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.
