5 Minutes With Jeremy Dunn, Glazing Vision's Technical Director

How long have you been in the industry?

I started working for Crittall Windows in 1984 working with Steel and Aluminium door, window and curtain walling systems. In 1988 I joined English Architectural Glazing which is where I first got to work with rooflights and have been in the industry ever since, so 38 years working in the glazing industry and 34 working with rooflights.

How long have you been with Glazing Vision, how has your role progressed?

I joined Glazing Vision in May 2001 so I have been with Glazing Vision 21 years. I joined as Technical Director and still hold this title but the role has changed as the company has grown. We just had 12 employees when I started with a turnover of £1.5m. We now have 110 employees with a turnover of £11m. We also are now an International business so have to develop solutions and understand the requirements for multiple markets around the world.

What other commitments do you have relating to our industry?

In addition to my direct role at Glazing Vision I am also a Director on the Board of the National Association of Rooflight Manufacturers (NARM) and represent NARM at Eurolux, the European Trade Association for rooflight manufacturers. I also currently Chair BSI Committee B/542/8 which is the mirror committee for CEN/TC128/SC9/WG2 where I represent BSI/UK. I am also currently one of two representatives for the rooflight industry on the CPR Aquis Sub-group 4 at the European Commission.

Why does our industry interest you and what’s kept you within the industry for this length of time?

It’s not the career I had in mind when I studied Mechanical Engineering at Polytechnic 40 years ago but one of my industrial placements, during my studies, was with Crittall Windows and it turned out to be much more interesting and creative than I had imagined. My work has always been involved in designing project specific solutions rather than just standard products and due to the imagination of the architects designs that we get presented with there is always a challenge to find a solution and integrate it into a building. In more recent years, through my work within NARM I have been able to get involved with standardisation work and help influence the direction of regulation relating to rooflights which all adds variety and challenges.

How have our products progressed during the time you have worked at Glazing Vision? Is there a particular innovative change that stands out for you?

The biggest change has probably been the improved thermal efficiency and air tightness we can now achieve across our range. We have also developed our own control systems, when I first started we had a very simple control with a limit switch and relay. We now have a fully integrated control system which is micro-processor controlled to be able to seamlessly drive multiple synchronised motors, incorporate rain, temperature and humidity sensors as well as various safety and override devices and more recently include IoT functionality.

Favourite product and why?

I like all the sliding rooflights but I think the Free Standing Skybox is probably my favourite. It is the most recent sliding product that we released and so has all the latest design features. The manual override and thermal performance as well as the aesthetics are the best we have produced yet. It has also been thoroughly tested to both European and US standards. There are no other products like this on the market.

Working on a rooflight project you’d like some help with? Contact us now, we’d be happy to help.