This business involves opening a company that will sell plastic windows, as well as provide them quality installation at an affordable price. Such services will always be in demand, because metal-plastic windows (another name is PVC) have many advantages: they are easy to manufacture, aesthetic and unpretentious to operating conditions. Increased demand for plastic windows is observed in autumn. Indeed, it is during this period that the most acute issue of maintaining heat in apartments, houses, offices and other premises arises.

Preparing to start your own business

Every year, the number of people ordering the installation of PVC windows is only increasing, which means that the business in this industry has excellent prospects for development.

The most important thing for a novice entrepreneur is to solve 2 main issues: choose the right supplier of plastic windows, and find smart people who will be involved in measurements and installation.

High-quality windows are made by companies whose production is automated. It is necessary to make sure that the enterprise works only with manufacturers quality profiles and also uses solid materials and fittings.

When choosing a company, pay attention to how quickly it handles orders. After all, the higher the speed of production, the better. Usually, three to five days are allotted for one order, this period is optimal.

Increasing the time spent on window production will result in you not being able to invest in a weekly lead time, which can be the main reason for a decrease in sales volumes and, consequently, the profitability of your business.

A huge plus will be the conclusion of an agreement with a manufacturer who can ensure the delivery of finished window structures to the address of their installation. So you can significantly save on the delivery of windows to your customers.

Remember that the performance of PVC windows depends on how professionally they are installed. That is why special attention should be paid to finding measurers and installers for your company. After all, the quality of window installation depends on the correct measurement.

Choosing an office space

Orders themselves are best taken in a specially equipped office. It can be opened in a large shopping or office center, or in a separate room on a busy street with a developed network of public transport. This way you will be able to secure a constant flow of customers. To start work, you don’t need to rent a large room at all - 15 sq.m is enough.

From employees, initial stage You will need:

• measurer - 1 person;
• installers - 2 people;
• sales manager - 1 person.

At the same time, the functions of a manager at first can be carried out by the owner of the enterprise himself.

Business plan

To open your own business for the installation of plastic windows, it is enough about $4000, and competent management will allow you pay back the company in 6 months.

On average, one plastic window costs $600 - $700. At the same time, half of its cost is the price for the structure from the factory that manufactured it. It will cost $80 - $100 to install a PVC window. Thus, the sale of one plastic window will bring you $250.

Now let's list company's monthly expenses:

• manager's salary ($500, the best option is $200 + % of sales);
• office rent (about $330);
• communication and internet costs ($100);
• advertising costs ($330);
• business tax payments ($100 - $130);
• payroll taxes ($170);
• other expenses ($100).

Thus, the amount of monthly expenses will be about $1700

One-time expenses:

• Furniture, office equipment, phones, fax - about $1300;
• Redecorating office (if necessary) – about $700.

The amount of one-time expenses will be about $2000

If we add up the monthly and one-time expenses, and also add, just in case, the cost of renting for another month, we get the minimum amount necessary to start this business - $4,000.

In order for your company to reach the break-even point, you need to install at least 8 windows per month. Since one buyer often orders 2-4 windows at a time, in order to break even, the company needs to conclude only one contract per week, that is, work with 3-4 clients per month.

As we can see from the calculations, the idea of ​​such a business is very tempting and promising. But it is worth remembering that there are already many companies providing such services on the market, as well as many manufacturers of window profiles. To take a worthy place in this niche, it is worth paying special attention to advertising company and promotion of the enterprise.

collapse

Starting a window business from scratch is not an easy task. This direction of activity is accompanied by many positive and negative aspects. Positive factors include: the formation of a good customer base, the constant availability of orders, the high demand for window structures in the building materials market. Conversely, the lack of customers, constant demand, can have a rather bad effect on the development of a young business, up to its bankruptcy.

Before creating window business, it is necessary to analyze the demand on the market for this product, the services provided, and then choose the most profitable line of business.

How to start a business selling windows

How to open a shop selling window structures? What do you need to start with?

• We find window suppliers. It is desirable that manufacturing companies be located within a radius of no more than 100 km, so that deliveries are mobile.

• To open your own store selling finished products, you will need a room. It should be located in places with a large concentration of people. These can be sleeping areas, in which there may not even be competitors, as well as large shopping centers. building materials. A window shop can be opened in any separate building located near such shopping centers. A shop selling these structures must have an area of ​​​​at least 20 squares.

• The store, of course, requires arrangement: the necessary elements of furniture, technical equipment, etc.

• One of the main points for promoting a business is advertising. The store should have an attractive advertising sign, an exhibition of the proposed window designs. Most often, manufacturers provide for this free samples manufactured products in the form of corners, as this is also in their interests.

I like

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This specific market has not yet settled down, so domestic newcomers to the window business have a place to turn around. To launch a medium-sized production, it is necessary from 100 to 150 $ thousand.

According to the Association of Manufacturers of Energy Efficient Windows (APROK), today there are about 500 enterprises in Russia that annually produce 3.5 million square meters of windows. At the same time, about 800 million square meters have been installed in Russia. This fact alone can show how vast this market is. At the same time, only a small part of the produced square meters can be called modern windows. Therefore, domestic entrepreneurs who decide to engage in the production of windows have a place to turn around.
This particular market is not yet established. This is evidenced by the lack of reliable information, statistics about him. In addition, almost all window manufacturers that can be called modern in design and quality work in the upper price category - and are simply not available. a significant number Russians. For example, the price for wooden windows of acceptable quality in the Moscow region starts at 1,500 rubles per square meter - and its reduction to at least 1,200 rubles per "square" (and according to experts, this is quite possible to achieve even at small woodworking enterprises) would be manufacturer with a considerable competitive advantage.
Another problem of domestic entrepreneurs is the instability of product quality. It is this - and not at all the lack of patriotism among customers - that can explain the fact that most of the most attractive orders on the wooden window market - such as supplies for elite residential complexes and equipping the offices of the largest Russian corporations with windows - are still out foreign companies. Essentially the same claim - "walking" quality characteristics - is presented to PVC profiles produced at domestic enterprises. Achieving advantages in this area can also greatly facilitate the life of the Russian "windowmaker".

What is a modern window?

The window market can be divided into the production of wooden products, the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) windows and the production of aluminum structures, the first two segments being the most significant. There is also the production of fiberglass windows. But this is quite exotic. Disputes about the comparative consumer properties of PVC windows (often called plastic or metal-plastic) and wooden windows still do not subside, and "plastic" and "wood" have their fans who do not agree to compromise with the opposite camp.
It is not our task to resolve this dispute. Each of the types has its own advantages and disadvantages - including from the point of view of the manufacturer.

Regardless of the material from which it is made, its indispensable attribute is a double-glazed window. This is a construction of several glasses connected around the perimeter with durable rubber seals and a sealed thin-walled metal frame. Inside it is air of low humidity - so that the windows do not fog up in the cold. For the same reasons, a powder is added inside - a desiccant that absorbs water vapor. Air can be replaced with argon. Another option is reduced pressure inside the double-glazed window. But in order for the glass not to be pressed inward, they make small spacers that are noticeable when approaching the window. In order for the double-glazed window to protect better, you can increase the number of glasses. A double-glazed window with two glasses is called single-chamber, two-chamber - with three, three-chamber - with four ... The thickness of a single-chamber is 20, 24 or 32 mm, a two-chamber - 42 mm. This is the standard, thicker glass can be supplied upon request. You can also use a glass plus double-glazed design - almost the same as triple glazing. glass for most glass bags Russian production supplies Borsky plant, to a lesser extent - Saratov. Fittings are also practically independent of the type of window.
The most widely represented products are from Germany. The leader here is Roto frank products. Widespread window hardware firms Winkhaus, Siegenia, G-U, Aubi, Schuko (Germany), Maco (Austria). You can meet Italian and Turkish. At the heart of the metal-plastic window is a PVC profile. On the Russian market profiles of several dozen companies are presented, most of which are again German: REHAU, KBE, Plustek, Veka, Schuko, Aluplast, Gealan, Artec, Kemmerling, Brugmann, Trocal. Profiles are different. Manufacturers subdivide them into a frame profile, a profile for a sash, an impost, a glazing bead.
Wooden windows can be very conditionally divided into eurowindow and Finnish window. Recently, worthy designs are being developed by domestic firms. After the introduction of SNIP, which required the use of at least triple glazing for most new windows in Russia, many manufacturers encountered difficulties. The designs that appeared were labor-intensive (three frames instead of two), difficult to change equipment and simply more expensive due to the greater consumption of materials - the eurowindow and the Finnish version of the window began to crowd out Russian designs in the assortment of the most "advanced" manufacturers. Gradually, however, the situation is improving. For example, the design of a window developed by VNIIDMASH (its feature is the reduced number of dissimilar profiles in production - and, accordingly, the solution to most of the above problems) was awarded a gold award at the Brussels exhibition. The main qualities of windows that the manufacturer must provide are thermal protection, sound insulation and air permeability. In Russia, to assess the heat-shielding characteristics of structures, the resistance to heat transfer Ro (m2 °C / W, the reciprocal of the thermal conductivity coefficient k, which is adopted in DIN standards. According to the Moscow city building codes MGSN 2. 01-94 "Energy supply in buildings. Thermal protection standards , heat, water and power supply", the reduced heat transfer resistance Ro should be at least 0.55 m2. °C / W for windows and balcony doors. The main factors affecting the value of the reduced heat transfer resistance of a window are: - window size (including including the ratio of the area of ​​glazing to the area of ​​the window block); - the cross-section of the frame and sash; - the material of the window block; - the type of glazing (for example, the presence of a special gas - argon or krypton - in the double-glazed window); - the number and location of seals in the frame / sash.Another parameter is sound insulation.It depends on: - the thickness of the air gap - the density of the rebate (the permeability of the joints). and glass does not always lead to the desired result. From an acoustic point of view, it is still more expedient to increase the thickness of the glasses and the air gap between them.

Where to begin?

What can a beginner entrepreneur in the window business do? If he starts literally from scratch - that is, there is almost no money for initial investments, you can start in the window business with mediation. The profitability of such a business today is highly questionable. However, problems with the sale of products are the main ones in this business, and with a competent formulation of the case, the intermediary can count on some income other than zero. You can start with the provision of installation services. This is how the general director of Avantprom, Kirill Ivanov, began in 1994. His and his partner's clients were in need of installation services for windows they had already purchased. Very few manufacturers of the time offered window installation. And the main task of Cyril was to persuade the client - and more often it was commercial firms, renovating their offices - to use the services of his specialized team, and not to trust the builders doing the rest of the work. Costs - only for the tool and expendable materials and $500 was enough to start a business. The main problem then was to get money from customers. Inflation was very high and customers, by hook or by crook, tried to noticeably delay the moment of reckoning. True, and the profitability was great - in a month, the team could earn from $ 5 to $ 10 thousand dollars in a successful scenario.
Now the incomes of installers have changed a lot downwards, and most of the window manufacturers offer the services of installers at the same time. This does not always come from a good life - some may be willing to focus only on production, but with small volumes, recommendations from former clients can give up to half of future clients. At the same time, a lot depends on the installation - and a good window can be installed in such a way that the client will howl in a month and give a vow not to contact this company anymore, and even dissuade others. The cost of dismantling old windows and installing new ones today is, as a rule, 10-15% of the cost of the total order. If you persuade the client to make ebbs with your help, finish the slopes - the walls on the sides of the window, give the window the client's favorite color, it can lead to an increase in the installer's earnings up to 25-30%. from the cost of the order. If accept average cost order from one apartment for $ 1000 - 1500 and take into account that the full scope of work usually takes two days - it is not so difficult to calculate the income from installation. Being engaged in installation, you can prepare yourself quite well for this business, besides, it is easier for someone who has worked in installation to find a client and evaluate their capabilities when moving to the next stage of development. And it’s easy to get acquainted with the installation technologies - almost every representative office of Western firms producing profiles has similar methods. It must be taken into account that among the installers there is a very high turnover of personnel. After a few months of work, many begin to believe - sometimes rightly, sometimes not - that they have already outgrown this salary and this job. As a result, in the installation team, one of the partners is often a trainee, sometimes receiving less than $ 150, and his more experienced friend has only a few months of work experience. An experienced master earns much more, and it is very difficult to find them on the labor market.
The next step is dealership. The entrepreneur already has funds sufficient to buy back some abstract order, which he himself found. For example, Kirill Ivanov, whom we wrote about above, took two years to get to the dealership - by the end of this period, his company already had three independent teams, he himself did not work on the installation, assuming administrative functions and searching for orders. Dealers are the most mobile and numerous layer in the window business. Most of the ads in the huge "window" blocks of the capital's advertising newspapers belong to them. Dealers earn on discounts from the base price - usually 20%. Window dealers are not only the most mobile, but also the most vulnerable. So, according to some estimates, as a result of the 1998 crisis, they suffered the most - the number of dealer firms decreased from 600 to 200.
A lot of manufacturers of plastic windows, including its leaders, who have even acquired own production profile - they started with the dealership. At least here the transition from dealership to production is much smoother in terms of money spent than in the wood window market. Among other business options "associated" with the production of windows, there are also much less common ones.
For example, Vladimir Smyshlyaev, president of the company "Windows D.O.M." told us that one of the drivers who once worked for his company now has his own business - delivering windows. This company does not have any special secrets, except for a special pyramid under the windows in the back of his truck and some skills for careful handling of specific products. However, a fact is a fact - you can live in such a seemingly highly specialized market. Recently, entrepreneurs in the market began to offer new service- restoration of old wooden windows. The consumers of such a service are those who, for some reason, do not want to install plastic windows, but there is no money for new wooden ones.
We haven't gotten to window production yet, but it seems time has come to talk about the main problem of the window business. The key to success is sales. It is much more important not to produce windows, but to sell them. It would seem that given the huge market we wrote about, this problem should not arise.
In fact, at current prices, manufacturers of high-quality windows are quite crowded. And the promotion of window products has its own characteristics. As already indicated, for small firms the main source of new orders is old customers. Despite the fact that, according to Kirill Ivanov, the general director of Avantprom, unlike automotive business, the service for "windowers" is unprofitable - it is the increased attention to customer requests that can "pull out" your company. You can miss technical part- by the way, it is almost impossible to find a company that would do without complaints from customers - but a quick response to a customer's dissatisfaction can melt his heart.
Vladimir Smyshlyaev, head of the firm "Okna D.O.M." (www.oknadom.ru) is sure that for his company (which he classifies as a medium-sized business) presence on the Internet is much more effective than print advertising in terms of the number of clients received. True, it must be said that the site of the company "Windows D.O.M." was created back in 1997, all this time it was regularly updated - and for the first two years it was only an expense item. In addition, Vladimir Smyshlyaev is the main expert of the specialized "window" forum on the building portal "Your House". Neophytes are often sent here who would like to change the windows in their apartment and, for a start, try to get at least minimal information in order to make an informed choice. It is quite natural that someone, having received this information from the head of the manufacturer, will go to him with an order. So information openness - if this policy is pursued consistently - has its obvious advantages.
In general, according to Smyshlyaev, advertising should carry an idea and be different from its counterparts. A banal thought, indeed. But the director of Okna D.O.M. illustrated it as follows. At the very beginning of the nineties, when his business was just beginning, there was only one employee in his advertising department - himself. BUT advertising products there were handwritten announcements hung on the doors of the entrances (then the service of his company was the glazing of balconies). the result was just empty calls. But among them was one call from a designer, a student of the Moscow Architectural Institute Anton.
Smyshlyaev agreed to hire him on the condition that he would come up with an idea that would help highlight his ads. And Anton proposed such an idea: an empty milk bag was pasted over with whatman paper, and an announcement was already written on it with ink, in calligraphic handwriting. To some, such a design find will seem controversial, but the desired result was achieved, the ads began to work. With their help, the first major order was received - the manufacture of the first seven Kodak instant film developing points in Moscow, started by Rostik International, which now owns the Rostik restaurant chain).
According to Kirill Ivanov, general director of Avantprom (okna.cose.ru), another reliable source of orders is product samples that are displayed in building materials stores and similar places. Such a sample is more likely to lead to you a client than an advertisement in an advertising newspaper, placed among literally hundreds of similar ones (as happens in Moscow) - in this case, choosing your company by the client is akin to a lottery ticket.
True, when demonstrating product samples, it is necessary to make it as easy as possible for a potential client to obtain accurate information about the range and cost of services. This may be exhibiting the maximum possible assortment, the story of a trained sales manager located next to the samples (he should give maximum information to the person who applied - according to the experience of some manufacturers, such a manager is almost twice as effective as a wordless price distributor). Well and on last place in terms of efficiency, most manufacturers advertise in non-core mass advertising newspapers. However, for large firms this is still an inevitable expense item, without advertising they will not be able to maintain their momentum. When entering the window business, one cannot, of course, lose sight of its obvious seasonality. Winter is the off season for most window dealers. Few of the clients decide to replace windows in cold weather. The exception is the installation of windows in new buildings, which peaks in autumn - if you, of course, have access to this market. Clients "come to life" in the middle of spring, and the season active sales continues until mid-autumn. Compared to peak sales during the off-season, production could be cut in half. It can be argued that an enterprise for the production of absolutely any kind of windows with a stable load is a very, very profitable enterprise. So marketing is the key to success. It is in this direction that you should not spare money.

Where can you find out about your future business?

Entering the market as a complete amateur would be unwise. Therefore, some time - it depends on your meticulousness - must be spent on studying the technology, the list and assortment of suppliers and future competitors. Firstly, a journey through the "window" Internet will help here. There are, for example, a fairly large number of sites that consider windows from a consumer point of view - such information will not hurt the manufacturer either. There are specialized "window" sites where you can get not only consumer information, but also information useful for the manufacturer.
Two stand out among them - www.tybet.ru and www.okna.spb.ru, there are many useful information and what is important - they are kept alive and constantly updated. Information can be given by reading specialized magazines - "Translucent constructions", "Bauelement Bau". But the most effective for an entrepreneur entering the market is visiting specialized exhibitions. The information at the exhibitions is presented in such a concentrated form that it can take you several weeks to absorb and digest it. There may be more exotic ways to study production. For example, two entrepreneurs I know, starting a business in the production of wooden windows, visited the representative office of the world leader in the production of woodworking equipment - Weinig - and announced their desire to buy equipment from them. But first I would like to see it in action. As a result, in a short time, he organized a visit to several future very advanced and wealthy (as evidenced by the purchase of the company's products) competitors with a detailed story about the organization of production.

What can interfere

Describing entry into the window production market, I would like to start by overcoming bureaucratic obstacles: obtaining a license for production, certificates of conformity for manufactured products, for components. According to the general opinion of manufacturers working on the market, fortunately, there are no special problems, except for financial ones, with obtaining such documents. So, obtaining a certificate for a product - a plastic window will cost $300, and a license for its production - $800-1000. And all procedures will take up to one and a half months. If you are very economical, you can, according to Kirill Ivanov, get by with little blood - the cost of a courier, because the state prices for these services are very low and the main costs are actually time and nerves. These documents have a limited validity period - from two to five years. Certification of windows is carried out by specialized bodies (like "Novgorodstroy certification") and many specialized building research institutes. The main parameter evaluated in the certificate is the reduced resistance to heat transfer.
Other parameters are air permeability, sound insulation value, static load resistance. For wooden windows, an additional parameter to be evaluated is the moisture content of the wood. The tests of the window itself are carried out under the supervision of specialists for 4-5 weeks. In practice, of course, everything is often simpler - quite in accordance with the Russian tradition. Among the remaining problems, communication with the "fireman" may become an unpleasant surprise for manufacturers of wooden windows. It is unlikely that there are woodworking industries that 100% meet the requirements of the fire inspection, so it all depends on the individual characteristics of the inspector himself. On the other hand, the neglect of fire safety rules has not yet benefited anyone. Sooner or later, fires in such industries occur and the more you are ready for them, the less damage.
Among other problems that can delay the joyful moment of the start of your company's production of your own windows is a special type of hired managers, who can be called "masters". Oddly enough, they are a fairly common reason for the collapse of production or its failure to reach the planned indicators. This is especially true for those cases when the money invested is impersonal (for example, the investments of "Gazprom" and "okologazprom" structures, as one of my friends joked, they have guys who can approve investments up to $ 200 thousand, they do not have their own offices, they workplace- in the smoking room). It seems that this is typical only for our country, but there are also private investors who do not really follow the fate of their invested money. In general, the problem is quite serious for that entrepreneur who has not trodden all the "steps" of this business from the very bottom. As Vladimir Smyshlyaev described this problem, in Russia there are much more money than people who can professionally and profitably apply them, this also applies to the window business. The selection of a professional team for the production of, for example, wooden windows is a very responsible matter. Here, both a lack of experience and an overabundance of it (on the old Soviet DOKs) are dangerous, not to mention the simple ability to work in a team and for a team. Again, let us refer to the experience of the Okna DOM company, which has existed since 1990. Its leader is confident that his team, on which he can rely, grew at a rate of no more than 1 person in two years, while up to 40 people passed through the company. Many of these people can be called qualified employees, but they did not fill up the team. But it is these people that the firm is based on.

Germany dominates the window market

The minimum set of equipment for the production of plastic windows will cost $ 10-25 thousand. The bottom bar is used equipment, some firms - for example, Denver - successfully sell it, claiming that it can last another 5-6 years. In the same company, small businesses are advised to purchase equipment for the season - that is, in the spring, in order to recoup the investment as quickly as possible. In Moscow, for example, there are quite a few firms that will professionally help you complete the production with the necessary machines - TBM, Mosplast, Tekhimport. The most famous - again German - manufacturers of equipment for the production of plastic windows - Fimtec, Urban. Among other companies, we will name Aluma, Wegoma, Haffner, Schuering, Italian Perticci and Stenoma. The basis of the assembly site is a machine for welding profiles (its cost, depending on the functionality, ranges from $5,000 to $100,000). In addition to it, the "assembly" kit includes machines for cutting profiles, glazing beads, milling machines, machines for cleaning seams and milling corners. Minimum production room should have an area of ​​50 square meters (plus a product warehouse). The optimal size of production is about 200 square meters and 5-7 workers. Experts consider 500-600 square meters to be the ideal area for installing a complete set of equipment. Another important requirement for the premises where you are going to open production. The temperature in it should not fall below 16 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, profile welding will be of poor quality. By the way. desirable. so that your workshop is outside the capital - you can save a lot on renting these same areas.
Both small and medium-sized manufacturers order double-glazed windows for windows, and do not make them themselves. It is best to take them from large companies for which such operation of an insulating glass assembly line is an additional source of income. The production of double-glazed windows is in itself a separate expensive type of business. The simplest "double-glazed" line "pulls" at least $50,000. Automated ones are more expensive. As a rule, equipment for assembling double-glazed windows can be purchased from the same companies that produce equipment for assembling plastic windows. By the way, the market for double-glazed windows is not yet fully saturated - during the season, small firms have no, no, and there are problems with their purchases
There is also the production of double-glazed windows "on the knee", in the basement, but the quality of such double-glazed windows, of course, is no good. The main customers of small window manufacturers are private customers. If you start a business "on a grand scale", having built a complete technological chain, you will have to pay $60-100 thousand (but you can buy new line them for $200,000). The complete set of equipment includes a section for the production of double-glazed windows and an assembly shop, the purchase of a compressor, hand tools, racks and tables. But as practice shows, manufacturers of plastic windows may well develop in an evolutionary way, since it is possible to expand without sharp financial injections.
To calculate how many staff is needed for your enterprise, keep in mind that a team of 7-8 people can make 15-20 windows per shift. a worker in such a production receives from $ 200 to 500 - With such an output, at least three teams of fitters, two or three people each, will be needed. The staff does not interfere with staffing with three or four sensible sales managers.
According to some practitioners, a production that does not produce at least 50 square meters of windows a day has no future. Twenty windows (from 1.5 square meters each) a day for such an enterprise is a normal turnover. However, now there are proposals on the market - together with a feasibility study - how to recoup $ 25,000 in equipment ownership in 4 months, producing 150 square meters of windows per month. Considering that at typical $100-150 per square meter, up to half of this amount is the company's income, the figures look quite plausible. With the "minimalist" option, you can recoup the money invested in terms from six months to ... indefinitely (it depends on your marketing capabilities). With amounts close to $ 100 thousand, production will begin to pay off, most likely, after the second year of operation.
The logic of development of this kind of window business is quite understandable and evolutionary. It is necessary to gain window sales skills by becoming a dealer of some window production. Feeling that you can solve this key problem, you can create an assembly plant. By the way, experts say that 80% of the plastic windows market belongs to very small companies. The next step may be the acquisition of a line for the production of double-glazed windows. further development may be associated with the automation of production to improve quality and reduce costs. As an apotheosis - the purchase of a plant for the production of its own profile. True, only a few window manufacturers have achieved such a result (for example, the Bamo company, which started back in the early 90s by transporting finished windows from beyond the cordon) from window manufacturers. The emergence of other profile manufacturing enterprises is a completely different story, different money, different people.

Wooden windows: hard only at the very beginning

Much more funds are required to start the production of wooden windows. According to Vladimir Smyshlyaev, director of the Okna DOM company, to launch a medium-sized production, from 100 to 150 $ thousand is needed. Here he, however, lays the cost of necessary equipment, for the purchase of materials, a stable salary for 3-5 months and a three-month operation of the enterprise without any sales, which does not look completely unrealistic. Such investments will pay off in 9 months to 2 years. To its current window business - medium-sized. by his own admission - Vladimir Smyshlyaev walked for about six years. I must say that in this market there are very few such small family firms that have grown to such a production from scratch. A significant part of the market is occupied by long-existing DOKs, large enterprises currently operating with varying degrees of success. A lot of large factories, which arose from scratch - but investments in which significantly exceed the minimum level indicated by us: Mekran from Krasnoyarsk, Veshki located near Moscow.
By the way, last changes in legislation, it turns out, allow you to save decent money on equipment tax. The new licensing legislation abolished the licensing of leasing companies. Now any entrepreneur can create it - and a leasing company does not pay property taxes simply by its status. What follows is obvious - this leasing company leases equipment to a new woodworking enterprise.
The market offers ways to reduce the amount of initial investment. For example, the company TBM (www.tbm.ru) offers its patented "Start" technology. Using the key connection of window parts, TBM achieved a radical reduction in the cost of the required equipment. it is assumed that the area of ​​the enterprise is 250 square meters (at a rent of DM 0.4 per square meter), the number of workers is five people). From a commercial point of view, the technology looks like this: with an initial cost of DM 37 thousand in TBM, they promise a payback in six months - subject to the production of 200 square meters of windows per month at a price of 350 DM per square meter. It must be assumed that with a more realistic price per square meter, the payback period will still increase, still remaining within the limits of Russian decorum.
Another way to reduce the cost of starting production can be the purchase of used equipment. There are already such companies on the Russian market. We have already pointed out the first difference between the production of wooden windows and plastic windows: entering this market will cost an entrepreneur much more than entering the plastic window market. Further, however, the situation changes - once you enter this market, you have much more room for maneuver and growth. With a proper return on initial investment (and here again the organization of the sale of your products is of great importance) - the entrepreneur has a lot of opportunities to expand production and reduce costs.
If in the first run the entrepreneur bought end machines, quadrilateral machine and a corner center (the minimum required set), then further investments that will consistently save him money can be: a splicing line (this equipment allows you to get wood with almost no defects), a press for the production of glued laminated timber (and this is the main semi-finished product for obtaining modern windows) . If all this equipment is modern (though maybe second-hand), allowing fast changeover- the possibilities of such an enterprise will be very great. Let's not forget about the purchase of the production of our own double-glazed windows, then the turn of dryers will come (the shortage of which is felt by many woodworking enterprises, and a window made of undried wood is not even a semi-finished product). For example, a medium-sized dryer costing $50,000 can save $5,000 on each batch of dried wood. It pays off in 10 months. The transition to the supply of raw forest from their own plots will complete the picture. On average, rational costs for a woodworking enterprise, the main activity of which will be the production of wooden windows, can amount to $600-800 thousand. However, all this quickly happens only on paper.

The market for plastic windows is very competitive, but it still has growth potential. Even a start-up company will be able to gain a foothold in it if it offers an innovative product and a high level of service, says Oleg Konovalenko, founder of the Olkon window manufacturing holding. Oleg Konovalenko told the website about how to act for novice entrepreneurs in order to launch a successful “window” business.

34 years old, CEO and founder of the company "Olcon". Graduated from the Samara Academy of Culture and Arts, second higher education– International Market Institute. In 2003, together with a friend, he began small business- on weekends he sold CDs with music, games and books at the Samara book market. In 2010, he became a co-owner of the KonStal company, which produces plastic windows, mosquito nets and blinds. In 2011, he founded Olkon, a plastic window and door manufacturing company. The annual turnover of the company in 2016 is about 200 million rubles.

go ahead

Russia is a huge market and consumer asset, which is simply inexhaustible. The window business will bear fruit for at least a few more decades, during which time it is possible to prepare innovative implementations in it.

Probably the most main advice those who decide to do business in this area should not be afraid of anything or anyone. My advice - go ahead to your goal. You can't give up on the path to your dreams. Only the trial and error method remains effective. Any business is no different from cycling. After a fall, you need to sit down again and start pedaling, ignoring an abrasion on your knee or elbow.

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All my activities in the field of production and sale of windows began with the work sales representative. I came to clients, offered them accessories and other goods necessary for servicing package window systems. Even then, I saw that this market is interesting, and it has a huge potential. 7 years ago, when I started my own business, only 35% of Samara houses / apartments were protected by plastic windows, the rest had wooden windows. To date, the situation throughout the Russian Federation, if it has improved, is still “change and change” to the cherished 100%.

In 2010, all thoughts about the potential of the plastic windows market turned into a concrete business idea - and KonStal was launched. We started with the production of mosquito nets for plastic windows. Having located my workshop in the garage and contacting plastic window manufacturers already known to me, working in many regions of the country, I received orders for the manufacture of 100 nets daily, which was a huge success. Having spent no more than 100 thousand rubles on the equipment of the workshop, I could receive daily an amount three times more than the initial costs.

Seeing such growth, I realized that I needed to grow out of the status of a window dealer and establish window production. To do this, he borrowed serious funds, for which he equipped new production facilities from scratch.

Don't be afraid of competition

The saturation of the market for the production of plastic windows did not frighten me at all. Yes, of course, you can start developing and try to open an innovative product, which then needs to interest the consumer. But it seems to me that it is easier to enter an already developed market and do better than others, winning the fight for a place in the sun.

You don't have to be afraid of competition. On the contrary, if there are many competitors in the business, it means that the market exists and it is alive. I did just that, and our team every day moves to new heights, "biting off" everything about greater market share.

Grow a team of like-minded people

From the very beginning, there were many problems with assessing the market, setting clear plans and hiring workers. I, as a leader, made mistakes, because of which the team did not immediately trust me.

Frankly, there was even a "rainy day" when all the employees of the company left and left me alone with their unfortunate business and debt obligations. The main task was to gather a team, without which the viability and full implementation of the idea would be impossible.

At present, the Olcon holding has 120 employees. The largest team is commercial department. All these people work in different regions of the Russian Federation, but unite corporate policy our company.

Each of our employees gets the opportunity to learn and improve their skills. qualification level. People who have optimal working conditions with the possibility of self-realization and are sufficiently motivated to perform their functional duties definitely work with greater efficiency.

Subordinates need to be delegated authority in order to grow ready-made heads of departments and future successors from “green” newcomers. Such specialists should be rewarded according to their merits, they need to be communicated with, they need to be motivated. Under such working conditions, money will not be a priority goal, and love for one's own business will come to the fore.

Constantly learning

Every entrepreneur must understand own business, in market processes and production specifics. At first, the owner of a small company performs functional responsibilities many of their employees on their own.

Thus, it does not matter whether the businessman had a relationship with the window business before. Education is an integral part of it. As a business owner, I really like to learn and broadcast it to all my employees.

You have to learn all your life - and at the same time feel like a little child. Once you say you know everything, that's the beginning of the end. It's impossible to know everything. The world is changing very quickly, and the speed of technology is simply unrealistic.

Set the right goals

For beginners of the "window" business, I advise you to start with dealer activity- that is, selling someone else's products. If the sales channel is debugged, its efficiency will increase and a stable profit will appear, then you can proceed to the stage of your own production.

Equipment own workshop imposes on the manager a great responsibility associated with increased costs and work with a large number of specialists. Again, you will have to delve into not only the trade, but also the production direction of this area.

The payback of production will come the faster, the higher the bar of visible goals and the scale of the work being done is set. Conventionally, such a payback point can come in 2-3 months if we are talking about opening a garage, or it will not come even after a few years if a full-fledged factory complex is opened, operating at a loss. Only the goals and objectives of the entrepreneur affect his success.

Grow with franchisees

I don’t have a special principle for choosing a city for opening my branch. More important principle partner's choice. Our company has chosen the path of development through franchising, and therefore the partner is very important for us. After all, franchising is a partnership. We do one thing. And in what next city we find ourselves - it does not matter at all.

For ourselves, we determined that the population of the city where our partner wants to work should be from 300,000 people. The franchisee must believe in your approaches and want to open a business under your brand and according to your system in their city.

Leverage partner experience

If you decide to enter the window business of your city or the whole region, then you will face difficulties that you need to overcome steadfastly. Get ready for the fact that in the window market with all its components ( finished goods, fittings, installation and repair services, etc.) there will be huge competition. The principles of our work can be taken as a basis to interest potential buyers(customers) and win the competition in the main canons of business.

First of all, you need to play with marketing, both qualitative and quantitative methods:

maximize the range by offering the customer a choice of equipment for the same double-glazed window;

vary the cost of goods based on the cost of components purchased for assembly;

introduce optional free services, create promotional and bonus offers, perhaps even at the risk of significant costs;

think about whether your company will be engaged in post-warranty maintenance of installed double-glazed windows.

You should have developed a scheme for individual satisfaction of potential customers. It's about presenting those benefits that should prove that the choice in favor of your company was not made in vain. For example, in the case of Olcon, I am not only talking about the quality, reliability and safety of products. We are talking about additional properties of products and different working conditions:

environmental friendliness of components for production, confirmed by the appropriate certificate;

painstaking attitude to the service: timely delivery, technological compliance of installation with established standards, cleaning of the premises upon completion of work;

optimal payment terms: credit or installment plan at 0%;

10 year warranty on all products.

This is not all that we can offer the client. Whether you're a growing window dealer or an executive in a window company, give your customer the same comfort they get from installed insulating glass units. At Olcon, every order is valued, and therefore we are even ready to pay the client's transportation costs if he concludes an agreement in our office, and not at home.

P.S.

Look around you, notice things that are interesting not only to you, but also to others. Pay attention to their problems. Perhaps it is the original way of solving these problems that will become your way to creating a new uncontested product, or will allow you to win competition from those companies that operate more complicated and more expensive.

* Calculations use average data for Russia

You can enter the window business in different ways: you can engage in intermediary services and get by with minimal investment, or you can organize a full production of windows, and then you have to pay from 100 to 150 thousand dollars. Many companies, including the leaders of this market, have gone through a complete technological chain, starting with a dealership and ending with their own PVC production plant.

The window market can be divided into the production of wooden products, the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) windows and the creation of aluminum structures. There is also a business idea for the production of fiberglass windows. But this is quite exotic. Disputes about the comparative consumer properties of PVC windows and wooden windows still do not subside. Each of the types has its own advantages and disadvantages - including from the point of view of the manufacturer.

What is a modern window.

What are plastic windows? Regardless of the material from which it is made, its indispensable attribute is a double-glazed window. This is a construction of several glasses connected around the perimeter with durable rubber seals and a sealed thin-walled metal frame. Inside it is air of low humidity - so that the windows do not fog up in the cold. For the same reasons, a powder is added inside - a desiccant that absorbs water vapor. Air can be replaced with argon. Another option is reduced pressure inside the double-glazed window. But in order for the glass not to be pressed inward, they make small spacers that are noticeable when approaching the window. In order for the double-glazed window to protect better, you can increase the number of glasses. A double-glazed window with two glasses is called single-chamber, two-chamber - with three, three-chamber - with four ... The thickness of a single-chamber is 20, 24 or 32 mm, a two-chamber - 42 mm. This is the standard, thicker glass can be supplied upon request. You can also use the design glass plus double-glazed window - right
practically the same as triple glazing. Glass for the majority of Russian-made glass bags is supplied by the Bor plant, and to a lesser extent by the Saratov plant. Fittings are also practically independent of the type of window.
The most widely represented products are from Germany. The leader here is Roto frank products. Widespread window hardware firms Winkhaus, Siegenia, G-U, Aubi, Schuko (Germany), Maco (Austria). You can meet Italian and Turkish. At the heart of the metal-plastic window is a PVC profile. The profiles of several dozen companies are presented on the Russian market, most of which are again German: REHAU, KBE, Plustek, Veka, Schuko, Aluplast, Gealan, Artec, Kemmerling, Brugmann, Trocal.
Profiles are different. Manufacturers subdivide them into a frame profile, a profile for a sash, an impost, a glazing bead.

Wooden windows can be very conditionally divided into eurowindow and Finnish window. Recently, worthy designs are being developed by domestic firms. For example, a window design developed by VNIIDMASH won a gold award at the Brussels exhibition. The main qualities of windows that the manufacturer must provide are thermal protection, sound insulation and air permeability. In Russia, to assess the heat-shielding characteristics of structures, the resistance to heat transfer Ro (m2 °C / W, the reciprocal of the thermal conductivity coefficient k, which is adopted in DIN standards. According to the Moscow city building codes MGSN 2. 01-94 "Energy supply in buildings. Thermal protection standards , heat, water and power supply", the reduced heat transfer resistance Ro should be at least 0.55 m2. °C / W for windows and balcony doors. The main factors affecting the value of the reduced heat transfer resistance of a window are: - window size (including including the ratio of the glazing area to the area of ​​the window unit);
frame and sash; - material of the window block; - type of glazing (for example, the presence of a special gas - argon or krypton - in a double-glazed window); - the number and location of seals in the frame/sash system. Another option is soundproofing. It depends on: - the thickness of the air gap; - density of the porch (permeability of the joints). Increasing the number of glasses does not always lead to the desired result. From an acoustic point of view, it is still more expedient to increase the thickness of the glasses and the air gap between them.

Where can you find out about your future business?

Entering the market as a complete amateur would be unwise. Therefore, before starting your window business, you need to prepare - to study the technologies, the range of suppliers and future competitors.

This can be done using the Internet. There are a fairly large number of sites that consider windows from a consumer point of view, there are specialized "window" sites where you can get not only consumer information, but also information useful to the manufacturer, for example. www.tybet.ru and www.okna.spb.ru. Information can be given by reading specialized magazines - "Translucent constructions", "Bauelement Bau". But the most effective for an entrepreneur entering the market is visiting specialized exhibitions.

Intermediary services

You can start in the window business with a small starting capital with mediation.

One of the areas is the provision of installation services. To start this business, $500 is enough, the main costs are tools and consumables. Previously, a few years ago, the profitability of this business was high - in a month, a team could earn from $ 5 to $ 10 thousand dollars in a successful scenario.

Now the incomes of installers have changed a lot downwards, and window manufacturers themselves have begun to offer the services of installers. The cost of dismantling old windows and installing new ones today is, as a rule, 10-15% of the cost of the total order. Installing ebbs, finishing slopes, giving the window color, can lead to an increase in the installer's earnings up to 25-30%. from the cost of the order. If we take the average cost of an order from one apartment for $ 1000 - 1500 and take into account that the full scope of work usually takes two days, it is not so difficult to calculate the income from installation. Being engaged in installation, you can prepare yourself quite well for this business, besides, it is easier for someone who has worked in installation to find a client and evaluate their capabilities when moving to the next stage of development. And it’s easy to get acquainted with the installation technologies - almost every representative office of Western firms producing profiles has similar methods.

The next step is dealership. Many manufacturers of plastic windows, including its leaders, started with dealerships. The entrepreneur already has funds sufficient to buy back some abstract order, which he himself found. Dealers are the most mobile and numerous layer in the window business. They earn on discounts from the base price - as a rule, it is 20%.

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A less common direction is the delivery of windows. In this case, apart from a truck equipped with a special pyramid for windows in the back, nothing is required. Despite the specificity of the service, you can earn in this niche.

And finally, a recently demanded service is the restoration of old wooden windows. The consumers of such a service are those who, for some reason, do not want to install plastic windows, but there is no money for new wooden ones.

PVC production

The minimum set of equipment for the production of plastic windows will cost $ 10-25 thousand. It is better to buy equipment by the season - that is, in the spring, in order to recoup the investment as quickly as possible. Today, there are many companies on the market that will professionally help to equip the production with the necessary machines - TBM, Mosplast, Tekhimport. The most famous - again German - manufacturers of equipment for the production of plastic windows - Fimtec, Urban, Italian Perticci and Stenoma. The basis of the assembly site is a machine for welding profiles (its cost, depending on the functionality, ranges from $5,000 to $100,000). In addition to it, the "assembly" kit includes machines for cutting profiles, glazing beads, milling machines, machines for cleaning seams and milling corners. The minimum production area should be 50 square meters (plus the product warehouse). The optimal size of production is about 200 square meters and 5-7 workers. Ideal area for a mustache
The installation of a complete set of equipment experts consider 500-600 square meters. Another important requirement for the room is that the temperature in it should not fall below 16 degrees Celsius, otherwise the profile welding will be of poor quality.

Both small and medium-sized manufacturers order double-glazed windows for windows, and do not make them themselves. The production of double-glazed windows is in itself a separate expensive type of business. The simplest "double-glazed" line "pulls" at least $50,000. Automated ones are more expensive.

If you start a business "on a grand scale", having built a complete technological chain, you will have to pay $60-100 thousand (but you can buy a new line for $200 thousand). The complete set of equipment includes a section for the production of double-glazed windows and an assembly shop, the purchase of a compressor, hand tools, racks and tables.

To calculate the required number of personnel for your enterprise, you should proceed from the fact that a team of 7-8 people can make 15-20 windows per shift. One worker in such a production receives from $ 200 to 500 - With such productivity, three teams of fitters, two or three people each, plus three or four sales managers, will be needed.

With the "minimalist" option, you can recoup the money invested in terms from six months to ... indefinitely (it depends on your marketing capabilities). With amounts close to $ 100 thousand, production will begin to pay off, most likely, after the second year of operation.

The logic of development of this kind of window business is quite understandable and evolutionary. It is necessary to gain window sales skills by becoming a dealer of some window production. Feeling that you can solve this key problem, you can create an assembly plant. By the way, experts say that 80% of the plastic windows market belongs to very small companies. The next step may be the acquisition of a line for the production of double-glazed windows. further development may be associated with the automation of production to improve quality and reduce costs. As an apotheosis - the purchase of a plant for the production of its own profile.

Production of wooden windows

Much more funds are required to start the production of wooden windows. To launch a medium-sized production, it is necessary from 100 to 150 $ thousand. Such investments will pay off in 9 months to 2 years.

The market offers ways to reduce the amount of initial investments. For example, the company TBM (www.tbm.ru) offers its patented "Start" technology. Using the key connection of window parts, TBM achieved a radical reduction in the cost of the required equipment. From a commercial point of view, the technology looks like this: with an initial cost of DM 37 thousand in TBM, they promise a payback in six months - subject to the production of 200 square meters of windows per month at a price of 350 DM per square meter.

Another way to reduce the cost of starting production can be the purchase of used equipment.

Ready-made ideas for your business

With a proper return on initial investment, the entrepreneur has a lot of opportunities to expand production and reduce costs.

Further investments that will consistently save the entrepreneur money can be: a splicing line (this equipment allows you to get wood with almost no defects), a press for the production of glued laminated timber (and this is the main semi-finished product for producing modern windows). Let's not forget about the purchase of the production of our own double-glazed windows, then the turn of the dryers will come. For example, a medium-sized dryer costing $50,000 can save $5,000 on each batch of dried wood. It pays off in 10 months. The transition to the supply of raw forest from their own plots will complete the picture. On average, rational costs for a woodworking enterprise, the main activity of which will be the production of wooden windows, can amount to $600-800 thousand.

Sales problem

The main problem of the window business is sales. It is much more important not to produce windows, but to sell them.

The promotion of window products has its own characteristics. For small firms, the main source of new orders is old customers. It is the service that is able to pull small businesses out of unprofitability.

Ready-made ideas for your business

For medium-sized firms - the main source orders - internet, which, according to experts, is an order of magnitude more effective than print advertising. But for successful promotion on the Internet, a promoted site is needed, and preferably with high-quality information content, because potential clients go to the network for information, first of all, then to make their choice. Participation in forums and publications on specialized portals is also considered effective. So information openness - if this policy is pursued consistently - has its obvious advantages.

According to some experts, another reliable source of orders are samples of products that are displayed in building materials stores and similar places. Such a template is more likely to get you a client than a newspaper advertisement placed among literally hundreds of similar ones. But it is not bad to provide such samples with information about the range and cost of services. This can be done with the help of a sales manager who will be located there and will be able to provide maximum and comprehensive information.

Well, in the last place in terms of efficiency, most manufacturers put advertising in non-core mass advertising newspapers. However, for large firms, this is still an inevitable expense item; without advertising, they will not be able to maintain their momentum.

When entering the window business, one cannot, of course, lose sight of its obvious seasonality. Winter is the off season for most window dealers. Few of the clients decide to replace windows in cold weather. An exception is the installation of windows in new buildings, which peaks in autumn. Starting from mid-spring, customers come to life, and the season of active sales continues until mid-autumn. It can be argued that an enterprise for the production of absolutely any kind of windows with a stable load is a very, very profitable enterprise. So marketing is the key to success. It is in this direction that you should not spare money.

Another problem that can delay the joyful moment of the start of the production of your own windows by your company is the formation of a team of specialists. The selection of a professional team for the production of, for example, wooden windows is a very responsible matter. Both a lack of experience and an overabundance of it are dangerous here. Forming a team of qualified professionals who are able to work in a team and for a team is a real challenge for the owner of the company. In addition to production workers, you will definitely need sales managers. After all, sales indicators depend on them to a greater extent, and therefore financial results firms.

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