K2 Konnects With Customers In Showstopping Return To Glassex

As the nation voted to make Concorde the design icon of the 20th Century in the Great British Design Quest, K2 demonstrated to the sector that it puts innovative design at the heart of product development in a triumphant return to Glassex.

Proving that eye-catching design and enduring practicality can go hand in hand, the ground-breaking conservatory systems specialist brought both new ideas and a relaxed approach to the show, demonstrating the company’s confidence in its continuing success at the forefront of the industry.

Explains Managing Director of K2, Sally Fielding: “The UK has a rich tradition of classic design, from the world famous red phone box to the Routemaster Bus, and at K2 we believe we are part of this tradition. With some exceptional designs to unveil at the show, demonstrating the style, quality and value across the K2 range, we decided to take Great British Design as our theme. The open layout of our stand allowed visitors to move around freely without feeling they were going to be cornered with a hard sell, while the Mini displayed on a portal roof not only paid homage to our theme but illustrated the strength and stability of K2 roof systems.”

As always, K2 revealed a design-led approach to product development that is focused on answering the needs of the conservatory sector. In a tougher market, this means offering a lower priced option that can still deliver the quality end product consumers require. K2’s answer? The K2 Modular range, featuring K2 Konnect, a unique frame installation system that rapidly became the most talked about new product at Glassex.

Offering all the quality you’d expect from K2 but with a budget price tag, K2 Konnect has been designed to offer ease of installation, with fitting times reduced by up to an astonishing 75%, allowing installers to maximise their order books. Available in both white and foiled mahogany, the new K2 Modular system astounded visitors to the K2 stand thanks to its winning combination of quality and value.

Commented K2 customer, Ken Meyrick of KTM: “K2’s Modular range with its industry-first K2 Konnect frame system is a great opportunity for the sector to sell a quality installation to homeowners that didn’t think they could afford anything of this calibre. The launch of the system not only proves that K2 is listening to its customers and is able to deliver what the industry needs, it firmly establishes K2 as the complete conservatory systems company. With a portfolio that includes the 25mm system, the 35mm Aspire system, L2 In A Pack, Options Internal Eaves Beam Trim, and Architectural systems as well as the new Modular innovations unveiled at Glassex, I’m confident that K2 have all the bases covered - from the very high end to quality for the Budget end of the market.”

While K2 created waves at the Budget end of the market with its new Modular system, the company also showcased its ability to bring innovative ventilation solutions to the market with the unveiling of an industry-first prototype and the launch of a new aluminium roof vent.

Developed in conjunction with Accuride – one of the world''s leaders in the design and manufacture of telescopic ball bearing slides – the ingenious K2 Sliding Roof Vent offers the homeowner a hassle-free way of allowing increased ventilation into their conservatory. Incorporating its own motor for fully-electronic opening, the prototype vent is compatible with all systems and truly helps to bring the outdoors inside to maximise the lifestyle appeal of conservatories.

Meanwhile, K2’s new Aluminium Roof Vent has been designed to offer a number of exciting benefits. Not only is it operable manually or electronically, but it also addresses the perceived problems concerning the strength of PVCU sashes and utilises an ingenious leak free design whereby the sash profile is entirely outside of the primary seal. Indeed the sash glazing itself seals into the outer frame – making water ingression impossible.

In addition, the position of the sash eliminates the need for a thermal break and eradicates any risk of condensation.

As always, K2’s industry-leading product development in the conservatory systems arena was complemented by the impressive presence of K2 Glass. The thermal performance glass specialist enjoyed an extremely successful Glassex in 2005 and this year’s event saw the company building on that achievement. Demonstrating the heat deflection and retention benefits of the Celsius range, K2 Glass was able to highlight its distinct advantages over both polycarbonate and standard glass with its interactive ‘tunnel’ experience.

Sally Fielding adds: “Glassex 2006 was an extremely successful show for us, the feedback we’ve received about the new products and our approach to the market has been amazing and validates the emphasis we have placed on delivering the products that the industry needs.

“We knew that our new products would speak for themselves at Glassex – and they certainly did! That’s why we decided to take a relaxed and open approach to communicating with the market at Glassex. Our customers trust us because we talk to them and take every opportunity to listen. By creating a space that allowed people to experience our products and discover how we can help them gain a real advantage in today’s competitive marketplace we generated excellent stand traffic and had one of our most successful exhibitions ever.”