Celsius glass, from K2 Conservatories, is solid proof that good partnerships bring success. Sharon Owen, National Sales Manager for K2 Glass, and Steve Dakin, Business Development Manager for Ritec, tell us how the partnership between the two companies was a key ingredient to Celsius becoming a market leader.

Increased demand for glass

When Celsius was launched, back in 2003, polycarbonate roofs were present in 80% of all conservatory installations. The market was crying out for direction as existing glass options were extremely limited.

The opportunity was there for a high performance glass to dominate the market; Celsius was going to fill this gap perfectly, offering a unique combination of heat reflection and thermal insulation. Anti glare, UV protection and an easy clean element were to be added to create the ideal product.

Sharon Owen says: “After carefully researching the options available Ritec was identified as the most suitable supplier, with their market leading ClearShield System, which is chemically bonded onto the glass for increased performance”.

Key partner - Ritec

Ritec International, established in 1987, is renowned for its glass surface protection products. With an array of high profile projects under their belt, all of them highlighting the superior quality and performance of their product (Heathrow Airport, Shanghai World Finance Centre, Lloyds of London, to name but a few), it was quickly becoming a product of choice with architects and specifiers. For K2 it was undoubtedly the product to use.

Ritec and K2 developed not only a successful buyer / supplier relationship but also a key partnership that would see the arrival of a leading product that would change the face of the conservatory glass market.

And so Ritec has worked to develop K2 as the key UK applicator of the ClearShield System for conservatory glass, allowing K2 to dominate the high performance glass market with their innovative Celsius product.

Steve Dakin comments: “When K2 approached Ritec it quickly became clear that an opportunity had presented itself for a long-term partnership where we wouldn’t just supply a glass product, but instead work with K2 to help them develop a range of solutions on which they could build a solid and unique brand”. From this came the full range of conservatory glass products including Celsius Blue, Celsius Plus and Celsius Clear - with more innovations to come - all aiming to make conservatories more energy efficient.

Today, hundreds of glass processors and fabricators worldwide have followed suit and enjoy the benefits of the ClearShield System in a wide range of applications, including architectural, decorative, shower, marine and residential glass.

The future

The Conservatory glass roof market now represents 40% of all installations (up from 20% in 2003) and is still growing.

Both K2 and Ritec will continue to work together to develop this market which will only become more demanding as the older generation of conservatories are upgraded with high performance glass roofs.

K2, with its Celsius product range and Ritec’s ClearShield System have played a major part in this transition, and aim to see further developments in the years to come.

In conclusion what makes for a successful partnership?

• Identify a partner that can offer you a complementary service or product which is unique or superior to that already present in your market

• A vision that both companies are prepared to work hard to achieve, trials and errors included

• The identification of a clear benefit for both organisations.