16 | Hamilton: APL Window Solutions REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT APL NZ’s largest supplier of windows T T from page 14 The Inex Extrusions plant supplies extruded aluminium to manufacturing and fabrication industries throughout New Zealand and Australia. T T to page 18 es that secure the glass within the window and door frames. The next phase of APL’s journey was to move into glass, which was the driver for building a new state of the art 44,000sqm facility in Hautapu in 2019. “That building houses Architectural Glass Products (AGP), which started operation in 2020. Glass sheets are imported, then cut and made into Insulated Glass Units (IGUs). APL Manufacturing is also based in the facility as well.” The company’s fifty year journey triggered by Ian Plaw’s idea has resulted in a vertically integrated network of companies that includes INEX , Colour Works and FINEX, APL, APL Manufacturing, AGP, PPL and a distribution fleet APL Direct servicing manufacturers throughout New Zealand. Vantage Aluminium and First Windows and Doors provided different products, but offered the opportunity for multiple fabricators in a town, and of course growth. The company’s first major step in manufacturing occurred in ’94 with a new facility in Hamilton that included its own in-house powder coating business operating under the name Colour Works. That same year a third brand was introduced when Altherm Aluminium Joinery was purchased. Vantage Aluminium, First Windows and Doors, and Altherm Aluminium Joinery remain the company’s three separate brands of window fabricators. With three brands, and to avoid confusion, the company was rebranded as Architectural Profiles Ltd (APL) in 1995. APL ventured into the manufacturing of aluminium doors. Originally known as Alpac, now rebranded as APL Manufacturing, it has become a significant business employing 160 people making entry door panels and the majority of hardware for the Group. The installation of two extrusion presses in 1998 and 2000 and establishment of Independent Extrusions Ltd (Inex) continued APL’s vertically integrated pathway, which was cemented in 2003 with its own logistics business – APL Direct. “By taking control of the transport process, we could avoid putting what was delicate freight in with general freight and have it handled four or five times as it was moved around the country before it got to our customer,” says Craig Vincent PGL CEO. “We could put the extrusions on one of our trucks and it would go directly to the fabricators. Starting with four trucks, today with aluminum and glass we have forty trucks on the road covering both North and South Island.” Profile Polymers (PPL) was established in 2012 to supply flexible seals and glazing wedgPPL have proudly partnered with APL Window Solutions since 2012 PPL specializes in the design and manufacture of both flexible and rigid profile extrusions and injection moulded parts supporting a variety of market sectors including glazing, marine, roading, automotive and more. Discover more about PPL today. pplplastics.co.nz With all business units run individually plus other interests outside of the window business, Profile Group Ltd (PGL) was established in 2020 as the holding company. APL now stands alone just like all the other business units. Still family owned and operated, APL is New Zealand’s largest supplier of aluminium windows to the residential and commercial markets, with approximately 45% market share. “We’ve always been an industry leader in product innovation and I like to think that has been a big part of our growth strategy,” says Craig. “By taking control of the transport process, we could avoid putting what was delicate freight in with general freight and have it handled four or five times as it was moved around the country before it got to our customer.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=