Somfy’s new market manager for commercial building solutions Charlotte Townend tells Blinds & Shutters about the opportunities ahead for the company

Somfy, the manufacturer and supplier of tubular motors and integrated control systems, has recently appointed Charlotte Townend as the new market manager for commercial building solutions at their London office based in Islington.

Charlotte’s aim is to strengthen Somfy’s relationship with architects, specifiers and building professionals across the UK. This is done by promoting the commercial and environmental benefits of integrated window management and control systems. Charlotte will develop a range of programs to educate and inform decision makers through advertising, PR, CPD’s, conferences and direct marketing - whilst at the same time forming strong relationships with key players in the industry.

Commenting on her new appointment, Charlotte Townend said: “This is an exciting time for Somfy, we are seeing significant growth in sales relating to integrated control systems for motorised blinds. We need to continue developing our range of products and services to adapt to these changes and feed the growth we are seeing. Specifiers in the UK are becoming much more aware of the business case for installing automated shading, and the possibilities that can be achieved.  It’s no longer only a matter of aesthetics and convenience, sustainable design and compliance with relevant legislation such as Part L2 are pushing architects and designers to new boundaries. They are now obliged to consider the construction of the facade in a more holistic way by recognising the façade as a filter to different elements both internally and externally.  By controlling the levels of light and heat entering a building we can reduce operating costs, save on energy bills and make buildings more comfortable for occupants, which can lead to enhanced productivity. We need to continue highlighting the benefits of specifying automated solar shading from the design stage and demonstrate how intelligent control systems can be linked with sustainable and innovative building design.

We have merely scratched the surface when it comes to specifying control systems for motorised solar protection.  As more and more successful commercial building projects continue to emerge incorporating control systems like Animeo IB+ (Somfy’s proprietary system) and our customers become more confident about promoting motorisation to their clients.  We are going to see a huge amount of change as a result. Many of our customers who are actively ensuring they incorporate motorisation as part of their offer and keeping-up-to-date with the latest developments in automation are already seeing the huge benefits motorisation can bring to their business and profit margins. They are staying ahead of the game and we are helping them to do so by providing regular meetings to identify their needs and develop appropriate training programmes from installer level and sales teams to supporting business owners in developing their business for motorisation. “

Per Holgersson, commercial manager for this division at Somfy UK added: “The majority of automated solutions that are installed in the UK are powered and controlled by Somfy, however there is still a long way to go. Currently only 2 per cent of blinds in the UK are motorised. This highlights the enormous potential there is and Charlotte is the ideal person to help us develop the market.”

An important part of Charlotte’s role is to develop and educate architects about the concept of Dynamic Façade Management through Somfy’s RIBA approved CPD (continuing professional development) seminar programme entitled “Complying with building regulations part L2 through Dynamic Façade Management” to architectural practices across the UK. CPD’s will make up a considerable part of Charlotte’s role and will generate a number of interesting project enquiries which are passed onto Somfy’s customers. Somfy have a number of customers in the industry who also deliver their own CPD programmes. Charlotte will be responsible for supporting these customers by helping them develop interesting and informative presentations which not only promote the benefits of motorisation and integrated controls, but also help to drive their business forward in terms of keeping up with the latest product developments, trends and creating new case studies which bring their projects to life, a key element of delivering a successful CPD seminar. Somfy are also a member of the CPD Certification Service. Charlotte will participate in road seminar tours across the country and regularly attend industry events and taskforce meetings to stay ahead of the emerging market trends in sustainable building design and intelligent building solutions along with key industry technologies. 

Charlotte is currently driving Somfy’s development of a new CBS (commercial building solutions) website, dedicated to architects, specifiers and building professionals as well as customers involved in commercial projects. The site www.somfy.co.uk/cbs is planned to be launched along with Somfy’s new B2C website in January 2008. The additional site will incorporate editorial and interactive content that will reinforce Somfy as a key player in the construction industry for motorisation and integrated control systems providing designers, project managers and design professionals with the essential technical information they need in order to make it easier for them to specify Somfy solutions.

Charlotte recently attended a three day Living Architecture Seminar coordinated by Somfy International. The conference brought together a number of prestigious international architects, green building professionals and façade engineers from all over the world. The three day seminar held in Frankfurt gave visitors the opportunity to learn, through a number of lectures and workshops, about green buildings and how to implement this concept from design stage. Charlotte accompanied two architects from the UK and Mikkel Kragh of Arup Associates who was invited to speak at the seminar from a building physics perspective on design of advanced facades and Karim Muallem of Zaha Hadid a leading architecture practice in the UK. Charlotte plans to invite a number of architects to the Living Architecture in 2008, and said “the first conference held by Somfy saw twenty delegates from around the world, this year (being 2007), the number of delegates increased to approximately 100 and we expect the conference in 2008 to be an even greater success”.

• Somfy