encouraging to see more installers coming on board every month.

“The icing on the cake for everyone involved is the fact that so many community improvement initiatives benefit too. In 2023, the scheme has been able to provide funding for everything from dance scholarships to an organisation which manufactures blankets for homeless people using waste crisp packets, and we look forward to supporting many more initiatives in 2024.”

Find out more about the glass recycling initiative and the GreenVision fund.

Morley Glass IGU recycling scheme breaks ‘1,000 energy years’ savings mark

The pioneering post-consumer glass recycling scheme developed by Morley Glass in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass has now saved enough energy to power over 1,000 average sized homes for a year.

In the space of just three years, the G23 Award winning initiative has diverted more than 1,800 tonnes or 2,997 cubic metres of glass away from landfill through the collection of end-of-life IGUs (insulating glass units) collected by Morley Glass from our customers. These IGUs are then crushed by us to generate cullet (crushed glass) which Saint-Gobain uses as a high quality raw material for the manufacture of new building glass.

The resulting savings in terms of energy use, due to the fact that using cullet instead of virgin raw materials in glass manufacturing is less energy intensive, equate to 1,064 ‘energy years’ – an energy year being the amount of energy required to power a typical UK home for 12 months. This is based on modelling which shows that one tonne of cullet saves an amount of energy similar to what a household would use in six months.

Energy savings, however, are just one of the benefits of the initiative which Morley Glass and Saint-Gobain co-developed in 2021, and today provides a model for other fabricators and installers in the UK window industry to adopt. To date, the scheme has also prevented around 1,400 tonnes of CO2 being emitted during the glass manufacturing process, and reduced the amount of sand – the main virgin raw material for glass – needed by 2,391 tonnes.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass commented: “Most of us will appreciate how recycling materials such as glass reduces the demand for the planet’s resources, such as sand, but the energy savings achievable through recycling IGUs are perhaps less well known. When cullet is used in place of virgin raw materials like sand, less energy is needed to operate the furnace and this has enabled Saint-Gobain to develop a formula to show how much is saved when you use more cullet.

“Breaking through the 1,000 ‘energy years’ mark is an amazing achievement after just three years and hopefully this will encourage more installers to get involved with our glass recycling initiative. We offer a free collection service for end-of-life IGUs if we are delivering new orders of our Uni-Blinds integral blinds, or if an installer is based in the Leeds area, which means installers can save money on their general waste disposal costs too.”

The glass recycling initiative is also the only one of its kind to fund environmental and social improvement projects. The high quality of the cullet we produce generates revenue which all goes into a fund called GreenVision.

This enables Morley Glass to provide grants to charities, groups and individuals who are dedicated to improving their local communities. So far, over 170 grants have been awarded to support good causes including school vegetable growing projects, village in bloom groups and an initiative in Leeds which repairs and renovates unwanted bikes to donate back to the community.

Find out more about our glass recycling initiative here.

Morley Glass looks ahead to exciting 2024 after capping successful year

With a host of new products launched, multiple award wins, a busy FIT Show behind it and important milestones reached in our pioneering glass recycling initiative, Morley Glass has not only strengthened its position as the UK’s market leader in integral blind systems but developed strong foundations for a successful 2024.

Over the past 12 months, we were first to bring a variety of new integral blind products to the UK market which have unlocked valuable new market potential for installers. Most notable of these was a new integral blind for flat glass rooflights, a high-quality pleated blackout blind with motorised operation encapsulated within a high performance double glazed unit.

This is already providing installers with an attractive option for homeowners who are looking to complete their new roof glazing installation, particularly where properties are overlooked. It is a system that offers a dependable, high-quality shading and privacy solution, as does another of the 2023-launched new Morley Glass products, switchable smart glass, which is perfect for all kinds of windows and doors in high-end residential and commercial projects.

We also enhanced our Uni-Blinds range of Venetian integral blinds during 2023 with several new contemporary colours including its exclusive black (B160) integral blind, agate grey (S120) and slate grey (S158) – all of which offered homeowners alternatives to the ever-popular anthracite and white blind slats. And a dual-coloured slat, which is white on the inside and anthracite on the outside, also debuted at the 2023 FIT Show, receiving a warm reception from installers.

This show was a big success for Morley Glass, bolstered by an award-winning marketing campaign that generated the strongest ever footfall to our stand. In August, we were recognised for our efforts here by winning the coveted ‘Best Use of Social Media’ award in the FIT Show Marketing Awards.

It was our third major award win of 2023 , which followed a special sustainability award from Saint-Gobain Glass and success at the GGP Installer Awards in March. Here, the company scooped the award for ‘Best Installer Support Programme or Service Initiative’ in recognition for its post-consumer glass collection and recycling service for installers.

The icing on the cake for Morley Glass, however, was winning the ‘Sustainability Initiative of the Year’ award at the prestigious G23 Awards. In addition to giving everyone involved in this scheme high level recognition from industry peers, it was a significant step in raising awareness of post-consumer glass recycling and showing a clear way forward for the industry as a whole.

Important milestones have been reached over the past 12 months in the recycling scheme in which we crush old, end-of-life IGUs into cullet. The initiative cuts resource and energy use in the glass manufacturing industry, saves installers money on waste disposal and raises money for charities, groups and individuals working on environmental and social improvement projects.

In early 2023, we generated our 1,000th tonne of cullet and now that figure is around 1,500 tonnes – a level that means the scheme has cut CO2 emissions in the glass making process by over 1,000 tonnes.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said, “There have been so many highlights for our business during 2023, but for me personally the stand out events were undoubtedly the FIT Show and winning at the G Awards! Both occasions reflect the great energy, enthusiasm and innovation that fuels our industry, and we are delighted to have played our part over the last 12 months by driving forward with our recycling scheme and introducing new products, both of which can help installers thrive.”

Over three decades Morley Glass has evolved to become the world’s largest manufacturer of bespoke high performance ScreenLine integral blinds, with an average of 4,000 units produced every week sold nationally under the Uni-Blinds brand.

The scale of our operation enables British window and door installers to benefit from the shortest lead times, and early access to new ScreenLine integral blinds developed by Pellini S.p.A. The partnership between the two companies means Uni-Blinds integral blinds are available in as little as 10-12 working days, giving installers and homeowners an attractive timeframe for completion of the windows, doors and blinds package.

Pioneering recycling initiative named finalist in window industry Oscars

The innovative post-consumer glass recycling initiative developed jointly by Morley Glass and Saint-Gobain Glass is in the running for a G23 Award after being shortlisted in the Sustainability Initiative of the Year category.

The initiative has demonstrated, for the first time, that end-of-life, poorly performing double glazed units removed during window and door replacement contracts can be successfully diverted away from landfill, and converted into a high quality raw material for the manufacture of new float glass. This ‘closed loop’ recycling scheme has already won plaudits in the glass industry by winning a prestigious Glass Focus Award in late 2021, and now both companies are hoping to repeat their success in the fenestration industry’s Oscars.

Under the initiative, post-consumer IGUs are collected from installers by Morley Glass drivers at no cost when they deliver new Uni-Blinds integral blind units, and these are then crushed to create cullet (crushed glass) back at our Leeds site. The cullet is bagged into one-tonne bags which are collected by Saint-Gobain Glass who then transport the cullet to their glass factory at Eggborough near Selby. Here, they process the material to remove any impurities in their state-of-the-art plant before using it as a raw material in place of finite materials including sand.

After starting life in 2021 as a small scale internal operation to recycle waste glass such as off-cuts from the Morley Glass factory, the initiative has quickly grown. Today, it has become a nationwide service to installers of Uni-Blinds integral blinds, as well as many local window installers regardless of whether they buy products from the company.

To date, more than 1,300 tonnes of cullet has been diverted away from going to landfill which has saved the need for more than 1,700 tonnes of sand in the glass-making process and cut CO2 emissions by over 1,000 tonnes. The service is also helping installers save thousands of pounds every year on their waste disposal costs because they require fewer landfill skips.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said, “We’re absolutely delighted to make it to the G-Awards finals for our recycling initiative and we can’t wait for the awards presentation evening. In partnership with Saint-Gobain we’ve developed a model that we hope others can adopt across the country, giving the industry a viable process to end the wasteful and potentially costly practice of simply throwing post-consumer sealed units into the general waste skip.”

Another unique dimension to the glass recycling initiative is that every penny generated through the production of cullet is placed into a fund called GreenVision to help charities, groups and individuals who are working to improve their local community through environmental or social projects. Grants of £500 are awarded to anyone who qualifies, and so far, it has benefitted good causes ranging from ‘village in bloom’ groups to budding sportsmen and women and a scheme to support young entrepreneurs.

Ian added, “It is tremendous to be shortlisted alongside so many other great companies, not only in the sustainability category but across all the awards. I’d like to wish all the finalists the very best of luck and I look forward to what is set to be an amazing awards evening in November!”

The G-Awards ceremony takes place at the prestigious London Hilton on Park Lane on Friday 24 November – full details are available at www.g-awards.com.

For more about the recycling initiative here.

Installers hail the ‘W Smart’ way to provide motorised integral blinds

The biggest advantage of the ScreenLine W Smart battery operated motorised integral blind from Morley Glass is being able to complete the installation without the need for an electrician, according to feedback from Uni-Blinds installers.

The W Smart can add a ‘wow factor’ to any home thanks to the way the smooth, quiet brushless motor raises and lowers the blind, and – in the case of Venetian blinds – tilts the slats. The motor is powered by a rechargeable battery that is charged, not by a mains power supply, but through a standard micro-USB cable, with the option of a small solar panel mounted on the external window or door frame.

The Venetian or pleated blind can be encapsulated within a 20, 22, 27 or 29mm cavity double glazed unit making it suitable for virtually any type of window or door. Easy to operate, W Smart is supplied with a small remote control device, as well as a stylish battery module featuring touch keys to move the blind up and down. It can also be controlled using a smartphone app thanks to the development of a new plug-and-play smart hub called ScreenHub.

What may be bad news for sparkies is great news for window fitters who are able to complete the job for the customer independently, without the hassle of having to coordinate their work on site with other tradespeople. No hard wiring is needed as is usually the case with motorised blinds of all types, not just integral blinds, and this is the main reason why W Smart installers say they like the product.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said, “W Smart was designed initially to provide end-users and homeowners with a motorised integral blind which is simple to install. That continues to be a massive benefit of this system – our installers and their customers tell us that they love the fact it can be fitted quickly, so the installation can be done and dusted in a matter of hours.”

Venetian blind versions of W Smart are available in the latest contemporary colours launched by ScreenLine and exclusively available from Morley Glass. These include black (B160), two cool new greys – agate grey (S120) and slate grey (B158) – and a new dual coloured slat that is anthracite grey on the outside and white inside.

Like all Uni-Blinds integral blind systems, every W Smart unit is made to order by Morley Glass at our Leeds factory. Customers benefit from complimentary delivery and receive their integral blind units within the industry’s shortest turnaround times – orders received by 10am on Thursdays are usually delivered in just 10-12 days.

Find out more about W Smart.

Take control of light and shade as the UK gets sunnier!

The unseasonably warm and sunny start to September 2023 for most of us serves as an important reminder that the UK’s weather can never really be predicted. Intense, bright sunshine is not only a summertime phenomenon – it is something we can experience all year-round.

In fact, when we look at the stats for recent years, the sunniest months in the UK are not always what you’d expect. For example, in 2021 it was April that saw the most sunshine at an average of 7.6 hours per day. In March 2022, there was more sunshine than in May of the previous year, and – incredible as it may seem – did you know that February 2019 was as sunny as June 2016? (Source: Statista)

Another important trend that’s emerging is that the UK is actually getting sunnier. According to the Met Office, data for the most recent period (2013–2022) was the sunniest on record – an average of 3% more hours of bright sunshine than between 1991–2020, and 9% more than 1961-1990. (Source: Met Office)

Sunnier UK weather – what’s not to like?

What does all this mean for our homes, schools and workplaces? First and foremost it means that we need to ensure we have a quick and easy way to control excessive sunlight throughout the year – not just cope with it during a few weeks in the summer. And there is no better way to do this than by installing Uni-Blinds integral blinds from Morley Glass in the windows, doors and rooflights that are most likely to be affected.

Whilst the news that Britain may be getting sunnier is great news for sun-worshippers, it is not so good when you’ve got to work, study and sleep. But it is easy to take control of the amount of light coming into your property with any of the five different control systems available for our Uni-Blinds.

These integral blind units – blinds that sit between the panes of glass in a sealed unit – are suitable for all types of windows and doors made with PVCu, aluminium and timber frames, including vertically sliding sash windows, bi-fold doors and even rooflights. They are all made to order and can be used in brand new windows or to retrofit existing windows or doors.

Choice of manual or motorised integral blind controls

Our manually controlled integral blind options give customers the choice of a traditional corded control system – the C System – or our number one selling system which is operated using a magnetic slider mounted to the glass, the SV System. Another similar system just for pleated and pleated blackout blinds is our S System. All these integral blinds are not only simple to use, but also look super-sleek, with the added benefit of being very easy for any competent window installer to fit.

For those who are looking for a motorised integral blind option, we offer the MB System and W Smart. The MB System uses a brushless motor to provide long term smooth operation controlled by remote control, wall mounted controls or your smartphone. W Smart offers easy installation because it is powered by a rechargeable battery that can be boosted by charge from a tiny externally mounted solar panel – all of which eliminates the need for an electrician to install. With both these systems, you can raise, lower or tilt the blinds at the touch of a button – what could be easier than that?

UK-made with Italian flair

All Uni-Blinds integral blind units are UK-manufactured to the highest standards exclusively using ScreenLine systems from Italian company Pellini S.p.A., the pioneer of these types of blinds and the world’s market leader. This means our customers get the peace of mind that their integral blinds will stand the test of time, operating smoothly for many years to come.

And our blinds can complement any décor scheme with numerous colour options. You can choose from 14 Venetian blind colours, including contemporary colours like Agate Grey, black and anthracite, 11 different coloured fabrics for our pleated blinds and 8 pleated blackout colours.

To find out more about how to control the amount of light and shade entering your property take a look at our section on control systems.

Ian to take a marathon walk to support Bliss Cavalier Rescue

For those of you that know our MD Ian Short, you probably know how devoted him and his wife are to their dog Margot.

But what you may not know if the story behind how Margot came into their lives and why Ian is taking part in a marathon fundraising walk.

It all started in February this year. Ian and his wife Kathy rescued their dog Margot from Bliss Cavalier Rescue organisation. Margot came from a breeding farm where she had her first litter at less than one year old. As aa result, she suffered serious problems with her joints and an undiagnosed neurological condition. Now, however, thanks to an operation and with a caring family behind her, Margot is now living her best life.

That’s why on Saturday 29th July 2023, Ian will be walking just short of a marathon to raise funds for Bliss so that other dogs like Margot get the treatment and support they need and deserve.

Every penny counts and ensures that Bliss can continue doing their amazing work. Any donations – little or large – would be extremely welcome, so please support Ian and Bliss if you can!

Please click here to make a donation or scan the QR code below.

Thank you for your support!

Morley Glass embarks on showstopping FIT Show 2025 presence

Morley Glass is making rapid progress on its plans for next year’s FIT Show as it seeks to repeat the success of previous events and introduce further new products to the market.

The company is working closely with its exhibition design and build partner, White Rose Exhibitions, to ensure visitors to its FIT Show stand can enjoy the most positive experience as they explore its range of ScreenLine integral blind systems with ease, and discover their sales potential. The 144 sq. m stand will feature working displays of all the different Uni-Blinds branded integral blind systems, as well as its Uni-Switch switchable smart glass which proved a big hit with visitors in 2023.

Morley Glass and ScreenLine systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A. are collaborating to ensure several new products will be ready to unveil at the 2025 show. Details of these new products will be released over the coming months.

FIT Show VIP tickets will also once again be provided by Morley Glass to anyone registering to attend via a unique link. This will be published on the Morley Glass website nearer to the event, offering visitors the best experience thanks to benefits including a free early bird breakfast, use of the VIP business and networking lounge, free refreshments throughout the day in the VIP Lounge and entry to the show via a dedicated fast track desk.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re so excited to be pushing ahead with our plans for the 2025 FIT Show, which will be the ‘must-attend’ event in the window industry’s diary next year. As with our previous preparations, we want to make our next show presence bigger and better which we’ll be doing with the creation of some exciting new displays and by bringing more exclusive new products to the show.

“In the 12 months since the last FIT Show, we have developed our approved installer programme further and we have boosted the number of customers taking advantage of this significantly. We’ll be showcasing the benefits of being an approved Uni-Blinds® installer at next year’s show and encouraging anyone who is unfamiliar with integral blinds to come and see us, so they can see for themselves how easy they are to fit and why they are so popular with homeowners.”

Morley Glass is the world’s largest manufacturer of bespoke ScreenLine integral blinds. We produce up to 4,000 integral blind units every week at our HQ and manufacturing centre near Leeds, which are supplied nationwide to installers with complimentary delivery in as little as 10-12 working days.

‘Incredible response’ to latest Uni-Blinds systems at 2022 FIT Show

The 2022 FIT Show proved to be a tremendous success with an incredible response from the industry to our range and, in particular, our newly launched systems.

Our largest ever FIT Show stand gave visitors ample space and opportunity to touch, feel and try-out its market-leading range of integrated blinds. There was a special free prize draw too, which was won by James O’Brien of TWR Group – he wins a Uni-Blinds® integral blinds package worth £1000!

Over three busy days, hundreds of visitors to the stand explored the established market leading solutions from Uni-Blinds®, including the best-selling SV cordless sliding Venetian system and MB System, the smart home compatible fully automated system.

However, it was the new Uni-Blinds® systems that were the stars of the show. The new SV+, which is a symmetrical version of the SV sliding Venetian blind, attracted strong interest from installers who wanted to see the potential for Uni-Blinds® to provide a perfectly balanced view through windows and doors.

The new Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout integral blind was also a big attraction, thanks to its ability to provide complete “darkness on-demand” in rooms such as nurseries and cinema rooms, as well as bedrooms affected by light pollution from streetlights and car headlights.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We had an incredible response from the industry at the FIT Show so thank you to everyone who came to see us. It was fantastic to get back to meeting people face-to-face and seeing so many familiar faces, as well as having an opportunity to introduce Uni-Blinds® a new audience.

“We were so impressed with the number of visitors, the buzz and the new connections we made at the show that we have already signed up for FIT Show 2023. We can’t wait to get back out there in May next year!”

Ahead of the show, Morley Glass used the power of social media to engage with customers, industry partners and prospects to great effect. Our creative campaign attracted more registrations for FIT Show tickets via the unique link than any other exhibitor, helping Morley Glass to get the most from its presence at the show.

Interest in the other new Uni-Blinds® developments was also strong. The SmartHub technology for the W Smart solar controlled integral blind, which means the blind can be controlled via a smartphone app, and the new ScreenView® system for health and social care environments, both demonstrate how Uni-Blinds® can suit specific end-user applications and tastes.

All Uni-Blinds® integral blind systems are made by Morley Glass in the UK exclusively using ScreenLine integral blind systems from global leader Pellini. They are delivered to installers nationwide at no extra cost in as little as 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays, and Uni-Blinds® installers benefit from a full suite of point-of-sale assets, including blind sample packs and brochures, along with unrivalled technical support for total peace of mind.

Morley Glass helps installers ‘switch on’ to switchable glass sales opportunities

Our new Uni-Switch® switchable glass product is designed to help installers unlock sales potential with customers who are looking for premium window and door privacy solutions.

Switchable smart glass may be one of the latest technology-driven products for windows and doors of all types but, until now, it has been a very niche purchase. This has largely been due to the product’s often complicated supply chain and lengthy lead times, which has made sourcing it problematic for installers.

With the launch of Uni-Switch®, we believe we can change that, with a superior switchable glass product available in a lead time of just 15 working days.

There is fantastic growth potential for switchable glass at the top end of the market, chiefly because it matches the ambitions of customers who are seeking the highest quality, most technically advanced windows and doors.

And there is a growing demand in the commercial market too, given how switchable glass is ideally suited to interior glass elements like partitions and doors in offices, healthcare facilities, schools, colleges, universities, leisure facilities and hotels.

Uni-Switch® switchable glass uses an electrical current, which is passed through a thin film applied to the inner pane of laminated glass, to change its appearance from opaque when the power is off, to transparent when the electricity supply is switched on.

It is very straightforward to install, and it can be used for everything from a standard casement or French doors, to vertically sliding sashes, bi-fold doors and rooflights. The glass remains highly transparent with a light transmission level of over 78%, with the lowest angle haze, and 99.9% of harmful UV rays are blocked.

The film is highly configurable too, including being available in 12 different colours and shades. This unlocks amazing creative potential as logos can be incorporated into the film so they are visible as required, and differences in the opaqueness can be achieved – for example, the film could be applied to just one half of the glass pane or applied to reveal shapes such as stripes or circles.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “The reaction that Uni-Switch® received when it debuted at the FIT Show in May was incredible. We’ve taken time to get the right system in place, and to set up our business in a way that makes pricing and sourcing the product very straightforward for our customers – that’s going to make it easy for installers to buy the system from us.”

Uni-Switch® also overcomes one of the main technical challenges associated with many other switchable smart glass systems – the level of electrical current. Switchable glass usually works using a 110V current, whereas our product requires only 40V. One of the main benefits that results from the ‘low voltage’ is that it allows switchable smart glass to be incorporated into bi-fold doors more easily.

Visual clarity is optimised through the use of low-iron glass and the product can be incorporated into double and triple glazed units without compromising other important performance criteria – such as the highest levels of thermal insulation and advanced solar control in sunny aspects.

Morley Glass offers full technical support and installation guidance for Uni-Switch®, in line with all its integral blind systems, along with world-class aftersales service.

Find out more about Uni-Switch® here.

Tenth year of FIT Show proves best ever for Morley Glass!

The 2023 FIT Show was the busiest show to date for Morley Glass, with our inundated with interest in our premium quality shading and privacy solutions, especially from installers seeking to unlock the sales potential of its market leading, easy to install systems.

So successful was this tenth year of the FIT Show that we have already signed up to exhibit at the next event in 2025.

This year’s show was particularly special for Morley Glass as it also marked our 25th anniversary, a milestone which the team celebrated with the industry in a variety of ways. This included being a major sponsor of the show and the PIGS networking evening, and through a free chocolate bar prize draw that proved hugely popular with visitors.

Twenty-five FIT Show visitors won a prize after picking up and unwrapping one of the winning chocolate bars, including Bradley Gaunt from Made for Trade Windows who won a package of four motorised Uni-Blinds integral blinds worth more than £1000. The prize draw was, however, just one of the big attractions of the Morley Glass stand created by White Rose Exhibitions, which also featured a stunning 2.0m x 2.5m video wall and a host of eye-catching Uni-Blinds integral blind displays.

Over three packed days the stars of the show were undoubtedly the Morley Glass systems and products that were making their debut. Our new integral blind system for flat glass rooflights piqued the interest of installers through its ability to offer a balance of long term operational reliability with elegant looks, and the new switchable smart glass system appealed to many installers working on high-end residential projects.

Delighted with the show, Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass commented: “What an amazing FIT Show – so much so that we are already looking forward to the next one in 2025! The turnout was fantastic, and it was good to see a continuous flow of visitors to our stand, which has helped us build some exciting new relationships, as well as giving us the opportunity to catch up with our existing customers and industry partners.

“We’ve spent 25 years developing a range of premium privacy and shading products and systems which we passionately believe offer massive sales potential to installers. As anyone who visited us at the FIT Show will have seen, we partner with the world’s leading manufacturers including ScreenLine® integral blind systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A. which means our customers can offer end-users the highest quality products of their kind and I think that is only going become even more important in a more competitive window and door market.”

As we did in 2022, we deployed an extensive marketing campaign to support our presence at the FIT Show, with a particular focus on social media. So successful was this creative campaign that we generated more VIP ticket registrations via our unique link than any other exhibitor, even surpassing our 2022 figure!

Morley Glass is the world’s largest manufacturer of bespoke integral blinds created using ScreenLine systems. Our Uni-Blinds products are manufactured at our Leeds factory and supplied to customers in the shortest lead times, with complimentary nationwide delivery in as little as 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

Uni-Blinds installers benefit from a full suite of marketing and point-of-sale assets, including blind sample packs and brochures, along with unrivalled technical support for total peace of mind.

Switchable smart glass completes 2023 FIT Show new product line-up

We will launch a further new addition to our product portfolio at the 2023 FIT Show with a debut for our new switchable smart glass on our stand (L41).

Complementing our current range of Uni-Blinds shading and privacy systems which take the form of integral blinds – Venetian and pleated blinds encapsulated within double or triple glazed units – switchable smart glass gives installers an additional solution for high-end residential and commercial projects.

Switchable smart glass provides instant privacy using electricity. The laminated glass incorporates a thin film which changes from its opaque state when the power is off, to transparent when the electricity supply is switched on.

It is straightforward to install and growing in its appeal amongst property owners. This is particularly the case for those who are seeking to incorporate shading into their windows and doors with the ultimate minimalist look, given that there is no control system visible other than a switch or remote control.

Its introduction means Morley Glass customers can source the full range of premium quality interior and exterior shading and privacy solutions from one supplier – all with assured quality and unrivalled design, installation and aftersales support. As with our market leading integral blinds brand, Uni-Blinds, we are partnering with a highly respected manufacturer to ensure the new switchable smart glass meets the highest performance and quality standards.

Switchable smart glass is one of several new Morley Glass products debuting at the 2023 FIT Show. We will also be showcasing our new integral blind for flat glass rooflights plus a number of new colour options for our integral blinds, including the recently launched black (B160) Venetian blind, plus a dual coloured slat.

In addition to the product displays, our stand will also feature a video wall showing a fly-through video following the manufacturing process for integral blinds. And visitors to our stand will also have an opportunity to join in our 25th anniversary celebrations, which will include the chance to win one of 25 prizes simply by unwrapping one of our specially produced chocolate bars.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re delighted to be adding switchable smart glass to our portfolio as awareness of this premium product grows and our installer customers are increasingly being asked about it.

“Over the last two decades we’ve seen through the growth in our sales of Uni-Blinds® integral blinds that there is a strong appetite amongst homeowners for products that offer innovative, high quality upgrades to windows and doors, so we see excellent potential for switchable glass to be more than just a niche product.”

Morley Glass has a limited number of free VIP Passes available to give anyone planning to attend the FIT Show. In addition to fast-track entry, the VIP Pass provides free early bird breakfast, use of the VIP business and networking lounge and free refreshments throughout the day in the VIP lounge, plus other benefits.

New integral blind colours to make debut at 2023 FIT Show

Visitors to the Morley Glass stand at this year’s FIT Show will have their first opportunity to see new UK-exclusive ScreenLine integral blind colours, which have been developed to give style-conscious homeowners the perfect complement to their contemporary home décor.

We have been working closely with ScreenLine integral blind systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A. to bring several new colour options to the UK market, ensuring that installers can provide the complete ‘on-trend’ windows and doors package.

In the spotlight on the 140 sq. m Morley Glass stand – L41 – will be the recently launched B160 black integral Venetian blind, which makes its UK public debut at the FIT Show. This colour has been developed to meet the growing trend amongst homeowners to coordinate the integral blinds with other black and neutral colours in their home, including black window and door frames, which are becoming increasingly popular.

Visitors will also be able to see an exclusive new Agate grey option for Uni-Blinds Venetian blinds in the form of an RAL 7038 colour, along with a darker ‘slate’ grey – the S158.

Another colour innovation on show will be a dual colour Venetian blind slat. This is grey on one side and white on the other, making it ideal for doors and windows where the customer seeks to retain a bright white colour inside their home, while applying a colour such as anthracite grey externally.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass, said: “We only ever manufacture our blinds using ScreenLine integral blind systems because the quality and styling advantages are clear to see. These latest colours developed by Pellini are exactly what the UK market needs today and, importantly, they have been tested thoroughly so we know they will remain pristine over the lifespan of the sealed unit – not all integral blind systems can offer that assurance.”

All these colour innovations are the result of an extensive R&D and testing process by Pellini, which is needed to ensure that the integral blind’s slats, cords, header rail, footer rail and any sideguides can be perfectly matched. The development process takes many months to replicate the conditions in-situ to check that the colour formulation will remain stable and not fade in strong sunlight, or cause any chemical reactions with the gas used to fill the sealed unit.

As with all the colours in the Morley Glass range, the new options are available for all Uni-Blinds Venetian integral blind systems – the corded C System, the motorised MB System, the W Smart solar powered blind and two magnetic slider controlled blinds, the SV and SV+.

There are no extended timescales for orders either – all these new colours are available in the usual ordering timescale for Uni-Blinds which is within 10-12 working days, when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

All Uni-Blinds integral blind systems are made in Leeds and delivery to UK customers is complimentary. Ordering is easy too, as Morley Glass has order processors dedicated to specific integral blind systems to ensure customers receive the best advice and technical guidance from the outset.

Unwrap one of twenty-five sweet chances to win with Morley Glass!

Morley Glass is giving every visitor to our 2023 FIT Show stand the chance to win one of 25 exciting prizes as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, simply by opening a free bar of chocolate!

All visitors need to do is pop along to our stand at L41, pick up one of our specially produced chocolate bars and unwrap it to see if they are a winner. Printed inside the wrappers of 25 of the chocolate bars is a winning token with details of the prize – anyone lucky enough to have one of these will win whatever is printed on it by presenting it to a member of the Morley Glass team.

An excellent range of prizes is available to win. From luxury treats, such as a bottle of champagne, to high value integral blind packages including a package of four Uni-Blinds integral blind units worth over £1000, it is a fantastic opportunity for FIT Show visitors to leave the event with something special.

The giveaway is part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of Morley Glass as we mark our quarter century at the same time as the FIT Show reaches its tenth year.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “It’s a big year for us so we will be doing lots of things to celebrate over the coming months, starting at the FIT Show. So what better way to say a little ‘thank you’ to anyone taking time to visit us at our stand to explore our integral blind systems, than with a chocolate bar – especially one that could make you a big prize winner!”

Anyone who would like to register for a FIT Show VIP pass courtesy of Morley Glass can do so by clicking here.

Morley Glass backs a winner as Leeds Knights take ice hockey’s National Division title

The Leeds Knights ice hockey team, who Morley Glass have proudly supported this season as their first ever title sponsor, have been crowned the Planet Ice NIHL National Division Champions with four matches to spare following a 4-2 win at Telford Tigers.

The rapidly developing team, who play at Planet Ice Leeds close to Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium, affectionately known as ‘The Castle’, have taken the league by storm this season and put the city back on the map for the sport as a result. Morley Glass was introduced to Leeds Knights in 2021 by a mutual friend and ever since their partnership has gone from strength to strength.

The title sponsorship deal has given the Morley Glass brand high prominence throughout the past season, which has included the team’s name changing to the ‘Morley Glass Leeds Knights’, the logo on the front of the players’ shirts plus advertising of the Morley Glass brand in the rink and on the ice.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass, said: “We’re so proud to see the team be crowned league champions – congratulations to the players, coaching staff and everyone involved with Leeds Knights! We love nothing more than supporting people who are dedicated to building something strong for the local community and being the best they can be, so it has been fantastic to see Leeds Knights do so well in the space of just a few years.”

Warwick Andrews, Managing Director of Leeds Knights added: “Winning the league title with four games to spare shows just how well the team has performed this season and we are absolutely thrilled. It has also been an amazing season off the ice, largely due to the support of Morley Glass who have been hugely supportive of what we are creating here. Ian and the team at Morley Glass have been a pleasure to work with throughout the season and we hope to continue our partnership moving forward.”

The NIHL National Division is a professional ice hockey league formed of 11 teams nationwide and is the second tier of ice hockey in the UK. Leeds Knights entered the league after the Covid pandemic, following the opening of the new 2000-capacity Planet Ice Arena in 2019.

Leeds Knights are one of the many community and environmental organisations who benefit from the support of Morley Glass, including through our GreenVision scheme. These beneficiaries range from local ‘village in bloom’ groups and primary school projects, to a dance school which provides professional training scholarships to children from disadvantaged communities.

Morley Glass agrees Leeds Knights title sponsorship for next two seasons

Leeds-based integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass has signed a deal to extend its sponsorship of ice hockey team Leeds Knights for at least the next two years.

The company will continue to be “Title Sponsors” of the team who were crowned the Planet Ice NIHL National Division Champions this year, and expectations are even higher for the 2023-24 season which begins in September.

The officially named “Morley Glass Leeds Knights” describe the sponsorship agreement as ‘pivotal’ as it helps to reinforce their ambition to be one of the established sporting brands in Leeds – starting with the defence of its title. The funding will enable the club to include new and upgraded branding within the rink and the Morley Glass logo will be prominently positioned on its new jersey design for the 2023-24 season.

Warwick Andrews, Managing Director of Leeds Knights said: “We are delighted to have extended our deal with Morley Glass; their investment for the next two years provides us with the confidence to build for the future. Morley Glass have been instrumental in supporting the growth of the club and it will be a pleasure to work alongside them as an integral part of our team.”

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass added: “It has been amazing to see the work that everyone involved with Leeds Knights puts in, which is reflected in how much they’ve achieved in such a short period of time. We’re proud to support the team and wish them the very best of luck for next season.”

The NIHL National Division, in which Leeds Knights play, is a professional ice hockey league formed of 11 teams nationwide and is the second tier of ice hockey in the UK. Leeds Knights entered the league after the Covid pandemic, following the opening of the new 2000-capacity Planet Ice Arena in 2019.

To find out more about Leeds Knights visit www.leedsknights.com.

We’ll be in great company at the 2023 GGP Installer Awards!

This year couldn’t have started more positively back in January than with the news that we had made it through to the finals of our first industry awards programme of the year.

Kicking off 2023 on the shortlist for the ‘Best Installer Support Programme or Service Initiative’ award in the 2023 GGP Installer Awards for our glass recycling service gives us a great sense of pride, because of the amazing benefits it delivers to our customers, our glass supplier, environmental and community focused charities, groups and individuals and our environment as a whole.

The service works like this. Our nationwide delivery drivers collect any post-consumer glass units that Uni-Blinds integral blinds installers remove as part of window replacement work. This is taken to our Leeds HQ so our vans are not returning to base empty. Once back in Leeds, the glass units are unloaded and fed into our glass crushing machinery which is the first key stage in recycling post-consumer glass.

Our glass crusher (CRUSH) produces cullet which is of a high enough quality to go straight into the production of new glass – it is collected by Saint-Gobain Glass for them to use at their Eggborough factory.

We offer the service is free to installers and fabricators because the glass cullet produced through our crushing process is a valuable raw material in its own right. But we don’t profit from this. All the money raised from the cullet is placed into a fund called GreenVision, which is ringfenced to offer £500 grants to micro-initiatives and individuals whose work will improve the local community, environmentally or socially.

So many organisations have benefited since we started the scheme. Take Freedom 2 Dance, a dance school in Castleford which uses our grants to provide professional dance training to children who otherwise would not have been able to afford it. And then there is Longroyde Primary School in West Yorkshire, who use GreenVision grants to pay for the materials they need to give children the opportunity to get involved in gardening projects.

Everyone wins with this scheme. Installers who use our service, rather than throwing glass into the general waste skip, can save thousands of pounds a year. Saint-Gobain Glass save energy in their glass manufacturing process because less energy is needed when cullet is used versus virgin raw materials, they are also reducing their demand for finite resources.

And we all win because of the massive CO2 savings the scheme delivers. Through our continuous monitoring, we know that over 365,000 kg of CO2 has been saved since we started the recycling initiative two years ago. But that’s only one of the sustainability benefits. It has also diverted 2,000 cubic metres of glass away from landfill and cut the demand for sand, which would ordinarily be mined out of a beach in Norfolk, by 1,000,000 kg!

We’re really looking forward to the awards presentation on 16th March 2023 at the Midland Hotel in Manchester to see all the other great achievements of the fenestration sector. It is fantastic to be named a finalist given the high calibre of businesses nominated in all the award categories and the innovative products and services we’ve seen enter the market in the last 12 months.

Good luck to everyone in the finals!

Morley Glass wins GGP Installer Award for ‘Best Installer Support Programme or Service Initiative’

Morley Glass has won an award in the 2023 GGP Installer Awards in recognition of the free glass recycling service we operate in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass, which enables installers to divert their waste glass away from landfill to raise money for good causes.

We were named the winner of the ‘Best Installer Support Programme or Service Initiative’ award at a prestigious ceremony in Manchester, with the judging panel saying that “this initiative is something the industry has been crying out for”.

The awards judges praised the scheme, which enables window and door installers to send their post-consumer glass – removed during window replacement work – to Morley Glass, so it can be crushed at its in-house recycling plant. The glass cullet that results is then sent to Saint-Gobain Glass for use in the manufacture of new glass.

All the money raised through the supply of the glass cullet, which is a valuable raw material in its own right, is diverted into a fund called GreenVision. This is then used to offer £500 grants to micro-initiatives and individuals whose work will improve the local community, environmentally or socially.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re over the moon to win this award! We are passionate about recycling and reuse at Morley Glass, so it fantastic to have our glass recycling service recognised by our industry peers.

“A big thank you must go to Saint-Gobain Glass whose support for this initiative is invaluable, and we hope our achievements will inspire others within the industry to consider how they can set up their own recycling schemes, whether that’s for glass, plastic, metal, wood or anything else.

“Many of us recycle routinely at home – often with great commitment. So we believe it is important that we work together as an industry to ensure we have the processes in place to enable us to do the same in the workplace or following work on window and door installations. That’s why we are so proud of what we’ve achieved with our scheme.”

The glass recycling service provided by Morley Glass helps installers save money because they can reduce their waste disposal costs – with some installers who use the scheme estimating that savings can amount to thousands of pounds a year. Local communities and the environment win through the GreenVision grants provided, and Saint-Gobain Glass saves energy because adding cullet to the raw materials mix means less energy is needed in the manufacture of new glass compared with using only virgin raw materials.

Since we installed our recycling plant in 2020, it has generated over 1,000 tonnes of cullet. This has reduced the amount of sand needed for glass manufacture by almost 1,000,000kg and cut CO2 emissions by over 340,000kg.

Exciting new integral blind systems lined up for debut at 2023 FIT Show

Several new additions to the Uni-Blinds® integral blinds range will make their public debut at this year’s FIT Show in May.

We are currently finalising our plans for the industry’s most important annual event, which was a huge success in 2022 given the footfall to our stand and the enquiries received. Last year, the Morley Glass stand attracted hundreds of fabricators and installers over three days, many of whom were keen to discover more about the sales opportunities unlocked by adding Uni-Blinds® integral blinds to their product portfolio.

FIT Show 2023 visitors will once again be able to explore the full Uni-Blinds® integral blinds range, this time on its 140 sq. m stand L41. The Morley Glass team will be on hand to provide tutorials on the various control systems available, including the popular magnetic slider of the SV and SV+ sliding Venetian, and visitors will be able to see the latest black colour option for Venetian integral blinds up close.

The show will also offer an opportunity for fabricators and installers to discuss any technical queries face to face and find out about the unique way in which we operate with sustainability at our core.

The soon to be launched new products are set to take centre stage. We have been working closely with our exclusive integral blind systems partner, Pellini S.p.A., to ensure FIT Show visitors will be first to see a number of new developments. Further information will be announced in the coming weeks, but we can confirm that a new pleated blackout roof blind will make its debut at the show.

This new modern pleated blackout blind will be compatible with any flat rooflight and give total blackout inside the room if required. In addition, all the flat rooflight integral blind units will be made with solar control glasses and heat soaked.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass, said: “We’ve been looking forward to FIT Show 2023 from the minute the doors closed last time round, and we are pulling out all the stops to give visitors the very best experience when the stop by. That’s why we’ve been working hard with Pellini to make sure we will have our latest exciting new innovations ready to launch – full details on these will be available soon.

“If you’re planning a visit to the show, come and see us. Integral blinds continue to offer huge sales potential for installers as awareness amongst homeowners is still relatively low. They are easy to fit and we will provide all the support you will need to market and sell them effectively.”

Anyone wishing to register for a FIT Show 2023 VIP ticket now can do so using this exclusive link! or alternatively simply scan this QR code.

Morley Glass picks up five awards in 2022 NFAs

We have repeated our 2021 success in the National Fenestration Awards (NFAs) by winning in five categories again in this year’s awards programme.

We won the award for Integral Blinds Company of the Year for the fifth year in a row, reflecting our strategy to provide a continuously developing range of superior quality products backed by unrivalled service and lead times. Morley Glass also won the NFA for ‘Best use of video’, an award we also won in 2021, which continues to be a key part of our marketing programme given the medium’s ability to bring the benefits of integral blinds to life for installers and end-users.

Three members of the Morley Glass team were also recognised for their outstanding contribution. The NFA for ‘Office Manager of the Year’ was presented to Jess Owens, the award for ‘Social networker’ went to Charlotte Gilbert and Bryony Shaw was named the proud winner of the ‘Young person’ award.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “Thank you to everyone who took the time to firstly nominate us, and secondly to those who cast their vote in the NFAs. It means so much to us to win awards that are voted for by people working in the window and door industry as they are the ones whose opinion matters most.

“I’d like to congratulate all the winners and especially our three individual award winners – Jess, Charlotte and Bryony. Thank you to the NFA team too for organising a fantastic presentation event at Doncaster racecourse.

“Being part of the NFAs is important to help us gauge how well we’re doing as a supplier to the industry. And winning inspires us even more, encouraging everyone in our team to push harder so we can stay at the forefront of the market.”

Winning these latest five NFAs marks the sixth year in a row that Morley Glass has won accolades in this awards programme. We have done so in a year of major investment to increase our production capacity and the size of our delivery vehicle fleet, as well as boosting our recycling operations – all of which helps Morley Glass give installers a unique advantage.

Uni-Blinds® installers benefit from being able to offer homeowners and commercial customers integral blind systems which are manufactured exclusively in the UK using ScreenLine® systems in lead times as short as 10-12 days, when ordered by 10am on Thursdays. They also receive comprehensive training, technical and marketing support to ensure they can secure more integral blind sales and deliver superior installations every time.

Morley Glass extends support to help children follow dancing dream

Financial support from Morley Glass has now enabled more than 100 young people to develop their dancing abilities with professional training through scholarships provided by a West Yorkshire dance school.

The company has funded the scholarships since 2018 at Castleford-based Freedom 2 Dance, a thriving community-focused dance school which is dedicated to increasing accessibility to dancing. One of the ways they do this is to ‘level the playing field’ by offering scholarships to children, which means they can benefit from professional dance tuition regardless of background or personal circumstances.

Freedom 2 Dance was first introduced to Morley Glass managing director Ian Short after he took the plunge into dancing himself by signing up to a Strictly Come Dancing style challenge to raise money for charity. Ever since, Ian has remained passionate about dancing and the power it has to be able to build the confidence of young people, improve their wellbeing and even transform lives.

In addition to the 100+ scholarships funded to date by Morley Glass, the company has confirmed its backing for a further 24 students this year. This will enable Freedom 2 Dance to reach out to children who may otherwise be unable to access additional dance training to support their development, according to director, Michelle Dickinson.

“We’ve seen the far-reaching benefits that the scholarships bring to children so it’s fantastic to be able to continue them in 2023,” said Michelle.

“The children benefit in particular by developing new friendships and confidence, which boosts their social skills and can transform their wellbeing. In addition, our teachers have clearly seen the development of interpersonal skills such as teamwork, communication and improved self-esteem, which will go on to serve them throughout their personal and working lives.”

Freedom 2 Dance scholarships are provided in two categories depending on the stage that budding dancers are at – level 1 is ‘Gifted & Talented’ and level 2 is for children seeking to try something new. The scholarships are open to any child who is already be a part of Freedom 2 Dance community and those selected for a scholarship benefit from either one private lessons per month or a 40 minute class every week.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass added: “We are delighted to be able to support Freedom 2 Dance and look forward to seeing this year’s students build their ability and flourish. Over the past four years we’ve seen the value of Freedom 2 Dance’s work in breaking down the barriers that often prevent children taking up dancing and the value of this cannot be understated given how beneficial dance can be to our physical and mental health overall.”

More information on Freedom 2 Dance can be found at: www.freedom2dance.co.uk.

Morley Glass named GGP Installer Awards finalist

Morley Glass has been shortlisted for the ‘Best Installer Support Programme or Service Initiative’ award in the 2023 GGP Installer Awards.

We are delighted to be in the running for the award for the free service we offer to installers and fabricators to help them save money on waste disposal costs, while at the same time raising money to improve the environment.

The service involves Morley Glass collecting the post-consumer glass that installers remove as part of window replacement work, and crushing this at our in-house recycling plant, before sending to Saint-Gobain Glass for the manufacture of new glass.

The service is free to installers and fabricators because the glass cullet produced through the crushing process is a valuable raw material in its own right. In addition, Morley Glass delivery vans are on the road delivering Uni-Blinds® integral blind units to customers across the UK every working day, so they are ideally placed to collect waste glass from installers rather than returning to the Leeds HQ empty.

All the money raised through the production of cullet is placed into a fund called GreenVision which is ringfenced to offer £500 grants to micro-initiatives and individuals whose work will improve the local community, environmentally or socially.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re thrilled to be on shortlist for a GGP Installer Award and look forward to the awards ceremony in March. From something that started out as a relatively simple idea to help our business save on waste disposal costs, our glass recycling initiative has grown to become a really popular service that our customers value and communities benefit from.

“We know from what installers are telling us that using our service rather than throwing glass into the general waste skip can save thousands of pounds a year. And thanks to the commitment and shared vision of Saint-Gobain Glass, we are able to support those dedicated to improving their local community too through GreenVision, as well as saving energy and finite resources.”

All the companies on the shortlist for the GGP Installer Awards ‘Best Installer Support Programme or Service Initiative’ award have demonstrated how they have had a positive impact on the growth and success of window, door and conservatory installation companies.

The stand-out finalist will be presented with the award at a ceremony taking place on 16th March 2023 at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.

Morley Glass proud to be part of FIT Show’s 10th anniversary show

With only six months to go before the 2023 exhibition opens its doors, the Morley Glass team is busy progressing our plans for the next FIT Show with the focus on revealing even more integral blind innovations to the fenestration sector.

After the success of the 2022 show, Morley Glass and our exclusive integral blind systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A. are working hard ahead of May’s event to be ready to launch a series of new developments for Uni-Blinds®, with two new products already confirmed for launch in April.

All built with the world-renowned ScreenLine® systems inside, these are set to offer even more ways to tailor integral blinds to homeowner tastes and to meet commercial specifications.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “It may seem like only yesterday that the first show took place, but the 2023 FIT Show will actually be the tenth anniversary event. This longevity shows how resilient the show has been, particularly given the disruption of the pandemic, and demonstrates that it still the must-attend event in the industry’s calendar to get together and explore the best of what our sector has to offer.

“Speaking with our customers and supply chain partners, the FIT Show’s ‘everyone’s going’ slogan is as true today as it was a decade ago and we are already looking forward to being there again. Our experience of this year’s show was extremely positive, not only as a platform to present our current Uni-Blinds® integral blind systems portfolio, but also to get insights from installers about what they would like to see in future. This makes the FIT Show a truly unique event.”

The 2022 FIT Show gave Morley Glass an opportunity to launch several new integral blind developments which are already proving popular with customers. These included the symmetrical version of our top selling Venetian cordless slider integral blind system, the SV+, which is now selling in volumes of around 1,000 units every month, and ScreenView®, a new system designed specifically for hospitals where hygiene and infection control are crucial.

Ian adds: “We were delighted with the response we had to all our integral blind systems at this year’s show, but we know the service we provide continues to be as important to installers. That’s why we continue to innovate on both fronts.

“Our close partnership with Pellini ensures we can offer a standard 10-12 day lead time, backed with complimentary nationwide delivery, which helps installers to provide a quick turnaround for homeowners and end-users – no waiting around to complete the sale or installation. And our free post-consumer glass collection and recycling service helps installers save money and the hassle of arranging waste disposal, as well as being important from a sustainability point of view.”

Battery operated W Smart provides hassle-free motorised shading solution for modern homes

The Uni-Blinds® W Smart integral blind system is enabling homeowners to benefit from the convenience of a motorised shading and privacy solution for their windows and doors without the need for hard-wiring during installation.

Using power provided by a rechargable battery, the W Smart operates independently of a home’s mains electricity supply. The rechargeable battery is charged-up occasionally using a micro-USB cable to give the integral blind more than sufficient electricity to operate it under normal conditions.

Available in a Venetian or pleated style, as with all Uni-Blinds® the W Smart is manufactured exclusively using the world-renowned ScreenLine® integral blind systems to guarantee superior long term performance and excellent aesthetics. It is simple to operate using a slide touch button control device magnetically attached to the window or by a remote control unit, both of which raise and lower the blind – and, in the case of the Venetian, tilt the slats.

W Smart represents the latest in innovative and ecological Italian design, providing an integral blind that can be encapsulated within a 20, 22, 27 or 29mm cavity double glazed unit. The blind does not require hardwiring into a home’s mains electrical system, which makes installation straightforward without the need for an electrician.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “The beauty of the W Smart is that it can operate totally free of mains power apart from an occasional recharge using a micro-USB connection, giving homeowners the benefits of a motorised integral blind without the need to disrupt their decor during installation.”

Another exciting development of W Smart, due for release early 2023, is a smart home enhancement. A new plug and play smart hub called ScreenHub®, developed by ScreenLine® manufacturer Pellini, enables the blind to be controlled using a smart phone app – a further benefit in addition to the remote control device already provided.

W Smart is incorporated into double and triple glazed units manufactured by Morley Glass using advanced glass products that offer superior thermal insulation and solar control. Specifying glass such as Planitherm One for W Smart blinds will deliver a complete integrated solar powered blind unit with ultra-low U-values, and solar control can be boosted by choosing Saint-Gobain COOL-LITE SKN 176 glass to prevent summertime overheating.

W Smart, as with all Uni-Blinds®, is supplied in the industry’s shortest lead times – manufactured to order in Leeds by Morley Glass in as little as 10-12 days, when an order is placed by 10am on Thursdays, with complimentary nationwide delivery.

Christmas order cut-off and shutdown information

Our factory and offices will close for Christmas on Wednesday 21st December and reopen on Tuesday 3rd January.

Due to the upcoming shutdown, 4pm on Wednesday 30th November is our order cut-off for pre-Christmas delivery. This excludes 27mm commercial systems for which Thursday 24th November is the close off date for receipt of orders.

Orders received by these dates will be processed for Christmas delivery. Any orders received after this time will be processed for delivery in the New Year.

Thank you for your continued business throughout this year and we look forward to working with you in the New Year. From us all at Morley Glass, we wish you a Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for 2023.

Morley Glass ‘FIT and ready’ for 2023 show

Morley Glass has signed up to exhibit at the 2023 FIT Show with plans to create our biggest and best stand ever.

After a hugely successful show in May, we have already booked a larger 140 sq. m stand for the 2023 event, which we will use to create a bespoke stand packed with even more products and demo areas, plus increased space for meeting and networking with our customers, suppliers and industry stakeholders.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “The 2022 FIT Show was a phenomenal success for us – we couldn’t have hoped for a more positive result overall. Re-connecting with so many familiar faces and having the opportunity to get to know new customers after the disruption caused by pandemic was amazing, and it was particularly pleasing to see such a positive reaction to our newly launched integral blind systems.

“So looking ahead, we wanted to sign up for the 2023 FIT Show immediately and develop our plans for even bigger and better presence. This will include another raft of exciting new products to launch to the UK fenestration sector which are currently under development – details of which we will be able to reveal in the coming months.”

As the UK’s largest manufacturer of integral blinds built with ScreenLine® systems inside, Morley Glass is at the forefront of new product developments that are continuously opening up opportunities for installers. This is demonstrated by our recent Uni-Blinds® product launches, including the SV+ cordless Venetian integral blind with symmetrical appeal and the pleated blackout blind, which were amongst the stars of the show for Morley Glass at 2022’s FIT Show.

All Uni-Blinds® integral blind systems are manufactured by Morley Glass at our factory near Leeds, from where we serve window and door installers across the UK, with orders fulfilled in as little as 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays. Complimentary delivery and unrivalled technical support and aftercare complete the package to help installers successfully sell integral blinds as part of complete window and door package that is tailored to modern homes.

ScreenView – new integral blind system for healthcare buildings launched

Morley Glass has launched ScreenView, a new system designed specifically for hospitals, medical schools and other health and social care facilities.

ScreenView® balances the need for patient privacy and observation, allowing for easy switching between the two at different times of the day. Unlike any of the Venetian or pleated blinds available in the current Uni-Blinds range, ScreenView® has two layers of wide slats arranged in a ladder style, which move up and down to provide an open view for observation or complete closure.

The blind is perfect for door vision panels and other windows that separate a healthcare facility’s communal or public areas from private spaces such as treatment facilities, consultation rooms, operating theatres and patient rooms. Unlike vision panel flaps and externally mounted blinds, ScreenView® blind requires no cleaning or maintenance, other than routine cleaning of the control know, and it is protected from the daily knocks and accidents that can easily damage blinds in busy public environments.

Being permanently sealed within the glass unit, the ScreenView® blind is never exposed to dirt or germs, so it stays pristine over its lifespan. And, as an additional safeguard, the blind’s control mechanism is protected with a Sanitized® antimicrobial coating to help with infection control.

Safety is optimised further when ScreenView® is coupled with certified fire rated glass in insulated glass units. One of the benefits of specifying integral blinds from Morley Glass is having the flexibility to choose from different types of glass to meet different performance goals, and that includes enhanced fire resistance through our partnership with Pyroguard.

This means ScreenView® blinds can be specified to provide passive fire protection, with assured performance of 30, 60 or 120 minutes, depending on the building requirements. It all adds up to a privacy and shading system that is hygienic, practical and fully compatible with designs in line with Approved Document B in England & Wales, as well as the equivalent regulations in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “ScreenView® gives specifiers and facilities managers a new option for controlling privacy and shading in healthcare environments that allows other important design objectives such as fire safety, hygiene, infection control and aesthetics to be met. We can provide specialist specification and design guidance to help achieve the right solution using ScreenView®, as well as the other integral blind solutions in our Uni-Blinds® portfolio.”

As with every product in the Uni-Blinds range, ScreenView® is manufactured by Morley Glass in Leeds using the world-renowned ScreenLine® integral blind systems from Italian pioneer Pellini S.p.A. The system is also available in the industry’s shortest lead times – just 10-12 days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

Find out more about ScreenView.

Arrangements for Monday 19th September 2022, the day of Queen Elizabeth’s State Funeral

For more than 70 years she has devoted her life to the service of our country and the Commonwealth. She was a symbol of the very best of Britain all around the world and we send our sincere condolences to the Royal Family.

As a mark of our deep respect for Her Majesty, our offices and factory will be closed on Monday 19th September 2022, the day of the State Funeral.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
21st April 1926 – 8th September 2022

Shining a light on the benefits of pleated blackout integral blinds

Whilst the dark evenings of winter may make many people crave the long, sunny summer evenings outdoors, for many of us, being able to block light from entering our rooms as and when we want to is not only desirable, but it can actually be beneficial to our health and wellbeing.

Blackouts may be widely available as wall mounted roller blinds, but until Morley Glass introduced the ScreenLine pleated blackout integral blind to the UK market in 2021, there was no viable option available for anyone who wanted to achieve complete darkness inside their room with a blind that is fully encapsulated within the sealed unit.

How does the ScreenLine pleated blackout blind work

Standard pleated Uni-Blinds are superb at balancing light and shade but they are not designed to block light transmission. The blackout version, however, uses a fabric that stops light in its tracks and the blind system is designed to prevent light ‘bleed’ around the edges and cords. The high thermal resistance of the fabric also helps to keep a room cool in summer months.

There are eight colours available for this type of integral blind and a choice of control systems including a cordless magnetic slider, a classic cord-pull operated system and a smart home compatible motorised version. They can be used in all types of windows and doors, subject to maximum and minimum sizes, and every unit is made to order for delivery at no extra cost in as little as 10-12 working days.

Why would anyone need to blackout a room?

The pleated blackout integral blind was initially heralded as a solution in homes where there was the potential for external light to disrupt someone’s everyday life or stand in the way of getting a good night’s sleep. But in the two years that Morley Glass has been supplying the system as part of its Uni-Blinds range, it is clear that the reasons why homeowners want a blackout rather than a standard Venetian or pleated blind are extremely varied.

Helping night shift workers get some daytime sleep

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2022 there were 8.7 million people defined as ‘night-time workers’. If you are one of them, you will be aware of how challenging it can be to sleep during the day, especially in the height of summer when the sunlight is at its strongest.

Replacing the standard double glazed unit of bedroom windows with pleated integral blind units helps to block out the daylight. As a result, it makes it easier for shift workers to create the right environment for daytime sleeping, so they can be more productive, alert and happier.

Creating the right environment for children to sleep

Much like the issue that shift workers face, parents of young children can find it difficult to get their children to sleep at their regular time when it is still very bright outside, such as in mid-summer. That’s why blackout blinds are perfect for children’s nurseries and bedrooms. Not only do they keep the light out very effectively, but they also help to keep the room cool for more comfortable sleeping.

Blocking out nuisance lights in urban locations

People living in towns or cities are often impacted by lighting which is outside their control, such as street lights, car headlights, security lighting and illuminated shopfronts. Standard curtains or blinds can be helpful in resolving this nuisance light, but they are not as effective as the Uni-Blinds pleated blackout integral blind. Hence why this type of blind has proved popular with urban dwellers!

The perfect home cinema experience

It is not just for better sleeping that people choose a pleated blackout, however. In recent years, there has been a boom in homeowners creating their own home cinema rooms, and this has seen a rise in the popularity of blackout blinds in general as they seek to re-create the big-screen experience. A number of Morley Glass installers have already installed Uni-Blinds pleated blackout blinds exactly for this purpose, usually received with five star reviews.

Find out more about pleated blackout integral blinds or call us on 0113 277 8722.

Integral blind colour-matching delivers an on-trend look

The launch of a new black Venetian option for Uni-Blinds integral blinds gives installers the greatest ever scope to provide homeowners with a colour coordinated window and door package that is in line with the latest décor trends, according to Morley Glass MD, Ian Short.

We are the industry’s leading UK manufacturer of integral blinds using ScreenLine systems, and recently added black to our colour range for Venetian integral blinds in response to the growth in its popularity throughout home décor.

Ian Short says, “Anyone involved in the home improvement market will know that consumer tastes are constantly changing. Innovative brands offering everything from paint and landscaping products to kitchens and bathrooms work hard to ensure they can satisfy a relentless consumer appetite for that next ‘must have’ or different look.”

Ian believes that in recent years the door and window industry has evolved to better meet the demands of consumers from a styling perspective, with a shift away from a fairly limited range of styles for windows and doors to a plethora of choices.

He continues, “When you look at recent industry data, there is no doubt that routine white PVCu frames continue to dominate sales, but the increased range of frame colours we now have available, along with different frame designs such as flush-fit and the growth in the domestic aluminium market, means the market is much more responsive to changing consumer tastes.

“As an industry, we are in a more positive position than ever given that we have moved from responding to change to actually driving it. Nowhere is this more apparent than with integral blinds, which have gone from being a relatively niche product at the beginning of the century to one that is inspiring consumers with new creative potential for their windows and doors.”

Black décor features have been growing in popularity in the last couple of years and are very much on-trend today. Responding to this, Morley Glass has been working closely with ScreenLine integral blind systems manufacturer Pellini to be the first company to bring this high quality Venetian blind to the UK market in this colour.

Ian adds, “We’ve seen the demand for black frames growing, while the appetite for anthracite grey and agate grey remains strong. All three of these colours are ideal for black Venetian Uni-Blinds® as many of our early customers are discovering.

“But it is not simply a case of applying a new colour to the slats. The black blind units optimise visual appeal because all the components are consistent. The finish of the slats ensures the colour will not fade over time, retaining its bold appearance, with perfectly matched colours for the cords, header and footer rails and sideguides used across the different Uni-Blinds® control systems.

“Adding black Uni-Blinds® integral blinds to a range which already includes the exclusive anthracite grey, silver, beige, yellow and green means giving homeowners even wider scope to express their personality. We think it will rapidly grow to become one of our top-selling blind colours in the coming years as homeowners go back to black.”

Find out more about the colour options for Uni-Blinds.

Why well-designed bi-folds are perfect for expanding a home’s living space

It is no surprise that bi-fold doors continue to be a hugely popular choice amongst UK homeowners and property developers. Until the noughties, the bi-folding door was relatively rare in Britain’s homes, mainly because there weren’t many installers providing them and the systems available back then were often extremely expensive.

Today, we’re blessed with a far greater range of bi-fold door suppliers and installers routinely offering them as part of their product portfolio. Many homeowners choose them to get more natural light into internal spaces as well as giving their room a clear wide opening to the outdoors.

This gives a room a whole new dimension, offering the ability to throw back the doors so a patio, terrace or deck almost becomes part of the room. Complementary design of the outdoor area can really make the two spaces feel connected and seamless when the bi-folds are open in a way that is not always possible with sliding patio doors or French doors.

Unless you’ve got the luxury of an open outlook with nobody overlooking your home, however, chances are that you will probably want some form of blind or curtain to give you privacy. And in the height of summer, most of us will want to incorporate shading into the bi-folds to reduce glare and prevent the room overheating.

This is something that is definitely worth thinking about at the bi-fold’s design and quotation stage for a whole host of reasons. Often the way we think of blinds and curtains is to consider it after the window or door is installed – a post-installation job – but with bi-folding doors things are a little more complicated.

Think about how a curtain will work with a large span bi-fold door. When the door is closed, the curtain is a great idea, pull it across like you would any other and you’ve got privacy immediately. But what about when the door is open? Unless you go for a twin rail or poles so that you can have two types of curtain (one designed solely for soft light diffusion), you won’t be able to provide shading – and if the curtains are closed, they will move in the slightest breeze and get in the way of moving between the room and outdoor space.

Traditional wall or frame mounted blinds are equally impractical for bi-fold doors. Because each of the door leaves moves independently, you can’t easily fit blinds to cover each. And it doesn’t work if you try to shade the whole bi-fold span with blinds – they will move in the breeze when the door is open which could damage them.

Hence why integral blinds have been so popular with bi-folds and continue to be to this day. Integral blinds are permanently encapsulated within double or triple glazed units so they will move freely with each leaf of the bi-folds. And you can choose Venetian or pleated blind styles to offer far greater flexibility in how much shading you want at any given time.

With Uni-Blinds integral blinds from Morley Glass, there are five different control systems to choose from. The manually operated C System features a traditional cord to raise, lower and – in the case of Venetian styles – tilt the blind, and the SV or SV+ works by moving a magnetic slider for an efficient, slick cordless option.

The motorised MB System, which features a brushless motor for smooth, reliable long-term function, is operated by remote control or a wall switch, but it can also be integrated into home automation systems including Loxone. There is also a solar powered solution, the W Smart, which does not need to be hard wired thanks to a small externally mounted PV panel that uses light to charge its batteries.

For the additional cost of completing a bi-fold door package with high quality integral blinds, the headache of having to think of a shading and privacy solution can be avoided. Uni-Blinds approved installers can provide the blind in place of standard glass units for new door installations, which also means the type of glass can be specified.

The glass options available for Uni-Blinds enable double or triple glazed units to offer the highest levels of thermal insulation and solar control. This can be extremely effective at preventing overheating when the summer sun is strong – a must-have for south or south westerly facing aspects in UK homes. And in winter, the glass works in the opposite way to effectively keep warmth in the room.

All Uni-Blinds integral blinds are manufactured using the world’s number one integral blind systems, ScreenLine, from Italian company Pellini S.p.A. to offer a premium quality solution that will provide years of customer satisfaction. And they have the additional practical benefit of being available in the industry’s shortest lead times – as little as 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on Thursdays with complimentary nationwide delivery.

Find out more about the Uni-Blinds range.

New black integral blind option available for Uni-Blinds

We have added a new black option for our Venetian Uni-Blinds® integral blinds range to provide the perfect solution in darker coloured frames, especially popular anthracite grey windows and doors.

The new blind system, which as with all Uni-Blinds® is custom-made to fit precisely within the cavity of a double or triple glazed unit, is all black – that means the slats, the cords, header unit and sideguides where applicable are perfectly colour matched. The new product is the result of the close partnership between Morley Glass and ScreenLine® integral blinds manufacturer Pellini S.p.A., who pioneered this type of shading and privacy system in the 1970s.

The black option brings the number of Uni-Blinds® integral Venetian blind colours to eleven, giving any homeowner or commercial customer the opportunity to coordinate the blinds with their décor, whatever the colour scheme. Its development is yet another example of how Morley Glass is working to give installers the best available range so they can offer individually tailored integral blinds to their customers – maximising sales potential in the process.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “You asked, we delivered! We’ve listened to feedback from Uni-Blinds® installers and responded to a growing desire from homeowners for black Venetian blinds – we took up the mantle and, working closely with Pellini, made a black integral blind a reality.

“Having eleven colours to choose from in our Venetian integral blinds, as well as twelve colour options in our pleated blinds and eight pleated blackout colours, gives installers the creative freedom to cater for different tastes. Whilst many customers will still love our exclusive anthracite grey (S159) Venetian blinds or perhaps metallic silver for dark coloured frames, we expect black to prove extremely popular. And black work very well with lighter frames too, including 2022’s go-to colour, agate grey.”

As with all colours, five different control systems are available for black Venetian Uni-Blinds® integral blinds, including the popular cordless slider controlled SV System and the smart-home compatible MB System, which can be integrated with home-automation systems.

All Uni-Blinds® are supplied in the industry’s shortest lead times – manufactured to order in Leeds by Morley Glass in as little as 10-12 days, when an order is placed by 10am on Thursdays, with complimentary nationwide delivery.

Find out more about the colour choices for Uni-Blinds.

Exclusive new black Venetian integral blind samples now available

Window and door installers can now see for themselves how the stylish new black ScreenLine® Venetian integral blind from Morley Glass can unlock creative potential for shading and privacy.

Slat samples are now available to order of the new B160 black integral Venetian blind, which has been made exclusively available in the UK to Morley Glass by ScreenLine® integral blind systems manufacturer Pellini S.p.A.

We are the country’s largest producer of integral blinds featuring ScreenLine® systems, which ensures all our Uni-Blinds® integral blinds are built with superior engineered quality for optimum long term reliability and visual appeal.

This latest colour option adds a new creative dimension to the provision of shading and privacy in PVCu, aluminium or timber windows and doors. The colour has seen a resurgence in its popularity for interior features and home décor in the past 12 months with its ability to offer a bold, timeless aesthetic gaining new appeal.

Achieving the most attractive look with black integral blinds has required Pellini and Morley Glass to ensure all the components within the blind unit are consistent. The finish of the slats ensures the colour will not fade over time, retaining its bold appearance, with perfectly matched colours for the cords, header and footer rails and sideguides used across the different Uni-Blinds® systems.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “As home interior and décor tastes are continuously changing, we think it is really important for installers to be able to give homeowners the opportunity to choose from the widest range of colours for their Venetian integral blinds. That’s why developing a black option was an obvious next step as the colour is becoming increasingly ‘on trend’ and looks superb for both contemporary and traditional homes.”

With the addition of black, Uni-Blinds® integral Venetian blinds are now available in eleven colours, which also includes the always-popular, exclusive anthracite grey (S159), beige, blue, green and cream. And a similarly wide colour palette is available for Uni-Blinds® pleated integral blinds too, with twelve options available, along with eight colours for the recently launched pleated blackout integral blind.

Whichever colour is specified, installers and homeowners can choose from five different control systems for Uni-Blinds® integral blinds, including the cordless slider controlled SV System, and its symmetrically designed sister the SV+, the smart-home compatible motorised MB System and classic corded C System.

And all Uni-Blinds® are supplied in the industry’s shortest lead times – manufactured to order in Leeds by Morley Glass in as little as 10-12 days, when an order is placed by 10am on Thursdays, with complimentary nationwide delivery.

To order a sample of the new B160 black Venetian blind slats please contact us.

Morley Glass nominated for its most ever NFAs!

Morley Glass has been nominated in seven categories of the 2022 National Fenestration Awards (NFAs), with a further five nominations for members of our team, including MD Ian Short.

We are hoping to repeat our success in the 2021 NFAs in which we picked up five awards.

Amongst the awards that Morley Glass is in contention for are Integral Blinds Company of the Year, Glass Systems Company of the Year and IGU Manufacturer of the Year, all reflecting the expertise that keeps the company at the forefront of integral blind design and manufacturing. The recently launched Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout integral blind is recognised too, being on the shortlist for New Product 2022 in a hugely competitive category.

In addition, Morley Glass has once again been nominated in the Recycling Company of the Year category. This comes on the back of another record year in terms of the amount of post-consumer glass, cardboard and other general waste that Morley Glass has been able to divert away from landfill to generate money for local environmental charities and initiatives via our GreenVision fund.

Office manager Jessica Owens is nominated for two awards, and colleagues Charlotte Gilbert and Bryony Shaw are named on the shortlist for Social Networker of the Year and Young Person of the Year respectively. And there’s a nomination for managing director Ian Short too, who is in the running for Director of the Year.

Commenting on the 2022 NFA nominations, Ian Short said:

“We’re thrilled to have been nominated in more award categories than ever, particularly given that these nominations come from the people who know us best – our customers, suppliers and industry peers. We look forward to the presentation event on 5th November and wish everyone who has been nominated in any of the categories the very best of luck!”

The full list of 2022 NFA nominations for Morley Glass is as follows:

• Business Development Manager / Sales Executive of the Year – Jessica Owens
• Office Manager of the Year – Jessica Owens
• Young Person of the Year – Bryony Shaw
• Director of the Year – Ian Short
• Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year
• Social Networker of 2022 – Charlotte Gilbert
• Best Use of Video
• Glass Systems Company of the Year
• New Product 2022 – Pleated Blackout Integral Blind
• IGU Manufacturer of the Year
• Integral Blinds Company of the Year
• Recycling Company of the Year

Morley Glass is also proudly sponsoring the NFA award for Spacer Bar Company of the Year.

Anyone in the window and door industry can vote in the NFAs – simply visit www.fenestrationawards.co.uk/vote to place your vote.

Morley Glass to unveil further integral blind innovations at 2022 FIT Show

Morley Glass will unveil two further innovations in its award-winning Uni-Blinds range at this year’s FIT Show.

The first is a completely new system for the health and social care sector, as well as other commercial and public buildings, called ScreenView®. This provides installers with a solution for applications such as hospital and medical school door vision panels, where a mix of privacy and observation is required, switchable with ease, at different times of the day. Coupled with fire rated glass, this offers a solution that is both practical and fully compliant with the requirements of a fire door specification.

Unlike any of the Venetian or pleated blinds available in the current Uni-Blinds range, ScreenView has two layers of wide slats arranged in a ladder style, which move up and down to provide an open view for observation or complete closure. As with every product in the Uni-Blinds range, ScreenView is manufactured by Morley Glass in Leeds using the world-renowned ScreenLine® integral blind systems from Italian pioneer Pellini S.p.A.

A second innovation making its debut at the FIT Show is a smart home solution for the battery operated integral blind system, Uni-Blinds W Smart. This system is already available with optional remote control device, as well as a small solar panel which is mounted on the exterior face of the window or door to boost charge to the battery. This powers the raising, lowering and tilting of the blind, providing easy automation without the need for any hard-wiring by an electrician.

Now, providing an alternative option to the fully Loxone smart home compatible Uni-Blinds MB System, W Smart features a new Pellini plug and play smart hub called ScreenHub®, a technology upgrade that means it can now be controlled using a smart phone app.

Both innovations will be on display at the FIT Show for installers to explore and try-out at the Morley Glass stand, number N31, which will take place at Birmingham’s NEC from 10th to 12th May.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said:

“These exciting new products reflect our commitment to be continuously innovating to give installers and end-users ever more attractive and suitable integral blinds, whatever their requirement. ScreenView® and our new technology for W Smart satisfy very different needs in completely different markets, but what they both have in common is that they enable end-users to take a different approach to how they incorporate shading and privacy into their windows and doors.”

As with all Uni-Blinds integral blind systems, which sit between the panes of glass in a double glazed unit, ScreenView® and W Smart are manufactured by Morley Glass and delivered nationwide at no additional cost in as little as 10-12 days.

Full design and installation support is available to help installers achieve the highest quality solution across the Uni-Blinds range. This range includes five control systems and the option to upgrade the glass specification for greater thermal or solar control performance in any of the integrated Venetian, pleated or pleated blackout blinds.

Uni-Blinds integral blinds package worth £1,000 up for grabs in exclusive FIT Show prize draw

Window installers have the chance to win a package of five manually controlled Uni-Blinds integral blind units worth around £1,000 simply by entering their name into a free prize draw on the Morley Glass stand at the 2022 FIT Show.

The winner will receive a package of Uni-Blinds which will provide five manually-controlled integral blinds – depending on the window sizes up to two square metres in area. Alternatively, the winner could choose a package of motorised MB System or solar powered W Smart blinds to the equivalent value of the manual blinds.

To enter, installers will need to drop their business card into the prize draw box on the Morley Glass stand N31 at the FIT Show, which takes place from 10-12 May at Birmingham’s NEC.

A visit to the stand will also provide the opportunity to explore the recently expanded range of Uni-Blinds integral blinds, with all systems on display to see and try out in person.

Some of these products will be taking centre stage at an industry event for the very first time, including the pleated blackout blind and symmetrical Venetian integrated blind with cordless slider, the SV+. They will be showcased alongside a new integral blind system designed for hospitals and healthcare facilities, ScreenView® and a new tech upgrade for the solar powered W Smart integral blind which allows it to be controlled from a smartphone.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re so excited to finally be able to exhibit our great new products at the FIT Show and welcome our customers, industry partners and anyone who is new to Uni-Blinds and wants to find out more. And with our prize draw, there’s another valuable reason to visit our stand, particularly for anyone who hasn’t installed Uni-Blinds® and wants to experience just how easy they are to install.”

Morley Glass manufactures all its Uni-Blinds in Leeds using only market-leading ScreenLine integral blind systems from Italian company Pellini. The combination of Italian design flair, engineering quality and manufacturing excellence by the Morley Glass team ensures that Uni-Blinds continue to set the standard for integrated blinds that are full encapsulated with a glass unit.

Product quality is backed by the highest service standards, with a quick turnaround meaning Uni-Blinds are available for delivery nationwide at no additional cost in as little as 10-12 days, when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

Morley Glass boosts Uni-Blinds manufacturing capacity as integral blind demand jumps 46%

Morley Glass has invested more than £750,000 to increase its capacity for manufacturing its UK market-leading Uni-Blinds range of integrated window and door blinds by a further 50%.

The investment comes in a year when Morley Glass has produced record volumes of Uni-Blinds, up 46% versus the previous year, reflecting the strong demand that installers are experiencing for the ultra-modern shading and privacy solutions provided by the range.

A new state-of-the-art production line for making insulating glass units complete with ScreenLine Venetian blinds in the cavity has been installed, which means Morley Glass now has three dedicated production lines in all. Installed by long-standing machinery partner Best Makina, these will enable Morley Glass to manufacture up to 6,000 high quality integral blind units every week to support the growth in demand from its nationwide installer base.

The new plant means the Morley Glass factory in Leeds now incorporates five systems for manufacturing the Uni-Blinds SV System, a cordless sliding Venetian blind that utilises a patented magnetic system to enable long term, effortless operation. This system continues to be the most popular option amongst Uni-Blinds installers, accounting for 70% of all Uni-Blinds sold, driven by homeowners who want a sleek shading and privacy system that will perform reliably over a long service life.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass says: “It was only four years ago that we made our last major investment in our manufacturing capacity, but the strength of growth that we have seen for Uni-Blinds, particularly over the past two years, has exceeded our expectations. This required us to commission further new machinery earlier than we had anticipated to ensure we stay ahead of the curve.

“Importantly, it gives our factory the capacity we need to respond to the growth in Uni-Blinds sales over the coming years and supports our change of focus to being 100% an integral blind unit manufacturer. With sustained long term growth over two decades and recent annual growth of around 50%, we know how important it is not to rest on our laurels and we are already planning ahead for the next investments.”

The addition of new production lines at Morley Glass’s 50,000 sq. ft site near Leeds comes hot on the heels of a number of other recent investments by the company. In the second half of 2021, the company replaced its machinery for processing post-consumer waste glass for recycling with a new automated plant capable of handling much larger volumes.

And in the same period, Morley Glass added six Luton vans to its fleet to maintain its industry-leading 10-12 day lead time on Uni-Blinds, when ordered by 10am on Thursdays.

Ian adds: “In a competitive market we never stop investing in our machinery, innovative products and processes to ensure window and door installers get the very best quality products backed by superb service. That’s what our recent investments are all focused on giving our customers total confidence in the Uni-Blinds brand every time they order.”

Morley Glass has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturers of bespoke sealed units with ScreenLine® integral blinds inside. Its products are suitable for all types of windows and doors, including bifold doors, and supplied nationwide to customers with complimentary delivery in the industry’s shortest lead times.

Morley Glass hits 1,000-tonne glass recycling milestone

Morley Glass has saved over 1,000 tonnes of post-consumer glass from going to landfill in just two years, and instead diverted it into the production of new glass in a scheme that has provided funding of more than £60,000 for environmental and community schemes in West Yorkshire.

Morley Glass is the UK’s largest manufacturer of double glazed units with ScreenLine® integral blind systems inside, offering installers a market-leading range of Venetian and pleated blind options.

In 2020, we invested in reducing its process waste and providing a post-consumer glass recycling service to installers by commissioning machinery that could crush waste glass into what is known as cullet. This can be fed directly into the manufacture of new glass which not only reduces needless landfill waste, but it also cuts the volumes of virgin raw materials needed to make glass and saves energy as turning cullet into new glass requires less energy.

The scheme, which is run in conjunction with international glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain Glass, is continuously audited so we can see exactly how much waste glass is being collected and the benefits it is delivering.

The data shows that in two years, the amount of glass cullet produced by Morley Glass is equivalent to the weight of 150 elephants, saving around 325,000kg of CO2 because every tonne of glass cullet prevents 300kg going into the atmosphere. Over 920,000kg of sand, the main raw material for glass, has also been saved and the overall energy saving to Saint-Gobain Glass is calculated at 541 ‘energy years’ – that is the energy used by an average UK household in 12 months.

In addition to saving resources and energy, the recycling scheme has another important benefit for communities in West Yorkshire. All the money raised by the sale of the recycled glass cullet to Saint-Gobain Glass goes into a fund that we set up called GreenVision.

This offers £500 one-off grants to charities, individuals and community groups who are located in West Yorkshire and dedicated to providing environmental or social improvements in their local area.

Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass said: “What started out as a simple business improvement idea has snowballed into an initiative that is delivering far-reaching benefits at a time when environmental and social sustainability have become priorities. We are thrilled to reach our 1,000 tonne milestone in just two years, which clearly demonstrates how popular the recycling service is with our customers who can save money on waste disposal costs too.

“And of course, the more waste glass we are able to collect and process, the more support we can provide through GreenVision to local people and groups who are giving up their time to improve their local environment or deliver social benefits. Applying for a grant is quick and easy, so if this is you, please go to our website and submit a GreenVision application today!”

Morley Glass is also offering a free collection service to any window installer located in the Leeds area who would like them to turn their post-consumer waste glass into funds for the community. This can be arranged by calling 0113 277 8722.

Any eligible charity, group or individual interested in applying for a £500 GreenVision grant can do so easily by completing our short form here.

Window of opportunity for pleated blackout Uni-Blinds with long summer days on the horizon

Homeowners looking to shut out the bright light of summer evenings and early mornings have a stylish new option open to them this year with the recently launched Uni-Blinds pleated blackout integral blind.

Perfect for windows and doors in rooms such as bedrooms, cinema rooms and children’s nurseries, the high performance pleated blackout integral blind system from Morley Glass is attracting strong interest among homeowners and installers given its ability to transform a room.

For those customers planning ahead for spring and summer home improvement projects, this new integrated blind option provides an effective solution for rooms affected by unwanted daylight. Its ‘darkness on demand’ capability is provided through a design that prevents light bleed around the edges, as well as along the cords – a common area for light to leak through.

With eight colours available and a choice of control systems including a cordless magnetic slider, the Uni-Blind pleated blackout system provides a shading and privacy solution to suit every taste. They can be used in all types of windows and doors, subject to maximum and minimum sizes, and every unit is manufactured to the highest quality standards using only the globally renowned ScreenLine integral systems from Italian company Pellini.

Manufactured in Yorkshire – delivered in as little as 10-12 days

Like all Uni-Blinds, the pleated blackout is made to order by Morley Glass at its state of the art factory in Leeds and delivered nationwide to customers in as little as 10 days.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We know through feedback from our installers that many homeowners say they would benefit from a blackout blind in specific rooms to suit their lifestyle. For example, those who work shifts and have to sleep during the day, or parents with young children – they can create a better sleeping environment with a blackout blind.

“That’s why we developed the Uni-Blinds pleated blackout integral blind with Pellini to extend our range. It means that homeowners who want to complete their new windows or doors with integrated blinds – or upgrade their existing windows – do not need to compromise to make their internal spaces perfect.”

The Uni-Blinds pleated blackout is suitable for a range of double glazed unit thicknesses, including an a 20mm cavity exclusively from Morley Glass. Each unit also benefits from a bespoke warm edge spacer bar to guarantee excellent thermal performance.

Ian added: “For any installer looking to expand what they offer to homeowners and gain a competitive edge, as our pleated blackout demonstrates, Uni-Blinds is a superb product range to consider. All our integral blinds units are easy to fit, and we provide unrivalled nationwide support to help our customers deliver the right installation every time.”

Find out more about the Uni-Blinds pleated blackout integral blind.

What is the best type of window blind for a hospital or healthcare building?

Meeting the shading and privacy requirements of healthcare environments means using products and systems that prioritise hygiene, longevity and ease of use, without compromising visual appeal.

That’s why Uni-Blinds® integral blinds from Morley Glass – and specifically the ScreenView® system – tick all the boxes. They bring new form and function to the glazing in hospital environments, medical schools, health centres, private practices and social care buildings to give staff and patients spaces that look and feel appropriate – and they can incorporate fire rated glass if required.

Integral blinds are permanently sealed within a double glazed unit. This means they can never attract dirt and stay in pristine condition throughout the lifespan of the door, window or glass partition in which they are fitted.

Venetian and pleated integral blind styles are available in a great choice of colours, all manufactured in the UK by Morley Glass exclusively using world-renowned ScreenLine® integral blind systems from Pellini S.p.A.

But it is the latest innovation from Morley Glass that is really sparking the imagination of specifiers and healthcare estates managers. Called ScreenView®, this integral blind has been designed with health and social care environments in mind.

It balances the need for patient privacy and observation very well because of a design that allows for really easy switching between the two at different times of the day. Unlike any of the other Venetian or pleated blinds in the Uni-Blinds range, ScreenView® uses two layers of wide slats, arranged in a ladder style, which move up and down to provide an open view for observation or complete closure.

ScreenView® is perfect for door vision panels and other windows that separate communal or public areas from private spaces such as treatment facilities, consultation rooms, operating theatres and patient rooms. And it can be specified as a fire rated unit too, with assured performance of 30, 60 or 120 minutes, depending on the building requirements.

It is all-round winning solution which, unlike vision panel flaps and externally mounted blinds, is not easily damaged and requires no cleaning or maintenance, other than routine cleaning of the blind’s control knob. This is also protected with a Sanitized® antimicrobial coating to help with infection control.

See ScreenView® for yourself at the 2022 Healthcare Estates exhibition, 4-5 October at Manchester Central, along with the full range of award-winning Uni-Blinds® integral blind systems.

Morley Glass ‘FIT and ready’ for hotly anticipated 2022 show

Morley Glass will be showcasing its largest ever range of Uni-Blinds at this year’s FIT Show, giving window and door installers a long overdue and exclusive opportunity to explore our latest exciting innovations.

For many visitors, the spacious 110 sq. m Morley Glass exhibition stand – N31 – will be their first chance to see and appraise the two newest Uni-Blinds integrated blind systems which have been developed since the last FIT Show in 2019. Morley Glass is anticipating strong interest in both the pleated blackout and symmetrically designed SV+ sliding Venetian systems because of the unique proposition that they offer to homeowners and developers.

These latest products will feature along with the full Uni-Blinds integral blinds range to give FIT Show visitors the complete picture of what these multi award winning shading and privacy solutions have to offer. The range on display will also include the manually operated corded C System and the sliding S and SV sliding systems, the smart home compatible motorised MB System – incorporating Loxone home automation – and innovative W Smart, which is motorised and solar powered.

Morley Glass Managing Director Ian Short said: “After the disappointing but understandable postponement of the FIT Show in 2020 and again last year, May’s show looks set to be one of the most important door and window sector events for many years.

“That’s why we are looking forward to the 2022 FIT Show so much, finally getting the opportunity to catch up with customers, supply chain partners and industry associates, as well as those who are new to integral blinds but keen to learn how they can open up a whole new revenue stream.”

Morley Glass will have a significant presence at the show, with its stand being triple the size of the space it took in 2019, to cater for the growing interest in Uni-Blinds. By being so large, the stand will also help delegates stay safe too, with easy access from all sides and plenty of space to remain socially distanced.

Ian adds: “The FIT Show will be a great opportunity for anyone who isn’t familiar with integrated blinds to discover why they are gaining so much popularity. But aside from being able to touch, feel and try out our products, we can also explain how our service works and how we can offer the industry’s shortest lead times for a superior quality product which we make here in the UK.”

Morley Glass has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturers of bespoke sealed units with ScreenLine integral blinds inside. Its products are installed in all types of windows and doors and supplied nationwide to customers with complimentary delivery in just 10-12 working days when ordered by 10am on any Thursday.

Visit Morley Glass at stand N31 of the 2022 FIT Show when the doors to Birmingham’s NEC open from 10th to 12th May.

Click here to register now for your free tickets to the FIT Show.

Maximum daylight or perfect symmetry – which one do you prefer?

Last year, when we introduced the SV+ cordless sliding Venetian integral blind to offer a variation on the most popular system in our Uni-Blinds® range, the SV, we knew from feedback that certain homeowners would love it. But what about everyone else? Would it be a niche product, or would most people prefer it to the original?

After 12 months in the market, it is clear that our Uni-Blinds® SV+ is proving to be a winner with installers and homeowners. Once again, this shows that giving homeowners windows and doors to closely fit their lifestyles and tastes really does open up new sales opportunities.
Being able to buy a full package – the windows and doors complete with a shading and privacy solution – has captured the imagination of homeowners who value the benefits of integral blinds, not least saving them the hassle and cost of having to source traditional blinds or curtains when installation is complete.

But as anyone involved in the home improvement market will know, you can never stand still. Listening to customer feedback, coming up with fresh ideas and innovative products is all essential to satisfy the strong appetite for that ‘something different’ and this applies to integral blinds as much as anything else.

Proactive and reactive product development

Our newly launched SV+ cordless sliding Venetian integral blind system was developed after feedback from several Uni-Blinds® installers. This suggested that some customers may not like the non-symmetrical look of the SV, indicating that this incredibly popular blind system wasn’t loved by everyone.

The SV has always been a hit with homeowners who seek clean sightlines as part of a clutter-free interior – illustrated by the fact that we made over 120,000 units in 2021. It works by means of a cleverly designed cordless magnetic slider on the face of the glass which controls the integral blind’s raising, lowering and tilting of the slats. There are no cords or any other elements on show – everything else is encapsulated within the double or triple glazed unit.

As with every type of Uni-Blinds® integral blind, the SV features a headrail at the top. It also features a sideguide down either the right or left hand side of the glass unit, which is needed for the slider device to work. With no bottom rail and a sideguide at one side only, it is a design that maximises the amount of light transmission.

However, some homeowners commented on the effect this arrangement has on the look of windows and doors, particular flag windows. It was clear that some people prefer a symmetrical view through their windows and doors, but what we didn’t know is how widespread that preference was.

Giving homeowners superb choice

As Uni-Blinds® are manufactured exclusively using ScreenLine® integral blind systems from the global market-leader in this technology, Pellini S.p.A, the strength of our partnership meant that we were able to co-develop a solution. What if we could offer a version of the SV that features an additional sideguide so the sealed unit looks equally balanced when fitted into a frame?

And so the SV+ was born. It offers all the benefits of the SV but with the addition of a ‘dummy’ sideguide. Launched in 2021, its first major public showcasing was at the 2022 FIT Show and the feedback from those seeing it for the first time was extremely positive.

But is there a majority preference between the SV and SV+? Interest in the SV+ has been really strong, but we are still manufacturing thousands of SV integral blinds every week. To try to get an insight, we recently asked the question “which one do you prefer?” on our social media accounts – the answer was a preference for the newcomer, the SV+.

Whether the SV or SV+ will become dominant in due course isn’t really what’s important here. What matters to installers is having a wide range of high quality integral blind systems available that will accommodate the varying tastes of homeowners. And by being able to provide Uni-Blinds® in as little as 10-12 working days with unrivalled technical and aftersales support, we think this gives installers everything they need to maximise the sales potential.

Suffering from mid-summer sleep deprivation? It’s time to act!

Summer sunshine and warmth is something many of us long for during the depths of winter, when it seems we spend most of our days with the lights and heating on. But it is not a time to relish for everyone.

Perhaps you have young children who struggle to get to sleep because the sunlight is still bright late into the evening. Or maybe you work nightshifts and need to sleep during the day – you probably find it easier to get your ZZZZs in the gloom of mid-winter than during the summer.

If this is you, you’re not alone. There are numerous people whose lifestyles and family circumstances mean they need greater control about when bright daylight enters their rooms – the good news is that there is a highly effective solution with Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout integral blind.

The Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout blind is manufactured in the UK by Morley Glass using ScreenLine® integral blind technology from global leader Pellini S.p.A. It is fitted within the cavity of either a double or triple glazed unit, which means there is no need to mount anything on the wall or reveal that surrounds a window or door. And it can be used in everything from a standard casement window to a vertically sliding sash and bi-fold door.

It is perfect for retrofitting into existing windows or doors, simply be replacing the glass units, adding a new ability to provide ‘darkness on demand’ in a room at any time of the day. Raising and lowering of the blind is easy using a cordless slider positioned on the bottom rail of the blind – with no cords or other external elements on show, this delivers a clean, clutter-free appearance.

And the Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout blind can be manufactured to order and delivered to window and door installers in as little as 10-12 working days – so if you are experiencing issues now, the answer could be with you sooner than you think.

Despite being called a ‘blackout’, the Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout blind is actually available in eight colours, including Grey Sheen and Cocoa to fit well with any neutral décor.

It is virtually maintenance and cleaning free too. As the blind is made using ScreenLine®, high quality is assured and the only cleaning that will ever be needed is an occasional wipe of the slider as the rest is permanently sealed inside the glass unit – a totally dust-free space.

Find out more about the the Uni-Blinds® pleated blackout integral blind.

Cracking the colour code

Colours may be all around us and we often spend many hours choosing them when decorating our home, but do we pay enough attention to what they say about us and our visitors, and the contribution they make to how our home feels?

Do dark colours make a small room feel smaller? Is blue soothing and relaxing? Does yellow make you feel lively and creative? We’ll answer these questions and others in this article.

The science bit…

The psychology of colour is actually quite a young area of academic study in the grand scheme of things. So, what do we know?
“Colours aren’t merely associated with various feelings, they can actually shape our perceptions and personalities.”

This has been evident in numerous studies since the 1700s which have indicated what each colour represents in terms of our personality, work ethic and motivation levels.

What should we think about when choosing colours in our home décor?

Choose a colour scheme that is fit for the room’s purpose – is it a functional space, somewhere to relax or a workspace or playroom in which you might want more mental stimulation. Here are some general pointers:

Warm colours

With a décor dominated by shades of red, pink, yellow, or orange, you will create a cosy, welcoming space. One expert describes warm colours being an indicator that you are an inviting host and your room evokes a friendly, cosy feel. As a result, it is good to use warm colours in your home’s gathering and communal spaces like a living room, such as shades of yellow, orange, and red, particularly to ‘ground’ a large room.

Cool colours

If you want to promote peacefulness, calm and relaxation, then you can’t go far wrong with a room which used blues, purples, and greens. One recent study named navy blue as the world’s most relaxing colour. So, for someone who chooses blues, greens, and purples in their home décor, it is a clear signal that they value harmony and perhaps time for meditation and reflection. And you should certainly think about cool colours in your bedroom or other spaces where you go to unwind after a long day. That’s not to say these colours can’t have a very different effect – jewel tones such as emerald green or sapphire blue can indicate a more moody aesthetic and completely different vibe.

Neutral colours

Whilst it is easy to consider neutral paint colours as just a ‘playing it safe’ option, they can reflect homeowners who think more practically and make long term decisions that they can be happy with. Don’t read this as boring though! People who go for neutrals can be open and cheery, but perhaps quiet and reserved around new people. They may also prefer to use bolder colours for smaller décor features to bring accents to spaces.

White

Sometimes called a ‘non-colour’ along with black, white is associated with extra tidy people who take comfort from their homes being neat and organised. That’s why white is a popular choice for bathrooms, kitchens, utility rooms and other more utilitarian space, with the addition of colour through accessories and furnishings.

And in more detail…

To delve a bit deeper, here are what positive characteristics we associate with the main colours – do you recognise any of these in your personality?

Getting your décor right

It is important to consider the colours of all aspects of your décor to make sure you achieve the right result – and that includes window dressings and shading solutions.

The great thing with Uni-Blinds® integrated blinds, which sit between the panes of glass in double glazed units, is that they are available in a variety of colours so you can tailor your look precisely.

If you choose a Uni-Blinds Venetian integral blind, you can choose from ten colours for the blind slats. That includes contemporary colours like anthracite grey – exclusively available from Morley Glass – and metallic silver, plus softer shades of green, light blue, yellow and cream. The headrail and other features of the Venetian blind’s control system are available in several complementary colours too.

For Uni-Blinds pleated between the glass blinds, the choice is even wider so you can express your personality to the max. Their fabrics are available in everything from a bold red and navy blue to cool greys. And, despite the name, even the Uni-Blinds pleated blackout integral blind doesn’t have to be black – it comes in a choice of eight colours from white and beige to anthracite grey and black.

Find out more about the colour options for Uni-Blinds on our dedicated colours page.

Joint Saint-Gobain Glass and Morley Glass initiative wins top glass industry sustainability award

Our pioneering glass recycling scheme that enables post-consumer glass units from window and door replacements to be collected and crushed to make new glass has been recognised by the UK glass industry’s representative trade body, British Glass.

Our GreenVision initiative was named winner of the ‘Sustainable Practice’ award at the Glass Focus Awards 2021 in a prestigious ceremony attended by more than 100 people recently in central Manchester. Saint-Gobain Glass and Morley Glass triumphed in a highly competitive field which draws entrants from across the glass industry, from food and drink packaging and medical equipment to all aspects of glass used in construction.

The scheme saves energy and raw materials as well as benefiting the broader community in four key stages. Firstly, Morley Glass collects the old glass units that installers of our Uni-Blinds integral blind units remove during window and door replacement projects – this waste glass is taken to our Leeds HQ and manufacturing centre on the return legs of our daily deliveries.

Stages two and three involve crushing the post-consumer glass units on-site at Morley Glass to create high quality glass cullet. This is then collected by Saint-Gobain Glass for use as a raw material in the manufacture of new float glass at their Yorkshire factory, helping to reduce the need for ‘virgin’ raw materials.

The final stage is putting the revenue raised from the production of glass cullet to good use in the community through the GreenVision fund. This enables environmental micro-initiatives and charities across West Yorkshire to apply for grants of £500 to support their activities, which has so far provided money to pay for everything from raised vegetable planting beds to the redevelopment of a primary school’s garden.

The benefits of the initiative are far-reaching according to Ian Short, Managing Director of Morley Glass, who said:

“We are absolutely thrilled to win at the Glass Focus Awards 2021! The initiative has been a huge success since we started in 2019, so much so that we have recently had to replace our original machinery with a fully automated plant that triples our glass processing capacity.

“To date the scheme has collected over 1,200 bags of glass cullet weighing more than 680 tonnes. This has reduced the need for virgin sand which is used in glass manufacturing by more than half a million kilos. But as every tonne of cullet saves 300kg of CO2 emissions, and the amount of energy needed to power the average home for six months, we have been able to make energy savings to date equivalent to 341 ‘energy years’ for the typical UK home.”

Morley Glass is the leading manufacturer of integral blinds in the UK door and window industry through our Uni-Blinds branded range. Our 50,000 sq. ft state-of-the-art factory in Leeds is the world’s largest production facility of its kind for Screenline blind systems, from which we serve installers across the UK with the most competitive lead times and complimentary delivery.

Morley Glass back at its best as 10-day lead times return

We are starting 2022 on a high after successfully fighting back against unprecedented supply chain issues to bring back our industry-topping 10-12 day lead times on our full range of integrated blinds.

The Morley Glass team has worked hard to get back to business as usual despite a challenging 2021 caused by an unprecedented combination of supply problems. These included the impact of a tornado flattening the ScreenLine blind systems factory in the Czech Republic back in June, the well-publicised UK glass shortages and a whole host of Covid-related challenges.

Working closely with our key supply chain partners, ScreenLine integral blind manufacturer Pellini and Saint-Gobain Glass, we have been able to secure significantly increased volumes of blind systems and glass in recent weeks to enable the production of Uni-Blinds to recover well ahead of schedule.

It means that all orders for Uni-Blinds will now be delivered in 10-12 working days when ordered by 12.00pm on any Thursday, a turnaround that our customers had come to rely on and one that few other suppliers of between-glass blinds can match.

In addition to restoring the supply chain, Morley Glass has also just taken delivery of three new vans and ordered a further eight vehicles due for arrival during 2022. This larger fleet will help keep customer deliveries on track as production capacity increases following our investment of £750,000 in another sealed unit manufacturing line, a move which will enable Morley Glass’ output to grow to 6,000 integral blind units every week.

These investments will help ensure that Morley Glass stays ahead of curve as demand for Uni-Blinds increases, enabling us to maintain our commitment to the industry’s shortest lead times backed with complimentary nationwide delivery on all orders.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass, said: “We’re over the moon to be back to where we want to be in terms of our service. It means that installers no longer need to settle for second choice integrated blind suppliers on time-sensitive jobs as our Uni-Blinds can now be supplied in the shortest lead times in the industry!

“There is no denying that we’ve found the last six months a very challenging as we’ve had to work around some very difficult circumstances outside our control. With the high standards we set ourselves we always aim to resolve any supply issues that do arise as quickly as possible, and during these difficult recent months the whole Morley Glass team has pulled together fantastically to get us back on track!”

Morley Glass triples post-consumer glass recycling capacity

Morley Glass will be recycling more post-consumer glass and supporting more local good causes than ever following the installation of new state of the art automated machinery to process waste glass collected from Uni-Blinds® installers.

The new plant commissioned at our HQ and factory near Leeds replaces our pioneering ‘Crush’ machinery, which has been retired after two reliable years of service. The new machine is designed to be smarter and more productive through automation, extracting a larger amount of annealed glass out of the frame.

This eliminates some of the more time consuming and labour-intensive stages of the glass recycling process to enable larger volumes to be handled. Through a process of separation and crushing, the glass is turned into cullet which can then go straight into the manufacture of new glass, whilst spacer bars and any other materials are channelled off into a separate waste stream.

This first stage recycling process is a joint initiative between Morley Glass and Saint-Gobain Glass whereby recycled glass cullet is collected in half tonne bags for use as a raw material in the production of new glass. Since the initiative started in 2019, more than 670 tonnes of glass cullet have been produced which has saved more than half a million tonnes of ‘virgin’ sand from Saint-Gobain Glass’s manufacturing process.

But the benefits of recycling post-consumer glass in this way go far beyond saving our sand reserves. Using waste glass in place of virgin raw materials also reduces the amount of energy needed in production, which means that 199,000 tonnes of CO2 has been saved already – that is the equivalent of 332 ‘energy years’ for an average UK household.

Morley Glass goes even further, however, to make sure the value of the recycled glass cullet can be utilised to fund environment initiatives across West Yorkshire through our GreenVision Fund. This enables local organisations involved in environmental improvement and green micro initiatives to benefit from individual grants of £500 to support the work they do.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re thrilled that we can now handle three times the amount of recycled glass that we could previously, helping the industry take another important step forward in terms of sustainability. But equally important will be our increased ability to support more green initiatives than ever as the size of our GreenVision Fund grows with recycling volumes – it’s a win-win.”

By providing a post-consumer glass recycling service, Morley Glass helps its customers reduce the amount of waste they need to dispose of and improve the whole-life sustainability of Uni-Blinds® integral blinds. It also assists Saint-Gobain Glass with their sustainability goals as they seek to increase the amount of recycled content in new float glass, which is already at the forefront of the industry.

To find out more about the sustainability initiatives of Morley Glass please take a look at our Crush page.

High five for NFA award winning Morley Glass

Morley Glass has triumphed at the 2021 National Fenestration Awards (NFAs) by picking up awards in five categories.

Once again we were crowned the industry’s best ‘Integral Blind Company’ and named the winner in the ‘New Product’ category for our latest exclusive integrated blind innovations, the symmetrical SV+ sliding venetian blind system and the pleated blackout blind. Like all Uni-Blinds, these new products are manufactured using only ScreenLine® blind systems to offer high quality, great visual appeal and reliable long term performance in carefully tailored shading and privacy solutions.

Morley Glass was also recognised by the industry for the way we have used video over the last 12 months, both in our own marketing and to support window and door installers large and small by helping them create virtual showroom tours. These videos proved invaluable during the pandemic lockdown periods, and they continue to be an incredibly useful asset to installers as homeowners and developers research new products and services online at the early stage of their search.

In addition to these three corporate awards, one member of the Morley Glass team was a double award winner too, reflecting the outstanding contribution she has made to the company’s success. Sales adviser and marketing coordinator Charlotte Gilbert, who has become an integral part of the team since joining just 15 months ago, was presented with awards for ‘Social Networker’ and ‘Young Person’.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve won three 2021 NFA awards for the company, and over the moon for Charlotte for her well-deserved individual awards. A big thank you to everyone who voted for Morley Glass and who took time to get involved with the NFAs in whatever capacity they chose to – as a sponsor, nominee, voter or attendee.

“In what has been another pandemic-affected year, Lee Clarke and the NFA team deserve a lot of credit for successfully delivering the NFA awards programme. It is really important for the industry to get the chance to get together in person to celebrate the very best in our sector and we are already looking forward to the 2022 programme!”

Awards super six for Morley Glass in 2021 NFAs

Morley Glass is delighted to have been nominated for more National Fenestration Awards (NFAs) than ever after being shortlisted for six awards in the 2021 programme.

We hope to build on our 2020 NFAs success when we picked up four awards, including in the Covid Heroes category, as well as receiving a special mention.

Three of the 2021 nominations are for awards that we won last year: Best Use of Video, IGU Manufacturer and Integral Blinds Company. This time round, Morley Glass is also in the running for Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year, New Product and Recycling Company, reflecting the depth of our proactive approach to sales and marketing, R&D and sustainability.

And in addition to being a finalist in these corporate awards, two members of the Morley Glass team have also received nominations for individual awards. Marketing assistant Charlotte Gilbert has been named a finalist in the Social Networker and Young Person categories, along with Bryony Shaw, sales advisor, also on the shortlist for the Young Person award.

The NFAs are awarded based on the number of votes received. Anyone working in the UK door and window industry can vote online at www.fenestrationawards.co.uk/nfa21 until 4th November at 4pm. The winners will be announced at a presentation event at Doncaster Racecourse two days later.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass said: “We’re really excited to be nominated for so many awards and look forward to the 2021 NFAs presentation on November 6th. Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted and the very best of luck!

“Being shortlisted matters hugely because it provides important external recognition that we are on-track with our business. The whole Morley Glass team works hard every day to create the highest quality products backed with outstanding service, but the best way to gauge how well we are doing is through industry awards – that’s why the NFAs are key to the fenestration industry.”

In the past 12 months, Morley Glass has experienced an upsurge in demand for its range of integral Venetian and pleated Uni-Blinds®, all of which are produced in its state-of-the-art factory near Leeds using the world-renowned Screenline® blinds systems from Italian manufacturer Pellini S.p.A.

In tandem with increased production volumes for our established integral blinds range in 2021, Morley Glass has launched several new products and developed our glass recycling operation, which takes post-consumer glass back from installers working on replacement projects to be recycled – raising funds for good causes in the process.

Find out more about the NFAs here.

Morley Glass signs up to FENEX 2022 and FENEX 2023 at Telford

We are one of the first companies to sign up to the FENEX 2022 virtual expos and the first at the FENEX in-person exhibition in Telford in 2023.

We have grown over the last two decades to become the largest manufacturer and supplier in the UK of SceenLine integral blinds. To help aid that growth further, we will be exhibiting at the 2022 virtual FENEX shows as well as the first FENEX in-person exhibition which will be held at the incredibly popular Telford International Centre.

Speaking about Morley’s commitment to FENEX, event co-founder Lee Clarke said: “To have a company of the calibre of Morley Glass join the growing FENEX platform is fantastic news. The Morley brand has become one of the most successful not just in the IGU and blinds part of the market, but in the whole of UK fenestration. We look forward to working with them in the years to come and to building a successful partnership that will most certainly be of benefit to everyone.”

Ian Short, Managing Director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “We’re very excited to be joining the FENEX platform for 2022 and 2023. The new avenues and opportunities this is going to present to us, bringing together the best of both virtual and in-person, is tantalising and we cannot wait to get started and bring our fantastic range of integral blinds to even more of the UK fenestration industry!”

FENEX is holding a full virtual expo calendar during the course of 2022, with hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment in market-leading virtual software and marketing campaigns that are going to create a huge impact during 2022.

In 2023, FENEX will then return the UK fenestration sector to the very popular Telford International Centre for their first in-person event which has already garnered a hugely positive response from the industry.

To find out more about FENEX at Telford, or to exhibit at the main virtual event from Weds 8th Sept – Sat 11th Sept 2021, visit www.fenex.co.uk

Call for local initiatives with ‘Green Vision’ to claim share of £30,000

We have created a Green Vision fund which currently stands at a whopping £30,000.

We are looking for local schools, charities and community groups to apply for donations of up to £500 to create sustainable projects such as nature reserves, edible beds, wildflower gardens, sensory gardens and allotments; all applications are considered as long as they improve and sustain the local environment.

The fund is financed by our own green credentials. When new windows and doors are installed, the old glass would previously go to landfill. Now we ask our customers to return the old glass to us, so we can crush it into cullet and return it our supplier Saint-Gobain Glass, who re-use the old crushed glass to manufacture new glass in an energy-efficient process.

One hundred percent of the money we receive for the old glass goes into the Green Vision fund. Since the CRUSH scheme started in early 2020, and despite the COVID-19 lockdowns, 550 tonnes of glass have been recycled saving energy to power a home for 264 years, preventing 158,000kg of CO2 entering the atmosphere and saving 450,000kg of virgin sand*.

So far, the fund has had 10 beneficiaries, including CATCH Harehills, Incredible Edible Halton, Garforth in Bloom, Yorkshire Trench, Roundhay High School, Longroyde Primary School and St Chads Broomfield Cricket Club. Each of these received £500 and created meaningful environmental projects that also benefit the community.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “This is a long-term initiative and the funds will continue to be created so it’s important that local groups come forward with their ideas and projects that we can support. We are proud to have created this fund that can really benefit the local community and the environment. We hope to help many more initiatives realise their green goals and would urge people to come forward with their proposals.”

We also encourage local tradespeople and individuals to recycle glass from old windows and doors free of charge, at our CRUSH facility at 27 Industrial Estate, Bruntcliffe Way in Morley.

To apply for a grant from the Green Vision fund please email your application to greenvision@morleyglass.co.uk

Find out more about the fund and the projects it has already supported here.

*All figures correct at July 2021

Morley Glass backs Roundhay School volunteers’ green ambitions

New environmental initiatives by volunteer students at Roundhay School in Leeds have taken off after receiving financial support from Morley Glass through the Rotary Club of Roundhay’s ‘Interact’ scheme.

A team of students has come together to form an Interact Club at the north Leeds school, which is part of an international programme by Rotary designed to help young people take action to make a difference in their school and community. The Roundhay School Interact Club has already attracted 21 members who will be in Year 10 from September 2021.

As part of their work, the ‘Interactors’ will be getting involved in tree planting to increase urban forestation in their neighbourhood. The club will plant saplings paid for through a £500 grant from the Morley Glass GreenVision Fund, a unique funding scheme which raises money from flat glass recycling to support environmental improvement initiatives throughout West Yorkshire.

By encouraging the growth of more trees in the Roundhay area, the volunteers will play an active role in reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere and improve their local environment both aesthetically and ecologically. Further environmental improvements are also being delivered through ‘bug hotels’, made by the Interactors using post-use wooden boxes, also donated by Morley Glass.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass says: “It is tremendous to see so many young people getting involved with the Interact Club at Roundhay School to improve their local community. We’re really pleased to be able to support the student volunteers’ hard work through our GreenVision Fund, as well as by providing them with first quality wooden packaging boxes for upcycling. We can’t wait to see the improvements the Club members will bring to the Roundhay area.”

In addition to their local environmental work, the Roundhay School Interact Club is helping their school and the wider community in a number of other ways. These include collecting school uniforms that children have out-grown so that parents of children newly transferring to Roundhay School can take anything they need free of charge, and raising funds to support schools in Nepal and Sri Lanka to help get more children, especially girls, into education.

The Morley Glass GreenVision Fund was set up in 2019 as part of a pioneering glass recycling scheme in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass. This allows funds to be raised from the value of recyclable glass, which originates from the collection, sorting and first stage re-processing (crushing) of post-consumer glass removed by Morley Glass customers during window and door replacement projects.

To find out more about the GreenVision Fund and how to apply for a £500 grant please visit our Community page.

Open for buzz-ness!

We were delighted and proud to attend the official opening of the Longroyde School garden, with Morley MD Ian Short cutting the ribbon to get everything started!

Longroyde School in Brighouse applied for a grant from our GreenVision fund, which gives up to £500 grants to local sustainable projects. The school originally applied for a single grant in order to create a garden as an Easter project but were so inspired they required and received a second donation to continue and finish the project.

The garden now incorporates a mindfulness area, greenhouse, sunflower and pea wigwam and a bug hotel. The children worked very hard digging out weeds, filling beds with compost and planting seeds as well as painting and planning the space.

The GreenVison fund is born out of our CRUSH recycling scheme – taking post-consumer glass from old windows and doors, bringing it back to our factory and crushing it into cullet. The cullet is then sent to Saint-Gobain Glass who pay us for it and 100% of these funds go into the GreenVision pot. This scheme has so far benefitted 10 local projects as well as, in itself, saving 158,000kg of CO² from entering the atmosphere and 450,000kg of virgin sand from being used, and saved enough energy to power a home for 264 years*.

Ian said: “It is wonderful to see the donations truly making a difference to local communities and their hard work paying off so spectacularly. The children have done an incredible job and learnt skills for life. I was thrilled to attend and officially open the project. The fund is growing all the time and we currently have £30,000 available for sustainable projects so we would urge other groups to come forward and apply for a grant of up to £500.”

If you wish to apply for a GreenVision grant, please send your request and project details to greenvision@morley.co.uk Find out more about the fund and the projects it has supported here: https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/glass-recycling-leeds/

*All figures correct at July 2021

Morley Glass makes milestone donation with GreenVision fund

We are very happy to have made our 10th donation to local sustainable projects with the GreenVision Fund.

The fund uses money generated by the CRUSH recycling scheme to benefit local communities and the environment. Each donation of up to £500 helps community groups or schools that wish to create green spaces or sustainable projects to bring their ideas into fruition.

The 10th beneficiary is the fantastic Flourishing Families Leeds, which works to combat food poverty/poor nutrition, supports family literacy and helps tackle the challenges faced by primary school-aged children living in deprivation through activity-based mentoring.

Richard Colbrook from Flourishing Families said: “Thanks to the donation from Morley Glass, our online family cookery clubs have hit 100% repeatability. In other words, every family taking part have gone on to repeat the recipes so that they have become a regular part of their family meals. This means that we really are changing the diets of families and, because the meals are affordable, now have a sustainable and reproducible way of overcoming food poverty. I’m normally pretty excited with our results (!) but this one has taken excitement levels through the roof. It is hugely significant.”

Flourishing Families joins previous recipients from the local area including Longroyde Primary School, Incredible Edible Kippax and CATCH.

The CRUSH scheme that facilitates our GreenVision fund is an initiative between us and Saint-Gobain Glass, where post-consumer glass is brought back to the Morley factory and crushed into cullet. Saint-Gobain Glass then pays for the bags of cullet and recycle it, using it in the manufacture in new float glass. 100% of this payment goes to the GreenVision fund. The process dramatically helps the environment, and since it started in early 2020 the CRUSH scheme has saved 158,000kg of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and 450,000kg of virgin sand, and saved enough energy to power a home for 264 years*.

Morley Glass MD Ian Short says: “Sustainability is at the core of our business values, and it is great to give something back to local communities that also benefits the environment. The 10th donation is a gratifying milestone, and we hope for many more.”

If you wish to apply for a GreenVision donation, please send your request to greenvision@morley.co.uk
Find out more about the fund and the projects it has supported here: https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/glass-recycling-leeds/

*All figures correct at July 2021

Going large to boost deliveries and glass recycling volumes

We’ve taken delivery of six new Luton vans which not only boost our nationwide delivery capacity as demand grows, but greatly increase the amount of post-consumer glass we can collect and recycle through our CRUSH initiative.

The familiar boxy Luton vans are the first to enter the Morley Glass fleet and are ideally suited to this dual ‘deliver and collect’ role that our delivery drivers now undertake. The layout of the vans means that Uni-Blinds sealed units can be better distributed around the space so there is more room for post-consumer glass to be brought back to our factory for recycling.

The addition of these latest vans increases our vehicle fleet to 36, which deliver around 4,000 integral blind units every week to customers throughout the UK. But as we’ve expanded our glass recycling operations, our vans are increasingly returning to site with a highly recyclable and valuable material that benefits both the environment and good causes thanks to the CRUSH scheme. This is a joint initiative from Morley Glass and Saint-Gobain Glass where glass from doors and windows that have been replaced is collected by Morley and then crushed into cullet. This is then returned in bulk to Saint-Gobain Glass, who pay for the glass cullet, which they use to make new float glass. One tonne of cullet saves enough energy to power a home for six months, which is why glass recycling is so vital.

So far, with the help of our customers we have returned 549 tonnes of cullet, preventing 158,556kg of CO2 going into the atmosphere and saving enough energy to power an average home for 264 years. Recycling the post-consumer glass has also saved nearly 450,000kg of virgin sand.

Importantly, the Luton vans will significantly increase the amount of glass that can be processed through the CRUSH scheme, and therefore make a an even bigger impact to shrink the glass industry’s carbon footprint.

The scheme does not only benefit the planet, but local communities too. The money generated from the cullet is put into our GreenVision fund. This allows local schools, community groups and charities across Yorkshire that focus on improving the environment to apply for a donation of up to £500 towards green projects.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing, said: “A rapidly growing customer base and increasing sales of Uni-Blinds mean we need to continuously invest in our vehicle fleet to ensure we can maintain our industry-topping lead-times and delivery reliability. But we also have to ensure our fleet best suits the needs of our business today, and as we are bringing more and more post-consumer glass back to Leeds than ever – and we will do even more in future – our new Luton vans tick all the boxes.”

For more information visit our sustainability section of our website.

Tornado hits blinds factory in Czech Republic

Our thoughts are with our supply chain colleagues at Pellini CZ following a catastrophic tornado strike yesterday, 24th June which has torn down the factory premises in Hodonin. In addition to this, many of the houses belonging to the employees and their families have also been destroyed. The Red Cross are currently working to provide temporary shelter in the area.

We are working closely with Pellini Italy to take the necessary steps to minimise the inevitable delays which will result from this disaster. We will keep you updated regarding deliveries and thank you for your patience during this time.

Read more about the impact of the tornado here.

If you would like to contribute to the disaster relief fund, please visit this page.

New exclusive Uni-Blinds duo offers perfectly tailored options

Two new additions to the Uni-Blinds range of high quality integral blind systems give installers exciting new potential to provide shading and privacy solutions to homeowners aiming to meet specific aesthetic and light elimination goals.

As the UK’s largest manufacturer of ‘between the glass’ integral blinds with ScreenLine inside, Morley Glass is a pioneer of innovative new products with Pellini Industrie, the Italian company behind the world-leading blind systems brand, and these latest solutions demonstrate the strength of their continued partnership.

Firstly, for homeowners who like the slider control system but are seeking to achieve perfect symmetry in the look of their windows and doors, the new Uni-Blinds SV+ System provides the solution. This offers all the benefits of the established SV System – which is the most popular of all Uni-Blinds options – but with a sideguide at each side of the unit to provide balance. These match the style and width of the head rail and bottom rail, with the result being a window or door that looks symmetrical and many homeowners love!

The SV+ is operated by a cleverly-designed magnetic slider, placed on the right or left-hand edge of the glass. A narrow adhesive transparent profile ensures the linear movement of the slider. This slider is used to raise, lower and tilt the integral Venetian blind with ease.

The second new system is designed to provide total darkness on demand. The exclusive Uni-Blinds Pleated Blackout System gives homeowners an effective integral blinds option if they are seeking total darkness in a room. This is because its design allows for no leakage of light around the edges or, as is usually the case with pleated blinds, along the vertical cords.

This makes the Pleated Blackout integral blind an excellent option for children’s bedrooms and nurseries, cinema rooms and for shift workers who need to sleep during the day. It can also be used in commercial applications where the internal environment is sensitive to light, such as museums and scientific laboratories.

The great thing about the Pleated Blackout is that it can be used with ‘C’ and ‘S’ Uni-Blinds control systems and it is available in 20mm double glazing cavities. This exclusive from Morley Glass means you can choose the Pleated Blackout even if the window or door features a slimmer double glazed unit with a 20mm cavity.

Both the new Uni-Blinds options give homeowners more choice and greater flexibility to fit integral blinds that are right for their home and achieve the look they are seeking. That’s an excellent selling point for window and door installers using Uni-Blinds who can gain an important competitive edge over suppliers of other integral blinds systems.

Helping Uni-Blinds integral blinds installers go green

When it comes to working more sustainably, one thing all businesses should be able to do relatively easily is to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill. But, to make this a reality we all need access to easy processes to ensure the by-products of our everyday operations can be diverted hassle-free and low cost – or free of charge – into the right channels for recycling.

Installers working on replacement window and door projects always face issue of disposing of the old products they remove, and all the different materials that entails – glass, timber, PVC, aluminium, metal hardware, gaskets, etc. But with the right support from the supply chain, there is no reason why we cannot deal with these post-consumer waste products effectively and deliver wider benefits to our communities as a result.

This is the thinking behind our CRUSH initiative. Since 2019, we have worked in partnership with Saint-Gobain Glass to collect and recycle the glass that installers of our Uni-Blinds integral blinds remove during their daily work. So far that has diverted more than 500 tonnes of glass away from landfill.

At the heart of the CRUSH initiative is our glass crushing machine which converts the post-consumer glass into glass cullet. This can then be used in place of virgin raw materials for the manufacture of new float glass, which is why Saint-Gobain Glass were keen to partner with us from the outset.

With the raw material production savings this makes, every tonne of cullet saves 300kg of CO2 emissions. That means the 500 tonnes of cullet already collected (up to June 2021) has saved 150,000kg of CO2 in 18 months – and those savings are increasing all the time.

But the benefits don’t stop there. The revenue generated from this high quality glass cullet is used to support good causes across Yorkshire through the Morley Glass GreenVision fund. This offers ‘green fund’ grants of £500 to charities who are dedicated to sustainability initiatives that deliver environmental benefits.

The direct and positive impacts on the environment also extend into making the manufacture of new glass more energy efficient. This is because the amount of energy needed by a furnace to melt recycled glass cullet is 30% lower than for virgin materials.

Morley Glass and B&P Windows team up for glass recycling

Wakefield-based B&P Windows are aiming to further reduce their carbon footprint by supplying all post-consumer glass products to be put through our on-site glass crusher.

Since 2019, we’ve been accepting post-consumer glass and IGU products for our glass crusher which sits at our Leeds integral blinds’ manufacturing site. To date, we have reduced our CO2 emissions by a staggering 135,504kg. That crushed glass then goes back into the market place via recycling and will go on to be used in numerous applications for decades to come.

B&P Windows, based in Wakefield for 40 years, have made huge efforts to ensure that all post-consumer and office-based waste is recycled and that nothing goes into the ground. All their old PVCU, timber and aluminium frames are recycled and have been for a long time. The company also uses a dedicate skip service provided by Wakefield council that ensures anything that is put into the skip is taken away and processed correctly to make sure that none of it ends up at landfill sites.

This new partnership with Morley Glass is set to expand that effort further, with both companies dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint and impact on the environment as much as possible.

Ian Short, Managing Director at Morley Glass commented: “We know B&P Windows have been making huge efforts to be as green as possible for years. We have worked together for around two decades and have a great working relationship, so to be able to help them to continue their efforts to be as environmentally friendly as possible only strengthens our bond further.”

Justin Grafton-Holt, Director at B&P Windows said: “We have worked with Morley Glass for years and have admired not only their product and professionalism, but their activities outside of the glazing sector and their dedication to reducing their impact on the environment as much as possible. This falls perfectly in line with our longer term vision and it’s great to be able to team up and keep as much post-consumer waste out of the ground as possible!”

Find out more about our commitment to sustainability and investment in local communities here.

Morley Glass and FENEX virtual showrooms prove a great success

During the pandemic, Morley Glass and Glazing have funded and created 50 virtual showrooms, with the help of videoproduction4, the National Fenestration Awards and FENEX.

With real-life showroom visits off the table, the virtual showrooms have allowed installers to grow their business in the most challenging of times. Each Virtual showroom, worth £1500, allows visitors to the websites to see the diversity, and experience the quality, of products available.

The winners have reported a significant rise in website visits and appointments from customers who may not visit a physical showroom, meaning they have been able to continue operating. Companies including McDermott Windows, Heath Windows, Droylsden Glass and Sapphire Windows are just a few that have benefitted from this amazing technology.

Emma at Blackburn based McDermott Windows commented: “Lockdown has meant we have had to look at things differently, and the virtual showroom has enabled us to showcase our products in a really detailed way. Also, we can demonstrate that we do have an authentic base which is reassuring for many people to see.

We really do appreciate that this was given to us by Ian at Morley Glass – he is just a fantastic guy and so supportive of people in this industry. I can’t speak highly enough, and we are very grateful to him. He sees work in this sector as collaborative and we will always support him because of his generosity.”

Kevin Thackery at Droylsden Glass in Manchester said: “What a brilliant tool this has been, particularly during current restricted climates – the virtual showroom has really supported our business. We do now always try to promote it and we gain such positive feedback from visitors to the site. This business has remained strong, and we feel that the virtual site has greatly influenced that.”

Ian, MD here at Morley Glass, volunteered his services as soon as the idea of a virtual showroom give-away was floated. He worked closely with Lee Clark of FENEX and National Fenestration Awards to get the project off the ground and assisting the winners as soon as possible.

Morley Glass renews Ambassador sponsorship for 2021 National Fenestration Awards

We have renewed our Ambassador sponsorship of the National Fenestration Awards for the 2021 campaign.

Following a disrupted year, the NFAs were a rare bright spot for the entire sector, with an end-of-year social media and YouTube dual broadcast announcing the winners of the 2020 campaign. Of which we found ourselves celebrating success once again, winning the Integral Blinds Company, Best Use of Video and IGU Manufacturer categories.

This year, we continue our support of the sector’s biggest and most inclusive awards as Ambassadors of the platform. After a record year in 2020, the NFAs aims to bring the sector even more to smile about in 2021 as it brings a simplified nomination process which has already seen a record number of submissions so early on in a campaign.

Speaking of their renewed sponsorship of the awards, co-founder Jason Grafton-Holt said: “it is fantastic to have Morley Glass on board once again as Ambassadors. They have been one of our longest supporters and their backing has helped grow the NFAs to where they are today. Able to bring the sector the most inclusive, and fairest awards platform. But more than that, we’re proud to have a company of the calibre of Morley. The charity work they do all year round is incredible. They support a huge number of local initiatives that improve the lives of young people around Leeds and surrounding areas. We’re proud to have Morley Glass as a significant partner of the NFAs.”

Ian Short, Managing Director, commented: “We love being an Ambassador of the NFAs, and are proud to support the awards for another campaign. The NFAs have lead the way in terms of fairness and openness for fenestration, allowing anyone in the sector from the factory floor to the boardroom to take part and find the very best people and companies every year. That fits with our ethos at Morley Glass and we’re very happy to be able to back it this year once again.”

The National Fenestration Awards are the UK’s only open-platform awards in the fenestration sector. Each year thousands of people from the industry nominate deserving people and companies to be put forward to shortlists at the end of the year for the sector to then vote on to decide the eventual winners. With 25+ categories covering every single aspect of fenestration, it is the most inclusive awards in the industry. A record number of nominations and votes were cast in 2020, in what was a sole highlight for the industry in one of the toughest years we have endured for decades.

The 2021 NFA campaign is set to be the biggest and most competitive yet, and the nominations phase is open now. To participate head to www.fenestrationawards.co.uk to cast your nominations.

Delivering darkness on-demand with new pleated blackout blinds

We are delivering darkness on-demand with the launch of a new and exclusive blackout system for pleated integral blinds.

The ScreenLine® pleated blackout blinds sit neatly inside Uni-Blind® sealed units to ensure complete shading from the sun and other light sources such as streetlights and passing vehicles. Complete privacy and the exclusion of external light are particularly welcome in environments such as bedrooms, children’s nurseries and home cinema rooms as well as commercial applications including laboratories, hotel rooms and museums.

With no vertical cords running down the blind, no light can leak through tiny gaps when in the closed position, and there are no perimeter gaps either. The pleated blackout blinds are available in a choice of eight colour options: white, alabaster, cocoa, grey sheen, black, anthracite grey, dove grey and grey ridge. The blackout blinds are available for 20mm cavities, using the manual corded C System or slider control S System, and can cover a glazed area of 2 sq metres (2200mm max height x 1500mm max width).

Ian Short, managing director said: “We all value our privacy and also know how important it is to get a good night’s sleep. The new pleated blackout system can provide these solutions. The pleated blind’s material also delivers excellent thermal performance, reflecting excessive heat and helping to keep rooms cool in the height of summer.

“We’re really excited to work with ScreenLine® in Italy to bring this product exclusively to the UK for fabricators and installers to add to their portfolio of added value products. It’s perfect timing as we come into the spring and summer with lighter nights and brighter days. The new blackout system is the perfect solution for light sleepers seeking an uninterrupted night’s sleep and shift workers who may need to sleep during the day, or for any room where unwanted light can cause a nuisance or disruption. I’m sure they’ll be a hugely popular product.”

Morley Glass & Glazing adds new SV+ system to Uni-Blind range

We are now giving customers even more choice with the launch of the SV+ line of integral blinds.

The SV+ is exclusive to us and is a completely symmetrical version of the highly popular ScreenLine SV (sliding venetian) Uni-Blind system, thanks to the addition of a slim dummy rail on the opposite side to the sliding operating system.

The SV+ works the same way as the SV System, using a manually operated magnetic slider on either the left or right-hand edge of the sealed unit to raise, lower and tilt the slats of the blind. It is a cordless system that is particularly safe for houses or projects with children or pets.

Ian Short, managing director says: “The SV system is one of our most popular systems, as it is particularly easy and smooth to operate. The slimness of the control device means the system can be used with all types of frames, even sliding doors and windows.

“However, the control device is located on a narrow rail on one side of the sealed unit, and this can make the window look uneven. To create a more symmetrical appearance we’ve added a slim dummy rail to the opposite side of the sealed unit and created the SV+.

“The external control device is also protected with a patented Sanitized® active biocidal substance containing silver ions for long lasting antibacterial protection and peace of mind.”

The SV+ is available in a choice of 10 colours and can be delivered in just 12 working days from orders placed by 10am on a Thursday.

Find out more about our full range of integral blinds.

Living in colour – Why is a colour choice so important?

After lockdown (and perhaps the new series of Grand Designs) everyone is getting more creative and responsive to their home environment; whether it is now also a place of work or remains a place of respite. There is not a street to be seen without a new scaffold or wide-open windows to air out a newly painted wall. With any project there are rules and regulations to be followed, restrictions on size and perhaps even style. However, there is one thing the consumer can have almost complete control over, and that is colour. But why is colour so important?

A world of colour
Although perhaps taken for granted, colour is all around. It is how most of us perceive and process the world. We can receive all sorts of messages from the colour of something; whether it is friend or foe, hot or cold and perhaps even dead or alive (Is the cactus still going? Is my banana bread cooked?) and while we receive all these messages, we also portray them. Colour is used deliberately by people to signal something of themselves, whether that be in their choice of car, clothing or indeed their property.

Colour is a powerful tool allowing people to tailor their homes to reflect their style or even influence their mood. Colour can set the genre of a room – Artists such as Mark Rothko have used colour on its own, without detail, to portray the entire context of their work. We can see evidence of this contextualising at, say, the dentist, where surgeries are painted muted blues, greens or whites to project a calm and clean atmosphere – no need to panic.

‘Blinded’ by choice
Uni-Blind sealed units with ScreenLine blinds inside from Morley Glass are available in a wide variety of colours across the ranges in order to give the customer plenty of choices to influence their environment. Our Venetian blinds come in 10 different colours, including our exclusive Anthracite grey which perfectly matches aluminium door and window frames. Each colour choice allows for differing levels of solar reflection, light reflection and solar absorption. These figures can be seen using our blind preview tool.

Colour swatches for Venetian UniBlinds

Our range of pleated blinds allow a soft diffusion of light through 16 different shades and the pleated blackout blinds come in a choice of 16 opaque shades, from understated neutrals to vibrant feature colours. Whether the customer wishes to make a real statement or harmonise their space, there is an option for every eye.

“Choice strengthens all” – Neal Prescott (Director, RSK Group)
Offering such a great choice of colour enhances the experience of the end-user, delivering a bespoke design experience as well as complete satisfaction with quality, safe and low maintenance integral blinds. To see the full choice of colours across our ranges, visit our ‘Available Colours’ page or request our catalogue.

GreenVision helps school to ‘hop to it’ this Easter

The students of Longroyde Primary School in West Yorkshire have been busy creating and cultivating green spaces as part of their ‘Easter Garden Project’, thanks to a £500 donation from our GreenVision fund.

The garden before (L) and after (R)

Children have planned the garden and spent weeks digging out weeds, filling beds with compost and planting seeds. They have also thought of the other creatures that may enjoy the space: building pea and sunflower wigwams and a bug hotel.

Students have been working hard on the project

Leanne Geddes from Longroyde School said: “A big thank you for your kind donation. Gardening has proved so popular that we are going to be running an after-school gardening club after the Easter holidays.”
GreenVision will be making a second donation to Longroyde School, enabling them to buy a mini greenhouse, more planters, larger established plants, log seating and create a mindfulness area.

The CRUSH cullet return scheme, which finances our GreenVision fund, saw 52 bags/37.28 tonnes of post-consumer glass returned to be recycled in March 2021. This provided us with £1834.18 to support green initiatives. It also;
• Reduced CO2 emissions at Saint-Gobain Glass’ float glass plant at Eggborough by 11184kg
• Preserved 31688kg of raw virgin sand
• Saved enough energy to power an average home for 18.6 years!

If you have a sustainable project that requires funding, please submit your application to greenvision@morleyglass.co.uk.

About GreenVision
The GreenVision Fund is available as a result of Morley Glass & Glazing’s glass recycling scheme it operates in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass. Morley encourages its customers to return glass from old windows and doors (post-consumer glass), which it then crushes and returns to Saint-Gobain Glass, who use it to manufacture new float glass. The money Morley Glass receives for the cullet creates the GreenVision Fund. Donations of £500 each are available to sustainable projects, charities and community groups.

Morley is set to make big impression at FIT Show 2021

Integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass & Glazing is set to make a big impression with its 110m2 exhibition stand – F25 – at the FIT Show in September.

Managing Director Ian Short said: “We are taking more than three times the amount of space than in 2019. The extra-large stand will have access from all sides to allow for social distancing, and to provide sufficient space to showcase our integral blinds. With the vaccination programme in place, we are hopeful that the industry will feel confident in attending a face-to-face event by late summer. There seems to be a growing appetite to meet in person and to be able to explore new product and business opportunities in the real, rather than the virtual, world.”

One of the new products that Morley Glass & Glazing will be exhibiting on stand F25 is its exclusive range of pleated blackout blinds integrated into its Uni-Blind sealed units. They are ideal for bedrooms, children’s nurseries and home cinema rooms as well as commercial applications including laboratories, hotel rooms and museums, where complete privacy and the exclusion of external light are required.

Morley Glass & Glazing is the largest manufacturer of sealed units with ScreenLine® integral blinds inside in the UK. It provides its customers with complimentary delivery in just 10-12 working days when ordered by 12pm on any Thursday, as well as full technical, marketing and aftersales support. The successful £18 million company regularly manufactures over 3,000 integral blinds every week.

Morley Glass & Glazing will be appearing on stand F25 of the 2021 FIT Show when the doors to Birmingham’s NEC open from 26th – 28th September.

Incredible donation made to edible beds

A donation of £500 from our GreenVision Fund has been made to Incredible Edible Kippax to create a fruit and vegetable planter in Kippax for the local community to enjoy free food.

This is the first edible bed to be planted by this new group and is designed to show people where their food comes from, as well as to provide a free, healthy and sustainable food source. A range of fruit and vegetables will be grown in the planters such as cabbages, courgettes, tarragon, tomatoes, celeriac, strawberries, chard, radish, French beans, rocket, purple sage, peppers, mint, chilli, broccoli and cauliflowers.

Julia Almond from Incredible Edible Kippax said: “We were delighted to receive this funding from Morley Glass which has allowed us to build our first Incredible Edible bed in Kippax.”

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “Our GreenVision Fund was set up to support sustainable initiatives exactly like this. Edible beds are a fantastic idea that the whole community can benefit from. Incredible Edible as an organisation is doing some incredible things with schools, communities and businesses and we’re very proud and excited to be involved.”

The GreenVision Fund is available as a result of Morley Glass & Glazing’s glass recycling scheme it operates in conjunction with Saint-Gobain Glass. Morley encourages its customers to return glass from old windows and doors (post-consumer glass), which it then crushes and returns to Saint-Gobain Glass, who use it to manufacture new float glass. The money Morley Glass receives for the cullet creates the GreenVision Fund. Donations of £500 each are available to sustainable projects, charities and community groups.

If you have a sustainable project that requires funding, please submit your application to greenvision@morleyglass.co.uk.

Heritage project benefits from Morley Glass funding

Leeds-based Morley Glass & Glazing has pledged £500 to help fund repairs to an important piece of Yorkshire’s World War One heritage.

Morley’s contribution to the Yorkshire Trench is its first donation from its GreenVision Fund, where it uses the money it receives from supplying Saint-Gobain Glass with recycled glass cullet to support charities and support sustainable projects.

Located just outside the Belgian town of Ypres, The Yorkshire Trench earned its name after it was manned and improved by the 49th West Riding of Yorkshire Division in 1915. The small section of trench is one of the very few World War One front line trenches that still exists in its original position, after being rediscovered by a group of amateur archaeologists in 1992.

Now, a campaign led by Yorkshire historian John Morrison, is seeking to re-instate the site after recent bad weather conditions in Flanders have led to serious damage to the trench, which until recently was accessible to the public.

An initial estimate for repairs is £135,000, part of which will be contributed by the city of Leper, which owns the site. The campaign is crowdfunding the costs via a JustGiving page, which has already amassed over £3,000 in donations.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass & Glazing, commented: “Morley Glass is honoured to help preserve the memory of such heroic men. It would be a terrible shame for such an important piece of Yorkshire history to be lost. Together with our customers we have recycled 318 tonnes of post-consumer waste glass, saving 95,400 tons of Co2 emissions, and are looking for more charities and green initiatives to support with the money we receive for the cullet.”

If you would like to make a donation, visit the campaign’s JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/yorkshiretrench or email YorkshireTrench@gmail.com for more information.

If you’d like to be considered for a Green Fund donation of £500 email greenvision@morleyglass.co.uk or visit https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/glass-recycling-leeds/

Morley Glass increases volumes by 50%

We’ve started the New Year with a 50% increase in volume compared with last year.

Increased demand from existing customers and an influx of new customers has seen manufacturing capacity rise from an average of 2,500 to 3,500 integral blinds a week.

Managing director Ian Short said: “We moved to new 50,000 sq ft premises in 2016 with a view to increasing the number of our Uni-Blind® sealed units we could manufacture with ScreenLine® integral blinds inside. Our five-year plan was to reach 3,500 blinds a week and it’s amazing that we’ve reached that figure despite the Government lockdowns and a six-week shutdown last year.

“2020 has been a strange and challenging year for many individuals and businesses. The increased demand from homeowners looking to invest in home improvements post-lockdown surprised us all, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down any time soon. Integral blinds are proving to be an excellent profit generator for our customers as they upsell to those people who now recognise the true value of a home that provides privacy, sun shading and a comfortable living and working environment.”

“We have taken on five new members of staff and added three more vans to our delivery fleet. We have a close working relationship with Pelini in Italy and offer the full range of ScreenLine® blinds to UK customers both for residential and commercial projects.

“We are committed to investing in our high-quality manufacturing processes, our marketing efforts, customer service and technical support to ensure our customers can rely on us for the best quality products and the best service.”

Morley Glass & Glazing’s Uni-Blinds® range provides the widest choice of integral blinds in double and triple glazed units, with all manual, solar and motorised versions available.

The business provides unrivalled technical support for Uni-Blinds® customers, being the only UK supplier of integral blinds to have dedicated customer support engineers on the road. It also stocks the largest range of ScreenLine® system spare parts in Europe with £1 million of ScreenLine® components available within 24 hours.

Award hat-trick for Morley Glass & Glazing

Morley Glass & Glazing is celebrating having achieved three first place finishes at the 2020 National Fenestration Awards.

The integral blinds manufacturer came out on top in all three categories it was nominated in: Integral Blinds Company, Best Use of Video and IGU Manufacturer, which it shared jointly with Clayton Glass. It is the business’s fourth consecutive year taking home the IGU Manufacturer prize, and third time as winner of the Integral Blinds Company category.

The business was also one of three companies named a COVID Hero by the awards, as acknowledgement of their investment in virtual showrooms for installers during and after the national lockdown. Finally, Morley Glass received a Special Mention for its tireless charity work for local causes throughout 2020.

The open platform NFAs are the fenestration industry’s fastest-growing independent awards and are unique as winners are decided completely by the public. Organisers of the awards have revealed that 7,658 individual votes were registered for 163 finalists between 18^th September and 24^th November, the most ever recorded in their seven-year history.

The winners’ announcement was made via the FENEX YouTube channel on Monday 7^th December, after plans to announce winners at the doors, windows and hardware exhibition could no longer go ahead.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing comments: “These awards are a fantastic way to bring a turbulent year for the industry to a close. Despite the obvious challenges, 2020 has seen our manufacturing capacity increase from an average of 2,400 to 3,500 integral blinds a week and our turnover has grown to reflect this. Our success is a real team effort and we’re very proud and grateful of the excellent supply chain we have behind us.

“This year we have also taken the time to invest in our Morley Glass & Glazing YouTube channel, with the help of video marketing specialist Video Production 4, so winning the award for Best Use of Video was a great recognition of all our hard work.”

All the winners in the 25 unique categories and two specialist categories in the National Fenestration Awards will be invited to a special Winners Event held by the award organisers in the New Year.

Morley Glass crusher reaches 400 tonne recycling landmark

Integral blinds specialist Morley Glass & Glazing has prevented almost 400 tonnes of post-consumer glass from going to landfill and 119,000kg of CO2 emissions from going into the atmosphere, whilst raising money for “green” projects.

The recycling landmark has been reached after the sealed unit manufacturer dedicated part of its Leeds manufacturing space to serve as a collection centre for waste glass or “cullet”, which it then returns to Saint-Gobain Glass to be reused in the manufacture of new glass. All the money Morley Glass receives for the cullet is placed in a green fund and donated in £500 grants to support charities looking to invest in environmental and sustainable initiatives.

Using recycled glass has a direct and positive impact on the environment and the amount of energy used in the glass manufacturing process. A furnace melting recycled glass will require 30% less energy than one which is melting raw materials, and using one tonne of cullet can save up to 1.2 tonnes of raw material, including 850 kg of sand. This means that CO2 emissions can be reduced by approximately 300kg, which is equivalent to the amount of energy needed to power the average home for six months.

When Morley Glass & Glazing heard that Saint-Gobain Glass had decided to increase the amount of cullet used in its float glass production and needed to find a way to obtain it quickly and easily, the business knew it could help. So whenever Morley customers take delivery of their integral blinds, they can then use the company’s empty delivery vehicles to send the waste glass they have removed from residential properties back to the Morley collection centre. The cullet return scheme saves Morley Glass customers the cost and inconvenience of disposing waste glass via landfill or other commercial recycling schemes, which may charge for the service.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “We still have a long way to go in our green journey but we hope that by sharing our experiences we’ll be able to inspire others to do the same. The last 12 months has been unprecedented for many industries, but we hope to be able to continue making a difference where we can. It makes perfect sense to recycle post-manufacturing and post-consumer glass, and the added benefit is that local good causes will also benefit.”

If you aren’t already taking advantage of the cullet return scheme, but would like to know more, please contact us.

Morley Glass and Video Production 4 join forces to help industry unlock video’s potential

Morley Glass is putting video at the heart of its marketing and customer care programmes and supporting installers to do the same, to provide customers and end-users with easy access to key information and resources in an increasingly ‘online first’ world.

Working with video marketing specialist Video Production 4 Morley Glass is creating valuable, powerful video content, with more than 50 productions already completed. These serve many different purposes, from ‘how-to’ instructional videos to help installers and end-users resolve common maintenance issues so engineer visits can be minimised, to virtual factory tours, marketing presentations for its Uni-Blinds products and insights into how its integral blinds are made.

But in addition to boosting its own communications resources, Morley Glass is also supporting Video Production 4’s efforts to help the industry use video more smartly as society adapts to the Covid-19 restrictions. It is providing window and door installers with their own professionally produced 3D virtual showroom videos without the need for significant outlay – and some completely free of charge.

Their joint effort has already enabled 22 window and door installers to benefit who can ensure their customers can still visit their showrooms in a virtual, socially distant way to support the sales process. And this 3D showroom virtual tour offer is still open to installers, who can take advantage of by contacting Video Production 4’s Alan Tisch in the first instance.

Ian Short, MD of Uni-Blinds® manufacturer and leading sealed unit manufacturer Morley Glass, says: “The video projects delivered by Alan and Video Production 4 have been extremely beneficial, particularly this year as installers have found it much more difficult to attract potential customers into their showrooms, or get out to see customers in person to demonstrate their products and services.

“Alan is a dynamic video marketing professional who is easy to work with and understands how to communicate the benefits of even the most technical subjects. He takes time to understand the USPs of every product or service, and with his creative flair he is highly skilled at bringing these to life in his finished videos.”

Alan Tisch co-founded Video Production 4 after a long career in broadcast television with BBC News, ITV and Sky, as well as setting up Liverpool FC TV. He has developed a loyal and growing client base in the fenestration industry as businesses increasingly realise to potential of video to be a powerful customer engagement tool when the approach is right and production quality is high.

Alan says, “Video is the most effective way to engage and connect with your potential customers but all too often it is difficult to know how to use it in the right way and simply too expensive for the modest marketing budgets of many SMEs. We can help by building a clear strategy that delivers video content with a very positive return on investment, and that is where I think we have been able to gain an edge by creating videos with purpose rather than just as a ‘nice to have’.”

Click here to view some of the videos produced to showcase the Morley Glass product range.

Three NFA nominations for Morley Glass & Glazing – again!

Having won seven National Fenestration Awards over the past three years, (including three last year) we’re looking to continue our success in this year’s awards – but we need your help.

We have been nominated in three categories: IGU Manufacturer, Integral Blinds Company and Best Use of Video. You can vote for us here.

The open platform NFAs are unique to the industry as winners are decided completely by people working in the industry, casting their votes for the companies they believe most deserve to win an award.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing comments: “2020 has been a tough year for many people and the awards are a great way to celebrate the success stories within the industry. Integral blinds are as popular as ever and we’re doing our utmost to continue to raise standards in the industry, offer high quality products, backed by excellent customer service and technical support.

“We’re particularly pleased to be nominated in the Best Use of Video category as we’ve invested in a wide range of marketing support materials for our customers including videos that showcase how the integral blinds are manufactured, as well as how stylish, practical and impressive they look in customers’ homes and workplaces.

“Voting for the 2020 NFAs is now open – we hope that everyone finds a few minutes to cast their votes across the full range of categories.”

The voting process for the 2020 National Fenestration Awards closes on Tuesday, 24th November. To cast your vote visit www.fenestrationawards.co.uk/nfa2020/.

Working 5 to 5

Morley Glass & Glazing MD Ian Short discusses why he’s always first to work, looking at the bigger picture, glass crushing and even Walt Disney…

When did you start the company?
I started Morley Glass & Glazing in 1998 as a sealed unit manufacturer with a team of four. I saw a gap in the industry for a high-quality niche product and started to manufacture sealed units with ScreenLine integral blinds inside from 2003. It really helped differentiate us and ensured we thrived. Today we have an expanded product range and we employ over 78 members of staff.

Describe your working day
Since I started Morley Glass one thing that has stood me in good stead is always being prepared to be the first to arrive! That can mean getting to the office at 5am but it’s worth it to have some relatively quiet time to reply to emails, catch up on paperwork and check my appointments for the day ahead. It also means I get more time to spend out on the shop floor during the day and in the office supporting the team there. I’m very lucky to have a fantastic General Manager, Kevin Murphy, who takes a lot of the day-to-day stress off my shoulders, and allows me to take the time to be in constant contact with our suppliers, including regular trips to Italy to discuss new product developments. I like to leave the office by 5pm as I’m involved with lots of charities and often have to go to trustees’ meetings or simply go and lend a hand in the evenings.

What is your workspace like?
I am a very clean and tidy person, so I insist that my workspace and indeed the whole factory are spotless and ordered. We moved to this factory in 2016 to increase our production capacity. We planned the space carefully so that it has a natural flow and is hugely efficient for the team so that they can easily manufacture up to 4000 sealed units with integral blinds inside every week. Everything has its place and I am notorious for walking around the factory floor cleaning and tidying so that we remain as efficient as possible.

What is the first thing you do when you get to your desk?
Keeping with the theme of tidy desk/tidy mind, the first thing I do every morning is to make a list of jobs to do that day. It’s very satisfying to cross things off the list through the day.

What websites help you?
Our own website is the biggest help to our business. We don’t employ any salespeople, but we have a fantastic PR and marketing agency which runs an integrated marketing campaign that directs traffic to our website and generates all our sales leads.

The Morley Glass social media channels are also hugely valuable in terms of engagement, direct sales and for sending people to our website for more information, quotes and to place orders. We try to have a mix of corporate and product info as well as charity news, fun competitions and industry comment.

Most useful business tool?
We recently invested in FleetWizard software which optimises the dispatch and delivery of our Uni-blind sealed units with integral blinds inside. The automated route planning software gives us a clear visual of our weekly orders nationwide and enables us to carry out easy load planning for our 26 vans that takes into consideration both location and load capacities, helping to save both time and fuel. We simply load data into the software’s easy-to-use dashboard which then automates multi-depot, multi-route, multi-drop scheduling. Optimal trips are created, and resources assigned in a fraction of the time needed for a manual planning process.

Best business decision in your current role?
Appointing a general manager to manage the day-to-day operations has given me the time to be a true managing director. My focus is now on the strategic growth of the business and can look at the bigger picture without getting too involved in the nitty gritty; I liaise with key suppliers and input on new product development initiatives; I enjoy inputting into the marketing campaign; and I love being in a position to give back to the local community and charities.

We recently installed a glass crushing machine into the factory which allows us to take the glass from old windows and doors from our customers, crush it and recycle it via Saint-Gobain Glass. This saves our customers time and money, as we don’t charge them to recycle it, and it prevents the glass from going to landfill. All the money that we receive from Saint-Gobain for the glass is then donated to local charities or community projects for environmentally friendly initiatives.

Favourite role models and why?
I respect and admire Walt Disney, business man Bob Iger and chef Raymond Blanc for their attention to detail and their recognition that one business isn’t about just one thing: it’s the many layers of quality and service that keep you focused and successful.

How do you unwind?
I learned to dance the samba and a few other dances a couple of years ago and I still love to dance when I can. It’s a great way to relax and forget the stresses of the day. I enjoy holidays with my family and I also love steam trains.

Order your bumper new brochure today

We’ve launched a new asset to give our customers another string to their bow, in the form of an updated brochure for our Uni-Blinds® product range.

The 96-page brochure is ideal for retail showrooms and provides a wealth of information on our popular ScreenLine integral blind systems. Within the brochure, you’ll find sections covering the different control options, colour choices and information regarding different glazing specifications, as well as an outline of our sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) credentials.

The brochure features a variety of high-quality lifestyle images of the product in situ, as well as an insight into our own manufacturing processes along with background information on ScreenLine® manufacturer Pellini’s operations in Italy.

The retail brochure is the latest tool in our offer to help installers sell our Uni-Blind® sealed units with ScreenLine® integral blinds inside. We also support customers with a range of point of sale materials including demo units and colour swatches and we’ve even supported some installers with the creation of online virtual showrooms.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “Today’s market is more competitive than ever, and installers need a way of differentiating themselves. This new brochure is another fantastic tool to help our customers sell to end users and give them all the information they require in order to make an informed decision. The brochure is available in hard copy, pdf or as a flipbook on our website.”

Uni-Blinds® sealed units with integral blinds inside are innovative and popular with homeowners. They offer many benefits, both aesthetically and practically, making them the number one choice of style-conscious homeowners. The ScreenLine® Venetian and pleated integral blinds are available in a wide range of colours and five different control systems including manual, solar and motorised, as well as a slimline version for sliding sash windows and composite doors.

Morley Glass & Glazing has been successfully supplying its Uni-Blinds® sealed units with integral blinds inside for 19 years and is currently the only UK company to manufacture the pleated system in-house. As such, the business is able to offer an industry-beating lead time of just 10 days from any given Friday.

The business also prides itself on delivering excellent customer service, from speedy quotes, and technical support to marketing materials and aftersales support. The company also stocks the largest range of ScreenLine® integral blind spare parts and accessories in Europe with most parts supplied within 24 hours. An updated spares and accessories brochure is also available on the website as a flipbook.

View the flipbook or request a brochure here.

Rechargeable battery operated blinds are the W Smart option

Battery operated motorised integral blinds from Morley Glass & Glazing have been given a stylish makeover and an energy efficiency boost.

Renamed the “W Smart” system, the former W Swipe system, is a range of Venetian, pleated or black-out blinds encapsulated within a 20, 22, 27, 29 or 32-mm cavity, equipped with a 3.6V internal motor, and powered by a lithium-ion battery housed in a restyled battery module. The battery is recharged via a micro-USB connector, with the option of an external solar panel too. The blind can also be controlled by a 99-channel remote control, associated with the radio receiver that is integrated in the battery module as standard.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “We are long term partners with Pellini who manufacture the “W Smart” ScreenLine blind system in Italy, and the latest innovations will deliver added value to installers and their customers. Installers will see our Uni-Blind brand name on the new system, which is a sign of quality and reassurance of our five star service.”

The innovation brought by the new battery module is not only about style, which was developed by professional designers in Italy, but also about the functionality of the device, which has been improved by the introduction of two LED arrows that intuitively show the commands given to the blind through the module or the need for recharging. The slim size of the device (only 18 mm deep) allows it to be placed on sliding windows, in vertical or horizontal positions.

Moreover, for the first time in the field of integrated blind systems, the new “W Smart” system allows the information about each blind to be stored directly on the battery module attached on the glass or the window frame, thus avoiding the need to associate a specific control device with a specific window.

The battery module is available in a choice of four colours: white, silver, anthracite grey, and black.

The “W Smart” system is ideal for residential and commercial environments and can be used in all types of windows, including retrofitting into existing ones. The system can be fitted quickly and easily and is a halfway option between a manual system and a hard-wired motorised system.

Learn more about the new W Smart system here.

Scholarship continues at social dis-DANCE

Freedom 2 Dance in Castleford is boosting dance opportunities for young people during the second year of its scholarship, despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic. The dance school is almost halfway into a second year of hosting a unique scholarship in partnership with Morley Glass & Glazing.

Last year the scholarship invested in seven young people who had dance lessons funded for a 12-month period. Throughout the course children not only progressed and perfected their dance steps and techniques but they also developed greater confidence. The programme has most certainly made an impact and raised aspirations among the dancers which has supported our aim to encourage children to aspire to work hard and achieve more!

Now in its second year, the scholarship funds 10 pupils, seven who study Ballroom & Latin, one gifted and talented youngster studying Hip Hop and one in Cheer and one ‘try something new award’. Just three months into the 2020 programme, the studio was forced to close due to the global pandemic, but this didn’t halt any progress with classes continuing online.

More than ever the programme has proved invaluable beyond simply ‘learning to dance’. During these unprecedented times it has been able to keep children connected socially and emotionally in a time that has been uncertain for everyone. It has offered, on some level, a little normality to children providing a few hours a week to escape as well as maintaining good physical well-being.

Speaking about the programme Freedom 2 Dance Director Laura Jaggar said: “Maintaining the programme throughout the pandemic was always going to prove a challenge. The help of technology, and the willingness from our teachers, pupils and their parents to adapt has enabled us to thrive rather than just survive this period. Of course, none of this would be possible without the generous support from Morley Glass & Glazing and we hope that we continue to make a difference with their investment in our community”.

Automated route planning optimises Morley Glass deliveries

Morley Glass & Glazing has invested in new software to optimise the dispatch and delivery of its popular Uni-blind sealed units with integral blinds inside.

The company, which makes thousands of deliveries across the UK every week, has introduced Fleet Wizard automated route planning to all 26 of its delivery vehicles. The software gives Morley Glass & Glazing a clear visual of its weekly orders nationwide and enables the company to carry out easy load planning for vans that takes into consideration both location and load capacities, helping to save both time and fuel.

With Fleet Wizard, Morley’s planners and dispatchers simply load data into the software’s easy-to-use dashboard which then automates multi-depot, multi-route, multi-drop scheduling. Optimal trips are created, and resources assigned in a fraction of the time needed for a manual planning process.

Ian Short, Morley Glass & Glazing managing director said: “In the past, route planning could be a very time consuming and sometimes arduous task, but this new software has allowed us to further revolutionise our production process.

“Fleet Wizard has now been integrated with the rest of our glass management software, so our team is able to completely trace jobs from the moment they’re ordered right up to delivery. It also gives our customers an easy way to track their order, and even sends them accurate ETA emails that allow them to better plan their own production around their order’s arrival.”

To make the most of the vans, and prevent them from returning empty, Morley Glass also offers customers a free glass collection service. Any post-consumer glass that customers return to the Morley site is turned into cullet in the company’s glass crushing machine before being sent to Saint-Gobain Glass for use in the manufacture of new float glass.

See the Fleet Wizard in action on our YouTube Channel.

If you’d like a quote for sealed units with integral blinds contact us today.

Post-lockdown boost for Morley Glass & Glazing

Morley Glass & Glazing has achieved a 35% increase in production of its sealed units with integral blinds inside compared to pre-lockdown manufacturing levels.

Last week the £18m turnover company manufactured 3400 integral blinds compared to a weekly average of 2500 which was typically produced prior to lockdown.

Managing Director Ian Short said: “We were closed for six weeks, as directed by the Government, but since our return to work in mid-May, demand has been higher than ever. At first, we thought it was everybody playing catch-up and fulfilling existing orders; and we were expecting orders to drop. But demand has increased and there is no sign of it abating.

“We suspect that as many people have been working from home or have been spending more time at home on furlough, they have been reviewing their properties and deciding to invest in home improvements including the installation of new doors and windows – many with integral blinds inside. The fact that most people will not be able to take holidays abroad this summer, also means there may be more cash for home improvements and creating more suitable, longer-term home working and home entertainment environments.

“This is great news for the industry and long may it last. Everyone is adapting to new ways of working, observing social distancing and implementing new measures that give consumers confidence that they can safely improve their homes during the COVID-19 period.”

Morley Glass & Glazing manufactures Uni-Blind sealed units with ScreenLine integral blinds inside. The blinds are available with a choice of five operating systems including manual, cordless, solar controlled and fully automated. Slimline blinds for composite doors and vertical sliding sash windows are also available. Morley has recently launched fire-rated Uni-Blinds in a partnership with fire glass manufacturer Pyroguard. And most recently the company has invested in an app that allows users to operate the electric blinds from their smartphone or tablet. Morley Glass & Glazing also holds £1m of ScreenLine spare parts and accessories in stock for order from its website with next day delivery.

All orders placed for Uni-Blinds sealed units by 11am every Friday are delivered in just 10 days. Delivery is free to mainland UK addresses.

For more information or to request a quote click here.

New brochure showcases sustainability credentials

Post-consumer glass recycling, a green funding initiative, and making use of waste products through upcycling are some of the measures featured in a new sustainability brochure from Morley Glass & Glazing.

The sealed unit manufacturer that specialises in integral blinds has created the new brochure and new sustainability area of its website to illustrate its credentials and also help demonstrate to other manufacturers how they too could become more sustainable and support their local communities.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “We still have a long way to go in our green journey but we hope that by sharing our experiences we’ll be able to inspire others to do the same. As a profitable and successful company, we’ve always believed in giving back and supporting local communities and good causes through donations and sponsorship. We also aim to improve our own environmental sustainability within the factory, as well as finance the creation of new environmental projects in our local area with our newly launched green fund.”

Morley Glass & Glazing recently teamed up with Saint-Gobain Glass to recycle post-consumer glass from installers and other tradespeople, helping to divert old windows from landfill. A glass crushing machine has been installed at Morley’s factory in Leeds to create cullet, which is then returned to Saint-Gobain Glass for the manufacture of new float glass. Morley is then donating the money from the scheme to local good causes that focus on green projects such as sensory gardens, allotments, and other environmental initiatives.

Also, as a UK manufacturer there are a number of sustainable resources from Morley’s supply chain which can be easily upcycled to create environmentally friendly products. These include glass off-cuts which are made into pieces of art, coasters and decorations, and wooden packaging boxes which have been turned into time capsules, treasure chests and memory boxes, toy boxes and display cases – some of which are then sold and the money raised donated to charity.

Download the brochure here.

Morley Glass & Glazing gives away five free virtual showrooms to installers

We are giving away five free virtual showrooms to help installers provide an improved digital service to customers.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “In an age where social distancing is going to change how we all do business, the virtual and digital worlds are going to play an important part of winning future business for installers. We’ve created our own interactive online showroom and seen the benefits that brings to our own business, so we wanted to help installers to achieve the same benefits.

“Virtual showrooms are a great way to provide product information, videos and presentations to home owners who for a variety of reasons may not be able to visit in person. Right now COVID-19 is the focus, but for those who have a disability or are unable to get to the showroom for other reasons, this is the next best thing.”

We’ve teamed up with the National Fenestration Awards, Fenestration Digital and VideoProduction4 to give away five free virtual showrooms, which will also include interactive hotspots to help demonstrate products.

This service is now live for all installers and to fabricators who wish to roll this out to their installer network.

Installers are able to apply for one of the five free showrooms here: https://www.videoproduction4.co.uk/virtual-tours/ and use the contact form.

Follow this link to explore the Morley Glass & Glazing showroom and see all the features that are available: https://www.morleyglass.co.uk/virtual-tour-reception/

Morley Glass & Glazing restarts operations

We’ve re-opened for business as part of a safe and structured return to work, after pausing operations at the end of March.

A skeleton admin team returned last week to process orders, provide quotes and respond to customer enquiries. Limited manufacturing with a reduced workforce have resumed this week (11th May), and will be increased steadily during the coming weeks, ensuring the safety and well-being of all staff.

Customer and staff safety measures include the provision of full PPE equipment and hand sanitiser cleaning stations, regular temperature checks, deep cleaning of all work areas and strict social distancing regulations, which will be carefully monitored.

Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing, said: “Our staff and customers have been so supportive during this difficult time. We were conscious that some of our commercial sector customers have been working throughout the lockdown and that we were seeing an increasing demand from our retail customers too, so a return to work at reduced capacity was a feasible option.

“Despite one of our major suppliers being in Italy, we have a secure supply chain, good stock levels and can maintain our 10 day delivery schedule for all orders placed by 11am Friday of every week, subject to ongoing restrictions that may remain in place.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and adapt to any future requirements to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support a continued safe return to work. The welfare of our staff and customers is paramount.”

Morley Glass & Glazing is the UK’s largest manufacturer of sealed units with ScreenLine integral blinds inside. Systems can be controlled manually, cordless, solar controlled or electric. They are available in a wide range of colours and are suitable for all types of window and door frames.

If you’d like a quote for high quality sealed units with ScreenLine integral blinds inside click here.

Morley launches new and improved app

Uni-blinds® integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass & Glazing has developed a new and improved app with home integration company Loxone, allowing users to open and close their motorised integral blinds from a tablet or smartphone.

By integrating Morley Glass & Glazing’s fully electronic MB System Uni-Blinds® into the Loxone app, blinds can now be operated using WiFi connected devices from anywhere in the world. The app is available for immediate installation into MB Systems, including retrofitting into previous projects.

Ian Short, Morley Glass & Glazing managing director, said: “We were inundated with requests from customers for a way to operate their integral blinds remotely using an app. We worked closely with DV Smarthomes in association with Loxone to make sure the final product not only offers all the features we have been asked for, but a lot more besides.”

Using the app, blinds can be programmed to open and close at set times of the day, especially useful when homeowners are on holiday, and they can even be linked via a subscription service to temperature controls, allowing them to close automatically before rooms get too hot.

Finally, the app can be integrated into home automation systems via the Loxone Miniserver, offering flexibility and expandability with up to 30 extensions to integrate various domestic applications such as lighting, heating, safety and security, energy management and entertainment systems.

For more information about the MB System click here or submit your quote request here.

Morley sponsors ninth annual charity event

UPDATE 18.03.2020: Event organisers have made the decision to postpone the 9th North Leeds Charity Beer Festival. They hope to return for a bigger and better event in October.

Leeds-based Morley Glass & Glazing is once again saying ‘cheers’ to charity as it prepares to sponsor the ninth annual North Leeds Charity Beer Festival.

Organised by The Rotary Club of Roundhay, and returning to the North Leeds Cricket Club, this year’s festival will encourage visitors to ‘Drink Yorkshire’ while raising money to fund worthwhile projects both locally, nationally and even worldwide.

The two-day event will feature the very best Yorkshire has to offer including 36 beers from nine Yorkshire breweries as well as a variety of Artful Pour gins, distilled in the heart of Yorkshire. Prosecco will also be on the menu, with additional drinks available to purchase.

Sticking with the Yorkshire theme, locally sourced Setchfield pork pies served with peas will be served from the kitchen at all sessions of the beer festival, alongside homemade samosas. And since no festival would be complete without a little music, the festival is pleased to offer a full line-up of local Leeds talents to entertain visitors, with the full programme to be revealed closer to the date.

The festival will be open from 6pm on Friday 3^rd and from 12pm on Saturday 4^th April. On Saturday everyone is invited to the fun family afternoon, with free entry for children accompanied by a paying adult, a dedicated play area for children and child friendly snack bags.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass says: “We are delighted to be able to sponsor the 9th Annual North Leeds Charity Beer Festival. This is exactly the type of initiative we like to be involved with as it perfectly reflects our ethos of giving back to local communities

“I personally will be rolling up my sleeves and helping alongside the Rotarians and I am very much looking forward to the event. I wish NLBF and the Rotary Club of Roundhay every success.”

Since it began in 2012, the North Leeds Charity Beer Festival has raised almost £50k, enabling Roundhay Rotary to support charity projects in the local community and further afield. These have included installed defibrillators outside local health centres, sponsoring Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and providing help and equipment to those affected by natural disasters around the world.

Read more news stories about charities that we support here.

Fire-rating first for Morley Glass & Glazing

Morley Glass & Glazing has become the first company in the UK to achieve a fire-rating accreditation for its insulated glass units with integral blinds inside.

The fire rated Uni-Blinds sealed units with ScreenLine integral blinds inside now comply with the performance criteria set out in the EU 305/2011 Construction Products Regulation, and have been independently verified by TUV UK, a UKAS accredited third party testing house.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass & Glazing said: “There are more than 300 fire-related deaths and more than 200,000 fire alarms raised in the UK every year. With recent high-profile incidents such as Grenfell Tower, it’s more important than ever that the correct building materials are specified. Our sealed units with integral blinds inside are manufactured in the UK using fire safety glass from Pyroguard and can deliver 30 to 120 minutes integrity and insulation fire-resistance.”

This latest innovation from Morley Glass & Glazing gives architects and specifiers design flexibility and peace of mind that glass partitions, facades, doors and windows that require fire protection, can now feature integral or “between glass” blinds, without compromising safety or aesthetics.

Used widely in schools, hospitals, hotels, offices and other commercial buildings, as well as multi-let residential premises, the fire-rated integral blinds can be manufactured in sealed units up to 2m² in size. The integral blinds are available in a choice of manual or motorised control options, and are popular due to the fact that the blinds, which are housed between the panes of glass, are protected from damage, remain clean and hygienic, are low maintenance, provide privacy and shading, and are available in a wide range of colours.

For more about our commercial blinds click here.

Morley offers Green Funding for local school and charities

Morley Glass & Glazing’s managing director is hoping to deliver an early Christmas present to local schools and charities that support the environment.

Ian Short has pledged to donate all the money he receives for recycling glass to good causes – which could amount to £50,000 per year.

The £18m business, which employs 70 people, manufactures integral blinds – blinds that fit between the two panes of glass in windows and doors. Working in conjunction with its glass supplier Saint-Gobain Glass – a glass crushing machine has been installed at its 50,000 sq ft premises at Leeds 27 Industrial Estate on Bruntcliff Way in Leeds. The company already recycles its post-industrial glass, which is used in the manufacturing process, but the new machine allows them to recycle post-consumer glass – glass that has been taken out of old windows and doors that have reached the end of their life, and would normally go to landfill.

Ian Short says: “This is a win-win-win-win situation. More glass gets recycled and doesn’t go to landfill, which helps the environment. Saint-Gobain Glass can re-use the glass to make new glass, which is a more energy efficient process. Our customers and local tradespeople can use our recycling service free of charge – saving them the cost of skips and landfill taxes. And local schools and charities that focus on improving the environment can apply to us for a donation, which will come from the money that Saint-Gobain pays us for the recycled glass.

“We’d love to see the money used to create nature reserves, butterfly gardens, wildflower gardens, sensory gardens – even allotments in schools – anything that improves the local environment.”

Morley Glass & Glazing is no stranger to fundraising and supporting good causes. In 2018 it supported 20 charities in its 20^th anniversary year, including grass roots sports clubs and dance societies to national charities and youth clubs. The company also donated a Variety Sunshine Coach to Mill Field Primary School in Meanwood, as the result of MD Ian Short learning the Samba and taking part in (and winning) the Variety Strictly Ballroom Challenge.

Yorkshire schools and charities can apply for a donation for their environmental project by emailing greenvision@morleyglass.co.uk

Morley Glass & Glazing and Saint-Gobain Glass take recycling to the next level

Integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass & Glazing is working in partnership with Saint-Gobain Glass to take recycling to the next level.

The two companies are joining forces to recycle and re-use post-consumer glass; that is glass that has been taken out of old windows that have reached the end of their life.

Saint-Gobain Glass already operates the UK’s largest cullet or waste glass return scheme and, since the introduction of using cullet in the manufacture of float glass, the company has been able to increase the amount of recycled material utilised to 35% rising to 41% in some cases. However, the majority of the 56,000 tonnes of waste glass returned every year comes from the manufacturing process (pre-consumed glass) rather than glass that has been utilised in end products.

Morley Glass & Glazing has now stepped in and offered its 50,000 sq ft manufacturing space in Leeds, West Yorkshire to serve as a collection centre for post-consumer glass and has installed a glass crushing machine and employed one new member of staff to manage the scheme.

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Ian Short, managing director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “We already send our waste glass from the factory to Saint-Gobain Glass in Eggborough to become cullet and be used in the production of new float glass. Now we are offering our customers the opportunity to return their post-consumer glass to us for recycling free of charge. It seems such a waste for our vans to return empty after delivering our sealed units with integral blinds inside throughout the UK, so why not encourage our customers to pack them full of old windows and doors that they are replacing. This saves our customers the cost and inconvenience of disposing of them to landfill or other commercial recycling schemes that will levy a charge for the service. We will then separate the metal and frames from the glass and ensure each element is recycled and re-used as fully as possible.”

Mike Butterick, Head of Marketing at Saint-Gobain Glass said: “This is a fantastic partnership that delivers a sustainable solution for the whole supply chain. Using one tonne of cullet saves 1.2 tonnes of raw material, including 850 kg of sand; reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 300 kg.

“Our innovative use of cullet in the glass manufacturing process has always been a key differentiator for the business and this partnership takes it one step further. It demonstrates Morley Glass & Glazing’s commitment to the environment as they are incurring the additional costs of transporting post-consumer glass from sites across the UK back to their factory in Leeds and sorting and disposing of all component parts of windows and doors.

“Mirrored, lacquered and coated glass can all be returned and used in the manufacturing process. As cullet takes less energy to process than raw materials, this benefits both Saint-Gobain Glass and the environment.”

Saint-Gobain Glass is committed to ensuring none of the cullet returned ends as landfill. Therefore, if the cullet doesn’t pass the company’s strict screening procedure, provisions are made for it to be recycled elsewhere via a third party.

See the glass crushing machine in action here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_C-F5IAsJo

Belfast City Hospital benefits from Morley expertise

Morley Glass & Glazing has recently completed a £500,000 integral blind installation at Belfast City Hospital’s new Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit.

The £20m two-storey building now benefits from Morley’s SL20 MB system, which was specifically developed for the project to feature two operating mechanisms – one for the patient to control inside their room, and a key operated override system for nurses to operate externally.

In addition, by using Morley’s Uni-Blind sealed units with warm edge spacer bars, rather than the originally specified units with a ceramic frit to cover the spacer bars, the hospital was able to save thousands of pounds.

Ian Short, Morley Glass & Glazing managing director, said: “This project is a great example of some of the added benefits our Uni-Blind sealed units can offer to projects such as this. Once we’d spoken to the architect for the project, he was confident that not only did Uni-Blinds look better than the other systems he’d seen on the market, but this decision would save the hospital around £150 per unit.”

The new purpose-built facility sits on a 3-hectare site within the Belfast City Hospital estate and combines mental health inpatient facilities previously spread across three Belfast sites, including 80 acute mental health en-suite bedrooms. The unit consists of five separate interconnecting buildings arranged around a cloistered central courtyard and communal and administration areas.

(Photo by Tomer Kohn)