Sustainability has been creeping up the agenda in every corner of life, and as more people holiday in the UK, there is more pressure for the holiday park sector to stay ahead of the eco-conscious curve. Sustainable building products can be a quick and easy solution with outstanding results.
The popularity of UK holiday parks continues to increase in the UK as domestic holiday makers look for a more affordable way to get away from it all. But as the sector enjoys more bookings, the pressure is on to keep standards high. Not just in terms of providing quality, clean lodgings, but also in terms of showing a commitment to sustainability. While a lot has already been done to make parks more sustainable, there is still a lot of potential to upgrade and future proof the very fabric of holiday homes.
Sustainability is already on the radar of UK holiday parks but as a survey of 666 holiday park operators by the UK Caravan & Camping Alliance (UKCCA) demonstrated, while most providers are implementing sustainable initiatives like more recycling, or conserving water and energy, there is still a lot of potential to improve the sustainability of the caravans, lodges and mobile homes themselves.
profine UK has been designing and developing window and door systems since 1954 but has more recently been quietly shaping the future of sustainable building products. As a design-led, environmentally conscious manufacturer, the company is perfectly positioned to support the holiday park industry in its move towards greater sustainability.
The most innovative company you have never heard of
MD of profine UK, Robert Thiroff, explains how the company’s established offering is the perfect solution for UK holiday and residential lodges, mobile homes and caravans. “Although our roots are in PVC window and door systems, we have been operating somewhat under the radar in the building products space for some time and have more recently added decking, balustrading, cladding, fencing, and internal panels to our portfolio – all with sustainability at their core. With this complete offering now in place, we are ready to share our story far and wide.
“All of our building products are made to our exacting standards, often offer technically better features than our competitors, and have been manufactured with a genuine company-wide commitment to sustainability. Our new extruded decking system, for example, is made using up to 98% recycled material, including old window frames. Every window we take out and every off cut from our fabricators comes back to us for a stringent process of prepping the material for recycling. We strip away any steel, aluminium or glass and re-extrude what is left into new products. And these new products are outperforming the market.”
Surpassing expectations
The building products manufactured by profine using recycled materials come without compromise for holiday park operators. The range of decking looks superb, but it also surpasses traditional timber because it doesn’t warp, twist or rot over time, and it is anti-slip, weather resistant and colourfast, without needing lots of ongoing maintenance.
profine also offers an integrated balustrading solution that suites in with the high-performance decking and equally performs for the long term, again without the time-consuming maintenance that is necessary with timber alternatives. As an integrated system, the colour can remain consistent across all capping, trims, posts, and ancillaries for an elevated, premium look. The system also has an expected lifespan of 25 years, ensuring a durable and therefore cost-effective solution.
The colour-matching capabilities continue for the whole environment too. Thanks to the complete range on offer from profine UK and its sister brands including Kömmerling and WarmCore, windows, doors, decking, balustrading and fencing are all available in complementary colours. Even foiled aluminium doors can be matched with the PVC systems for a cohesive finish. This suited look can bring a premium feel to the whole environment and gives an excellent first impression for people browsing for their next break.
Eco-conscious manufacturing to deliver top end products
“Our recycled building materials offer holiday parks a top-end option,” continues Thiroff, “because they deliver on durability and consistency. And our Greenline range takes the commitment even further by giving customers a visible signpost to the recycled origins of the materials, proving that eco-conscious manufacturing can deliver the very best in performance as well as aesthetics.”
The company’s WarmCore brand continues the commitment to innovation with a hybrid aluminium system with a PVC-U core that delivers up to 25% better thermal performance than conventional aluminium frames. And with no compromise to aesthetics, keeping the slim frames people have come to expect from aluminium. The WarmCore system is also manufactured using recycled materials.
It’s what’s on the inside that counts
But it’s not just about the outside, the inside of a caravan or mobile home is just as important.
Thiroff explains how the company can help upgrade an interior space too: “profine manufactures laminated wall panels that can be used to renovate a space quickly and easily. For example, if a bathroom or bedroom looks a bit tired, our panels can be added without removing any tiles or disturbing any services. We have already supplied the same panels to renovate Disney hotels and McDonalds restaurants, so tweaking this expertise for the holiday park market has been easy to do.
“There is an increasingly urgent need among caravan and mobile home owners and on a larger scale among holiday park operators to future proof holiday park accommodation with premium, sustainable, low maintenance building materials, and our suite of products allows them to do just that.”
profine UK is a force to be reckoned with profiling over a 700 million euros globally, but it is the UK operation based in Huthwaite that is spearheading the movement towards high-quality, design driven products that are made from recycled materials. And it is this range of products that are being tailored for the specific needs of the UK holiday and residential caravan, lodge and mobile home market, to provide a long-term sustainable solution.
