But with manufacturing costs on the rise and customer expectations at a record high, is meeting this demand possible?
Yes, it is
When buying in from a specialist extruder, manufacturers and installers can cut out the middle-man, reduce costs and access better quality products. At Extrudaseal, our gaskets are around 30 to 40% cheaper than other systems companies, which can really add up.
The rise of aluminium
With aluminium doors and windows becoming increasingly popular, the gasket market is thriving. This means that companies like us are producing high volumes, which allows us to reduce the cost of manufacturing before passing on these benefits to the end user.
Keeping ahead of the game with new product development
With a range of gasket manufacturers to choose from, price isn’t the only thing that can give a competitive edge. It’s also about responding to market demand and devising a range of products that come with a range of functions and a variety of colours.
To illustrate the increasing popularity of grey and coloured gaskets, only 16% of gaskets sold in 2015 were grey or coloured, while in 2016 that rose to a quarter. The remainder of those sold were either black or white.
We have also extracted over 20,000km of gaskets in a variety of forms and even launched a new gasket in a high gloss Piano Black finish.
Reacting to the industry trend for aluminium bi-fold doors, we’ve developed AeroSeal, a pioneering, through-colour, aluminium bi-fold door foam gasket that offers the ability to co-extrude with a rigid foot, making it resistant to over-stretching and shrinking.
Our Sales Director, Paul James, said:
‘What we saw at the FIT Show were people looking to reduce overheads but also improved product quality. The market’s growing but it’s also extremely competitive. It’s going to be increasingly important to offer products with USPs.
‘Even the smallest of additional selling points is going to be important in tipping the balance in your favour. Whether that’s more reliable gasket compression, weather sealing or colour finish it’s all about edging ahead.’