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Leading fabricator TruFrame made a significant contribution to the design and development of Mila’s new range of Heritage espag handles, so it’s no surprise that it has become one of the first customers to start fitting the new handles on its flush sash windows.
TruFrame worked closely with Mila’s design team to give a fabricator’s perspective on how the perfect ‘heritage’ espag handle would look and function – and the finished product ticks every item on its wish list.
Stand-out features include a ‘proper’ push-button key locking mechanism, a simple push-fit screw cover cap, with faux clocked screw detail for truly authentic styling, and a unique rosette key design.
For Patrick Firmager, TruFrame’s Project Director, it’s the perfect example of what can be achieved when suppliers and fabricators work in close partnership. TruFrame has a new selling point, which can help its customers win more business, while Mila has a product with widespread fabricator appeal.
He explained: “During this project, we were able to leverage our own experience in the factory and our customers’ direct feedback to ensure that we could design out all the issues present in our existing range of heritage window handles from a different supplier. We knew we could help make this range from Mila more attractive, easier to fit and much less prone to mechanical failure.
“Being able to touch and hold physical prototypes at the various design stages gave that all important sense of how the handles would feel, whilst seeing and being able to provide feedback on the planned range of finishes was super important. We’re particularly pleased with the new ‘pewter patina’ finish which looks great on both the pear drop and monkey tail versions. We’re already fitting the handles on both our standard flush sash windows and our premium range of Refine™ double-rebated flush sash windows.
“This was a really fun project to be a part of. Not only did we get the opportunity to influence the overall design language, but I genuinely believe that working collaboratively has resulted in a better finished product.”
For Mila, involving a fabricator like TruFrame at an early stage in the design process helped it to prioritise the USPs on the new handle range and bring to the market a product which it knew already had a guaranteed audience.
Richard Gyde, Mila’s Managing Director added: “We regularly design bespoke products for customers when there are really big volumes involved, but for a fairly niche product like heritage handles, that was never going to be possible.
“However, TruFrame recognised the very real advantages of having design input into a product which would be available to the wider market, on the basis that they would also benefit from the economies of scale.”
The Mila Heritage range is already proving extremely popular with customers fabricating in all of the big name sculptured and flush sash ranges, including the likes of Liniar, Deceuninck, Epwin, Rehau and Residence 9.
Monkey tail and pear drop espag handles are available in both left and right-handed options, and there is also a fully suited range of peg stays and faux butt hinges to complete the overall look. The entire range comes in nine classic and modern finishes, including textured black and textured pewter, matt black, white, polished chrome, polished gold, satin chrome, pewter patina and antique bronze.
The espag handles have been independently tested to PAS24: 2016 and are Secured by Design accredited. As buyers would expect from Mila, they also come with a 10-year guarantee on both finish and performance.
More details are at: mila.co.uk/heritage-espag-handles/
