I spent almost a whole day out of the office earlier this week shooting a comedy video in Telford – to be honest, not words I ever thought I’d be writing on this blog - but it was all in the name of promoting next year’s FIT show.

I spent a couple of days at Fensterbau and, as always, I left the show on Friday in no doubt about just how impressive the German industrial machine still is.

The issue of lock snapping remains a hot topic with lots of online blogs and forums continuing to debate the merits of broadcasting information about the risks.

Last week, an episode of the BBC’s Inside Out programme aired in Yorkshire with a feature on the issue of lock snapping … and our phone lines have been ringing ever since.

I was at the press launch of the Fabricator and Installer Trade show (FIT) on Thursday – the new exhibition for the glass and glazing industry that will be taking place in Telford in April 2013.

It was with a certain amount of sadness that I heard the news that Avocet had been placed in the hands of the administrators.

A belated Happy New Year!  Sadly, the Christmas holidays seem a distant memory already, but to be honest it’s not our New Year which has been occupying my thoughts this week but the Chinese New Year coming up at the end of the month.

As Christmas approaches, it’s tempting to see the extended break as just a welcome holiday and a chance to recharge the batteries before the start of next year.

Mila was named Component Supplier of the Year at the G-11 Awards on Friday night.

In my last blog, I mentioned that I was heading east to visit the Fenestration China exhibition in Beijing and to see some of Mila’s key suppliers in the Far East.  Now that I’m back from the exhibition, I thought I’d post my thoughts on the trip.