Euramax looks back at its journey and how the company has changed

Yorkshire based window and door manufacturer Euramax is celebrating its 70-year anniversary. Incorporated in 1950 as a family run business, Euramax now employs 150 people, operates from a 205,000 square foot facility and manufactures over 3,000 products a week. Boasting an impressive number of firsts in its 70 years, the company has also witnessed the paradigm shift from cost-effective windows and doors to luxury, double-glazed materials.

Originally founded as Ellbee, the company’s journey began in Leeds, manufacturing aluminium window frames for narrowboats and the automobile industry before partnering with a glazing company to supply pre-glazed aluminium windows.

In the 1990s, Ellbee became the first company in the UK to supply unplasticised polyvinyl-chloride (PVCu) windows to the static caravan market. It also became the first to develop an internal clamping system for efficient window installation, which is still widely used in the industry today. As the company expanded, Ellbee moved to its first of three factory sites in Leeds in 1964.

In 1996, Euramax International was formed and in 2013 the company moved to its current facility in Barnsley. After the arrival of managing director Nick Cowley in 2019, Euramax broke into the portable building and modular construction markets. At present, Euramax manufactures and supplies PVCu windows, doors and composite doors for a number of sectors, including the holiday home and home improvement markets, as well as builders’ merchants, including Wickes, Selco and Travis Perkins.

“Euramax has transformed into a company that adapts to support its customers’ marketplace,” said Nick Cowley, managing director at Euramax. “Following trends and analysing the requirements of our sectors has allowed us to expand our customer base to a number of home improvement customers and builders’ merchants, leisure home and modular home manufacturers across the country.

“The caravan market has changed dramatically since the 1960s. StaticCaravans that were not highly regarded and were considered popular for those who couldn’t afford to travel abroad, have now been developed into impressive modern homes. As the style, size and purpose of these products developed, so did the requirements of Euramax’s products,” continued Cowley.

“Energy efficiency was not a consideration in the original development of the caravan market. But, gradually the need for warmer accommodation was in demand. We knew that the market needed energy efficient windows, which is why we moved from supplying single glazed aluminium windows, to double glazed PVCu, which has better thermal properties. In fact, our windows are rated A for their energy efficiency by The British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC).

“While the industry and its requirements have changed, our ability to consistently supply glazed PVCu windows to what is an ever-changing market has remained the same. Some of our longest serving customers include Willerby Holiday Homes, Atlas Leisure Homes and Carnaby Caravans.

“Turning 70 is a great milestone for Euramax. There aren’t many window and door manufacturers that can say they have survived a recession.  We’ve gone from barges to building and construction and I’m very proud of that. Who knows what the next 70 years will bring?”

“In addition, we developed our unique hybrid PVCu and composite doors in 2019. We wanted to provide our customers with the best of both worlds as we found that composite options can become swollen in the summer,” added Cowley.

“I don’t think our success this far would’ve been attainable without the dedicated team we have,” said Richard Banks, commercial director at Euramax. “Some of our employees have been with us nearly 40 years now.

“During my time with Euramax, I have seen many changes in personnel, products and processes. However, the one thing that has remained consistent is the dedication of our employees to fuel our passion to listen to our customers and deliver the solutions they require,” said Banks.