For the first time in 15 years, Livingston-based NorDan UK has a new person at the helm. Here, in his Scottish media debut as MD, Craig Greenwood tells Project Scotland why the timber window manufacturer is investing in growth.
There is no doubt that I’ve inherited a strong and stable business, and this is in no small part thanks to my predecessor and outgoing managing director, Alex Brown. NorDan UK’s turnover has grown year-on-year for nine consecutive years, and Alex’s legacy after 15 years of leadership is a fantastic platform to build on, with a reputation for quality, and a strong team in Livingston and across the UK.
Anyone who works in construction knows that this consistent growth is no mean feat. The latest UK Government figures show a sharp increase in the number of construction companies facing financial distress.
Housebuilders in Scotland are still recovering from the negative impact of the pandemic and responding to a housing market slowed by recent inflation and mortgage interest rate hikes, and some are feeling the price pressure to fit cheaper products and materials.
Despite these obvious headwinds, NorDan UK is forecast to increase its sales yet again and I’m confident that I can lead the business past the £100m turnover milestone.
So why are we so bullish in a bear market?
Confidence
NorDan is financially rated AAA by Dun & Bradstreet, and while our sales team are often the public face of our growth, it is our financial stability, guided by finance director Gillian Irvine, that allows us to go the extra mile for customers.
Over the years they’ve learned that we’re here to stay, reliable and ready and able to resolve any problems they may have. No questions asked.
Not every supplier in our industry can afford to be so definitive, but then not every supplier has a positive balance sheet, own its own factories, or a callback rate of just 0.07% on its flagship product. Because we manufacture are own products we know and trust our quality control, but can also be agile, and develop solutions for different markets.
Investing in Scotland
We are also continuing to invest in people and innovation, particularly in Scotland, where we’re confident that our high-performance products fit with the changing face of housebuilding.
Social landlords and local authorities have been able to improve home energy efficiency and infrastructure via The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save tenants money on their bills.
As a result, NorDan’s high-performance timber and aluminium-clad timber windows and doors have been promoted alongside other low carbon solutions. This has seen NorDan’s products included in improving 5,500 of Falkirk Council’s homes, making us part of Scotland’s biggest single retrofit project.
To meet future demand in Scotland, we have created a dedicated team focused on Scottish customers, headed by our newly appointed sales director Graham Meldrum.
In early 2024, NorDan will also open the doors to a new Sustainability & Innovation Centre, where customers can receive hands-on product training. The new £800,000 facility will recreate different building sites, with custom rigs, and a purpose-built amphitheatre, where visitors can participate in training and CPD presentations.
Investing in innovation
NorDan will also launch its first Dynamic Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) in 2024, a digital service that will calculate whole-life carbon data. We already have standard EPDs for all our products, but we understand that digitisation is essential if we are to meet the future market demands.
I’m confident that all these ingredients, combined with a market that is increasingly valuing whole-life social, economic, and environmental return, will put NorDan in a strong position moving forward.
