Like fine wine, some things get better with age, yet can the same be said of some TV adverts? The women of Safestyle were the subject of a previous post about Safestyle TV ads, but you could say that the "main man" in double glazing is the Safestyle Window Man. We've been revisiting some of his most memorable outings on our YouTube channel and, looking back at a TV career which spans over a decade, the Window Man has certainly made a lasting impression.

It all began in 1999 and the now-famous - some say infamous - debut titled "Pushover," coining his catchphrase "You buy one, you get one free" in his dulcet Burnley-accented tones, extolling the virtues of Safestyle's replacement windows and doors.

Decked out in green to begin with, the Safestyle "caped Crusader" made such a sustained impact that he was commissioned to do another ad, the now equally memorable "Swinging Windows," in 2003. This time he appeared resplendent in red, and has remained that way ever since, with the word "BOGOF" becoming a household word emulated by all.

Many more TV personalities were to follow, but Jeff "The Window Man" Brown continued to add to his Adography, having captured the public's imagination up and down the country and become one of the most recognisable faces on TV. Look out for his new ads, coming soon!

Pushing the envelope of technology and innovation, today sees the launch of the brand new state of the art Door Visualiser, on the Safestyle website. This fantastic new application allows you to interactively fit any one of our Safestyle residential doors, or GuardDoor composite doors, to a photo of your own home (or to sample photos provided). The sophisticated movement, sizing and lighting tools allow you to get the perfect fit at any angle, size, and lighting conditions.

Not only can you fit any standard residential or composite door from the Safestyle range, you can choose the colour and profile that best matches your home. If you’re not sure, you’re just a click away from changing to another colour in an instant without having to fit it again. You can try a front or back door in the traditional white profile or the realistic wood effects of oak or rosewood, or if you’d like to try composite door, choose red, green, blue, black, white, oak or rosewood.

If you’d like to keep a copy of the house with your brand new door design, you can print or save the image. Or if you find yourself torn between two or several different designs and would like an opinion from friends and family, this is a really handy feature to use.

While the Door Visualiser contains the huge range of Safestyle doors and composite doors, there are still so many design features that haven’t yet been incorporated into the Visualiser – such as lead designs, coloured glass, bevels, handles, knockers, etc – so you can expect plenty of future upgrades to enable you to see just how good your home would look with the perfect designs to suit you, right down to the finest detail.

Find the perfect door for your home today!

Wouldn't it be a nice surprise to start the festive season, as the lucky winner of a prize draw?! Well that's exactly the pleasant kind of fortune that Mr John Griffin of Darwen in Lancashire is now enjoying, having been drawn as November's winner of the Safestyle UK quarterly prize draw. John, 27 and a local joiner, is the latest in a line of winners dating back to 2007.

The Safestyle quarterly prize draw is a part of the Diamond Account Club flexible payments finance package, where customers can enjoy various benefits, including discounts from various trusted partner companies, and automatic entry into the prize draw.

Winners are selected randomly and when John's lucky number came up, it meant that he could have the remaining outstanding balance of £1,484 on his windows paid off in full. "I'm thrilled to have won the Diamond Account Club draw," he said, "The money I've saved will go towards further improvements on my house, I'm planning on refitting the entire bathroom in time for Christmas!"

The latest Safestyle double glazing technology has been helping customers up and down the country save energy by keeping their houses warm and cosy, reducing heating requirements so you can turn your thermostat down and save money on your heating bills.

"I'm really happy with the quality of my new windows and the efficient service that Safestyle provided," added John, "I'm looking forward to the double glazing saving me more energy and money off my heating bills every month too."

Safestyle UK's Managing Director, Steve Birmingham, also commented: "It was a pleasure to inform Mr Griffin of winning the prize draw, and having his outstanding account balance paid off in full. We're pleased that our energy efficient windows will help him save energy and reduce his heating bills, not to mention add value to his home too.

"We're delighted that he was happy with the service that we provided and the standard of our products, as customer satisfaction is of great importance to us. I wish John the best of luck with his new home project."

The next lucky winner of the Safestyle prize draw will be drawn in February 2010, so look out for that!

We kicked off 2009 with the launch of the Safestyle GuardDoor, our new range of composite doors, and now as we go into the winter season we have new and improved designs and security features to upgrade the Safestyle composite door package. The original range was launched with quite an extensive gamut of lead designs, colours and glass types, but true to Safestyle nature we don’t stand still and have added some fantastic new designs, including bevels and thermally fused tiles not previously available in the range.

Security, as ever, is one of the most important requirements of any door, so the new Safestyle composite doors have further upgraded security features, including new “Secured by Design” rated handles to give the doors further robustness. If you remember, the Safestyle GuardDoor launched with the highest available British Standards for security and durability in domestic doors, the PAS 23 and PAS 24, and now with these latest new security upgrades, our composite doors are even more secure for our customers’ peace of mind.

Amongst the expanded glass design ranges are stunning new bevels and fusion tiles. These thermally fused tiles are small works of art in themselves, made from coloured glass pieces which are fused together under very high temperatures, giving a startling effect to the finished product, and with various colours available.

Variety of colours is one of the most attractive aspects of the entire Safestyle composite door range, with all GuardDoors available in red, green, blue, black, white, and the realistic wood effects of Oak and Rosewood. The frets for glass designs can also come in the same colour as the door or white.

Finally, one of the most impressive new additions is the arched head formation, which allows you to create an array of designs around your door, including a sweeping arched glass design overhead and glass panels down the sides. This gives a stunning appearance to the entrance of the home, allowing your front door to give quite an impression!

Over the years, there have been various female superstars featuring in our Safestyle TV commercials, including Cheryl Baker of Bucks Fizz fame. While many people tend to remember the quirky male personalities - like Jeff “The Window Man” Brown, ex-Coronation Street star Ken Morley, comedy duo Cannon and Ball, and the zany Frank Sidebottom - there are several interesting female counterparts with strong personalities of their own.

One of our latest TV commercials features the bespectacled new female face of Safestyle, Hannah Smith, as the sexy whip-wielding “Window Techie” who heads a laboratory of window boffins testing the latest glazing technology.

Some may remember the Safestyle Window Man’s bruising encounters with Janine Foster, another stern and stylish brunette, where Jeff was being foiled at every turn, having windows and doors slammed in his face (hence one of the ad’s names, “Slamming”), while our heroine calmly delivered the style and security benefits of Safestyle’s energy saving double glazing.

Yet another distinctive female Safestyle TV personality is that of Laura Jaye, the friendly blonde who presented several of our energy saving ads. Her vibrant and colourful delivery makes for a memorable impression, and is a little different from our normal style.

Look out for more new Safestyle TV ads, coming soon!

Safestyle's Diamond Account prize draw for August has taken place and the lucky winners are William and Eileen Tasker. The Portsmouth couple won the seventh prize draw, which  takes place quarterly to reward customers who pay for their Safestyle windows and doors through the Diamond Account easy flexible monthly payments plan. The draw originally began in 2007, and winners have their remaining outstanding balance paid off in full.

Diamond Account customers can take advantage of various benefits, including fantastic further discounts and offers from partner companies, as well as gaining automatic entry into the prize draw. The Taskers have won £5,931 and now they get to enjoy their new energy efficient Safestyle double glazing for free!

As you would expect, the couple were elated, and William, who works at the local hospital, said: "My wife and I were delighted when we found out. It's a large amount of money that we can now spend on improving other areas of our house, and hopefully if we have enough left over, we'll use it for a good holiday!"

Safestyle's safe and secure replacement windows and doors seem to have made quite an impression, with the Taskers recommending us to their family and friends. "We're really happy with our new windows, Safestyle did a great job," said William, "And they provided an excellent, quick service so we weren't inconvenienced in any way, and I've since recommended them to friends and relatives."

Safestyle's next Diamond Account prize draw takes place in November 2009, so look out for that - if you're a Diamond Account Club Member, it could be you!

Our famously loud Safestyle Window Man recently stormed the factory for a surprise visit, much to the delight of our hard working manufacturing force and management. We expect they could hear him coming as Jeff "The Window Man" Brown went to meet and greet everyone in person over the course of the day. He saw firsthand the latest product developments and double glazing manufacturing machinery that Safestyle has invested in to upgrade and keep ahead with cutting edge glazing technology.

Safestyle's Factory Operations Manager, Keith Jones, was delighted to welcome the Window Man. "I would like to thank Jeff Brown for taking the time out to come down to our Barnsley site," said Keith, "It was an experience to say the least, he had everyone in hysterics." It appears Jeff was a real hit, "By the end of his visit people were jumping off fork lift trucks to have their picture taken with the famous Window Man."

The Window Man himself found the whole experience enlightening, seeing our Safestyle windows and doors being made right before his eyes. "We have very impressive facilities, and it makes you very, very proud, to see every worker so very focused," said Jeff, "I think everyone who works at Safestyle should visit there!"

Jeff's visit seems to have made a dramatic impact, both on him and the team at the factory. "The big thing for me was it makes you feel part of the team," said Jeff, "When I left there that day, I felt such a great pride and responsibility in representing our people, to help keep their livelihoods secure, by letting everyone know on TV, and in my travels, about how great our energy saving glazing products really are!"

Jeff was impressed with his reception, "Thanks for the hospitality (the buffet and my egg butty was great), everyone was such a great laugh, they made me feel so welcome and it's so heartening to know we have a huge team of tremendously nice, hard-working people, producing the very best double glazing windows and doors in the land!"

The double glazing industry still appears in the grips of recession, but Safestyle windows are bucking the trend. We've also enjoyed a solid June performance, our replacement window business flourishing thanks to the efforts of our Sales and Canvass teams who have shown hard work and commitment - nice one! With July we see the start of some exciting new competitions to run alongside the ones we already have.

For our Marketing Canvassers, the "Rookie Club" & "Canvass Club" have been completely revamped and updated. The all-new and exciting Clubs are now in effect with lots of great new prizes to be won. They are so impressive and the initial reaction is that they've never been so good. Targets have been set, to be achieved and rewarded with fantastic prizes!

The "July Jungle Madness" is also on! This is a new Safestyle competition where all our branches have been placed into 10 groups of 3 and the way it works is simple: top your group (based on written business) and choose your prize - either a fun-packed day go-karting, or an action-packed day paint-balling with Jeff "The Window Man" Brown! So the message is work hard together, achieve your potential and enjoy your prize with your team!

Another major incentive development is the "Safestyle UK Reward Scheme" which has already started and the way it works is that our regional, branch and team managers all have targets set which, if they achieve the criteria, gives 50 Reward Points each time. They can then collect their points and exchange them for prizes, choosing to claim a small prize or save up and accumulate more points until they have enough to exchange them for one of the amazing top mega-prizes! To accompany this, the new Safestyle Reward Scheme glossy brochure is going out to all our branches.

With so much being invested in Safestyle's future, it's never been more rewarding to work hard and reach the potential we all have within ourselves. If you aren't already part of the Safestyle team, why not join us today? You can apply online, it's quick and easy!

As replacement windows and doors from Safestyle UK come in various styles and designs, with a plethora of options, you can be sure to find the right double glazing choice for you. Whether your primary aims are for energy efficiency to reduce your bills, stylish designs for attractive looks, or the peace of mind that comes with high security features, at Safestyle we’ve got all your boxes ticked.

It goes without saying that, like any product you can buy, that all replacement windows are not the same. You can of course buy cheap products which are widely available, but with Safestyle you can still keep to your budget while still being confident you’re getting not only a top quality product but one that it comes with the backing of an award-winning national company local to you, with extensive product guarantees, as well as the technology and research development that we as a manufacturer invest in to bring you the latest cutting edge double glazing technology.

When you buy Safestyle replacement windows and doors, you are getting a product made from 100% new, virgin PVCu – an important distinction from many double glazing products on the market that are partly recycled to produce a cheaply-priced product and that, as a result, tend to warp and discolour after a few short years.

Recycling is still important to Safestyle though as we recycle all that is recyclable, including any waste at our factory and all the old windows and doors that we remove when we install brand new Safestyle replacement windows up and down the country.

In this economic climate the nation is still experiencing, our energy saving window range is proving very popular, and public focus will soon shift to getting ready for winter to keep the coming heating bills down.

While there maybe positive signs of let-up in the economic climate, at Safestyle we're doing anything but letting-up. Our drive and approach is still the same as it was before the downturn began: bringing you the latest energy saving double glazing technology to England and Wales, without compromise. Our resilience to the economic storm is now paying even greater dividends, with the calibre of our people rising and emphasis on recruitment at even higher levels than in the past. Our Sales, Canvass and Installation forces continue to expand and strengthen.

Ongoing training is also a main focus: improving the knowledge base and skill levels of our workforces, which will provide added benefits every aspect, including production and efficiency, enabling us to pass on greater benefits to our customers. The accreditations and qualifications continue to be gained, with many high level NVQ passes and ILM Team Leading successes, in partnership with local colleges.

With the Safestyle order book continuing to grow, production continues to increase. The volumes ordered and produced at our factory, Safestyle Manufacturing, are impressive and encouraging, particularly considering the industry's meant to be in a recession. New product updates and developments include improvements to inhouse composite door production with full PAS 23/34 and integrated stock management systems.

Our production team like to play hard as well as work hard and, as with all at Safestyle, our competitive streak is deeply ingrained. Recently they took to the racing track at P&R Karting Challenge Cup 2009, with Safestyle beating the Anglian windows team on the way to a respectable 4th place finish.

On the marketing and advertising front, the Safestyle Window Man has literally been in action in a new TV ad, the first of several coming very soon. Watch this space!