MP visits Granada and discusses the thermal benefits of secondary glazing

A Dinnington manufacturer of glazing products is on course for its best-ever year and will shortly be creating 17 new jobs to keep up with customer demand. Granada Secondary Glazing, which has seen sales soar by 40% over the last twelve months, believes the growth is down to an increasing number of people switching on to the energy and cost saving benefits of secondary glazing in homes.However, the company still believes Government can do more to incentivise homeowners to invest and invited local MP Alexander Stafford to tour its facility on Campbell Way, meet staff and explore ways where legislation could be changed. He also heard how the firm had invested £1.8m into new production equipment and IT systems since 2020 and how £1m has been channelled into its new world leading secondary glazing solution.

“There’s so much talk about escalating energy prices, yet many households don’t even realise that they are missing out on a simple and cost-effective way of insulating their homes,” explained Craig Robertson, who joined Granada Secondary Glazing as MD in February last year. “We’ve had some outstanding results in the installations we’ve completed recently and wanted to get the ear of Government to see if there was a way that secondary glazing could enjoy similar incentives and grants that other home improvement products receive.”

He continued: “With this in mind, we invited Alexander Stafford MP to have the conversation, so that he fully understood the thermal benefits of our products and what this translates to in pound notes. A conservative estimate indicates that up to 3 million homes across the country remain single glazed because of either cost or heritage restrictions. This is of course in addition to the countless number of commercial buildings within the UK that are facing the same issue.  We were delighted when Mr Stafford agreed to put his name to a letter that we’ll be sending to Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. This is a big moment for our sector.”

Granada produces around 25,000 secondary glazing frames every single year, making it the largest manufacturer of its type in the UK. This product is proven to reduce noise by up to 80% and improve thermal insulation of existing single glazed windows by around 65%, approximately 10% more than double glazing achieves. The company invests more than £500,000 every year into new product development and its 30-strong range caters for vertical sliding sash windows and bespoke glazing for custom window shapes – all designed and manufactured in Sheffield.

Craig went on to add: “In line with business growth, we’ve been on a recruitment drive for much of the last year.We currently employ 68 full-time members of staff, with the intention to expand this to 85 over the coming financial year. The expansion of our sales team is going to be crucial in maintaining success, which is why we’re currently in the process of filling three high-level sales positions throughout the UK. Everyone is focused on an incredibly ambitious growth target of £15m by March 2026, which would see us double turnover in just four years – boosting Yorkshire’s manufacturing scene and helping hundreds of homeowners to save on their energy bills in the process.”

Alexander Stafford, MP For Rother Valley, concluded: “It was fantastic to visit Granada Secondary Glazing, an innovative and fast-growing business right in the heart of my constituency of Rother Valley. The company is manufacturing a product that could potentially drive down everyone’s energy bills, and I hope that my visit can generate some interest in secondary glazing amongst local residents. I’m extremely grateful to the team for organising this visit and for the opportunity to see the factory in action.”