Housing in Southern Africa November 2015

Doors, Windows, Floors & Walls

Energy efficient dou

I n setting up its Skyward Windows division, the Skyward Group (for- merly Matlapeng Housing) has partnered with a number of interna- tional companies in order to bring to South Africa the highly specialised equipment, software, and expertise needed to manufacture the energy efficient doors and windows. The factory will be located in Atlantis, Cape Town. Skyward Windows partners in- clude Pavlu Complex, a Czech turn- key engineering firm experienced in setting up such factories, Aluplast, a specialist producer of uPVC profiles formulated for the harsh African en- vironment, GU, a leading European manufacturer of sophisticated lock- ing and hardware systems, and Klaes, the leadingGermandoor andwindow manufacturing software supplier. The combined expertise of the various companies ensures that the windows will be produced to world class standards and meet the speci- fications of SANS 10400XA, which is themost recent amendment to South Africa’s national building regulations. The amendment sets a new standard for thermal and solar efficiency in glazing in buildings. It requires that all windows installed innewbuildings as well as renovated ones be energy efficient. Double glazing is the easiest and, often, the only way to achieve compliance with the new standard. “Skyward has used the uPVC win- dows in its own affordable housing developments in the Northern Cape because of the significant benefits for homeowners,” says Will Jimerson, Director and Co-founder of Musa

The Skyward Group provides innovative solutions for the delivery of housing and is breaking new ground by producing double glazed uPVC doors and windows, which are manufactured locally.

projects, making them more afford- able. By being the largest and most sophisticated local manufacturer of double glazed uPVC windows and doors of the correct specifications, we are now a preferred supplier to construction companies andproperty managers needing to complywith en- ergy efficiency legislation. This will all contribute to our economies of scale, with the cost benefits again flowing through to the consumer.” Jimerson comments, “At the same time, Skyward Windows creates jobs through the new factory anddevelops skills through the application locally of world class technologies. Wemake a contribution towards reducing South Africa’s reliance on imports. And, we reduce carbon footprints for

Capital, a Johannesburg-based pri- vate equity firm, which through their Kubu Fund, has a major stake in the Skyward Group. Jimerson says, “An energy effi- cient home creates tangible savings for people faced with affordability issues – and Skyward’s focus has al- ways been on finding ways to enable affordable housing to be both built and bought. To expand Skyward’s ability to do this, we are enhancing the company’s portfolio of products and services by creating greater syn- ergies among our various offerings. Our new windows division achieves this on many different fronts.” He explains, “This enables us to eliminate the cost of importing the uPVC windows for our own housing

November 2015