A day at our UPVC factory

Hidden at the top of the Dulais Valley, near the village of Seven Sisters is an unassuming factory which is at the heart of our operations, producing windows and doors for our homes around Neath Port Talbot.

We caught up with factory manager, Steve to have a look around and find out more about what they do:
“It’s a very busy factory. We’re producing 3200 units a year, whether that’s windows or doors, enough for around 320 homes. Most of them go on our planned works, where we replace the windows and doors on our properties every 25 years. On top of that, we replace the windows and doors in our properties if they break
and can’t be repaired and in our vacant homes if they’re needed.

“We also produce specialist doors for tenants who may struggle to open and close conventional ones, through equipping them with features such as remote sensors.

“Most of our new build properties also get fitted with our windows and doors, so it’s pretty non-stop here!”

As one of the only housing providers to produce our own windows and doors, Steve explains why we do this:
“It’s about quality. By doing it ourselves in-house we can ensure they are manufactured to the highest specification.

We also make sure our products conform to the ‘Secure by Design’ standard, so what we produce can withstand the weather, is mechanically sound and is attack proof. We’re one of only 13 companies in Wales to have this seal of approval.

“We are also committed to sustainability, making sure that our products can last 25 years, whilst the old windows and doors we replace are always sent for recycling. We also ensure they are good for insulation but also allow sufficient ventilation – that’s a very tricky balance to achieve.”

As well as producing high quality windows and doors, the factory also plays an important part in the local community:
“We’ve been here for around 30 years, creating highly skilled manufacturing jobs in an area where those types of roles are few and far between.

“We currently have 11 people working here. Staff generally come to us with some basic manufacturing experience, but we train them up and make sure they gain skills in all aspects of making our windows
and doors. We are at the heart of the community, with most of the staff coming from Seven Sisters or the surrounding villages.”

And with that, it’s back to work for Steve, to oversee the next batch of windows and doors leaving the factory, destined for one of our homes.