The Lake District company has now been trading with Shepley for over 10 years and remains under the keen eye of Brian Robinson. Brian and his team cover the whole of Cumbria as well as surrounding areas of rural NW England and the Scottish borders. With a team of 6 sales staff based at the Keswick and Workington showrooms, the sparsity of the area's population often means a great deal of travelling. "A sales manager will often have to make a long journey on country roads to service what may turn out to be a rather speculative enquiry," says Brian. "For this reason, our sales team must be highly motivated without resorting to hard sell tactics. Consumers within our community seldom respond well to high pressure selling and are often suspicious of gimmicks, so our sales proposition is based on quality and providing value for money."

Although he'd never consider living anywhere else (the area's beauty is well documented), Brian admits a trace of envy to those installers who operate within a small radius. Large travel distances also mean that leads generated must be sound and, although Superglaze feature prominently in the local press, recommendations form a significantly large part of their enquiry base.

With large tracts of the region designated as a National Park, Cumbria has more than its fair share of conservation areas. This obviously has ramifications on how and where a home improvement company can operate. Properties within conservation areas require planning permission for any major home improvement. Generally, changes to the front or side of the house will be refused, but Superglaze will apply on their customer's behalf for any work they feel will receive approval. National Park status also means a lack of new build properties that elsewhere feeds a demand for conservatory sales.

Recent increases in sales are, however, funding ambitious growth plans. The company is currently working on a new conservatory show site adjacent to its existing Keswick showroom. With all industry figures pointing to a growth in the conservatory sector, the company's new show site will be the region's largest to provide a low pressure, high quality environment to further boost sales and increase the installer's already high reputation. The identity of the showroom will be of a nationwide network of retailers that offer tried and tested products manufactured by an award winning fabricator. "The fact that Shepley's installer network represents an annual retail value of around £100 million and installs nearly 7,000 conservatories per year provides a high level of reassurance to my customers. This, with Keswick's strong regional identity, leaves us with a customer proposition that is unmatched amongst my competitors," said Brian.

Keswick's management also aims to take further advantage of Shepley's marketing department. With past experience of showroom design, branding and launch campaigns, Shepley's marketing manager, James Brisbane, is ideally placed to assist. "Not only do we have in-house resources," said James, "but close links with other customers who have undergone similar projects further expands our pool of knowledge for Brian to tap into."

Being Shepley's longest serving customer, you would expect a degree of kinship between the two companies, but figures show an almost symbiotic relationship. The companies' growth patterns have been similar over the years and with constant dialogue, mutual feedback has fuelled many an initiative on both sides. "The fact that Shepley is a progressive company has kept us on our toes over the years," said Brian, "and we certainly take a pride in the assistance we have given them throughout our relationship. I'm confident that this feeling of mutual respect will see us flourish further in the years to come."