Impressive products and additional services
The switch to Winkhaus went smoothly and offers many possibilities for reacting to customers and addressing their requests. The customer base includes private builders and joiners in the region of central Thuringia. The share of the nationwide building project business is growing continuously and now accounts for around 75 percent of sales. The high-quality components are installed by experienced employees, above all in residential buildings, commercial buildings, retirement homes and nursing homes. LARU is now at the forefront of the market, especially when it comes to residential security and comfort.
“I was absolutely impressed by the Winkhaus autoLock AV3 automatic security door locking system and the simple operation of the daytime latch, as well as the RC2 test certificate,” Langhammer recalls, “this is how our cooperation began.” It soon became apparent how well the partnership works. “At Winkhaus, I am always met with open ears when I have an issue. Product development is innovative and the plants work very flexibly, so that I receive prompt solutions for a wide range of tasks.” After a successful year together, window production in Kirchhasel also switched to Winkhaus in 2016. This coincided with an invitation to tender for a project in which “opelosing” fittings were required. LARU now has a unique selling point (see info box) with these innovative ventilation fittings.
Optimally coordinated processes – less stress
“It was important to us to take the employees with us during the changeover,” recalls the managing director. An initial scepticism among the workforce quickly dissipated with the realisation that everybody stands to benefit from innovative products.
“The mounting actually hasn’t changed very much,” says Sabine Rosemeyer, who has been with the company for thirty years. She and her colleagues benefit from many new advantages: there are significantly fewer components and identical parts for windows up to security class RC2. The mushroom-head shaped octagonal locking bolts can be adjusted very easily and with great control thanks to markings at 0.2 mm increments, and they have a large air gap tolerance. In addition, significantly lower operating forces are now required, which is easily noticeable in security classes up to RC3 and in the large sashes on the window handle. Additional components such as the sash lifter, the dual and triple-function element with fail-safe device ensure that the surrounding air gap is maintained and reduce subsequent adjustment work on the elements.
