Security guaranteed with Gerda

Security guaranteed with Gerda

The darker, winter months are statistically the worst time of year for residential burglaries and while the overall number of incidents has fallen steeply over the years, the latest figures are still alarming, with 166,577 break-ins reported in England and Wales in 2025/2025.

Averaged out, that’s 456 home burglaries a day or one every 189 seconds. With 70% of criminals reportedly gaining access through the front door, it’s unsurprising that security remains one of the top priorities for consumers when it comes to new and replacement entrance doors.

According to the latest UK Consumer Fenestration Trends Report, which surveyed over 5,300 homeowners from across the UK – gathering valuable data on product preferences, demographics and spending projections – ‘quality’ was rated as the most important factor for consumers, followed very closely by ‘security’.

While this would imply that homeowners are going out of their way to select the most robust front doors on the market, the same survey also reveals that PVC and composite doors as clear leaders in terms of volume sold.

This is despite the fact these doors offer varying degrees of security and the reputation of composites, which are well known to be vulnerable to warping and twisting. In some extreme cases, they can get so out of shape that hardware no longer even engages properly.

For Danny Williams, managing director of Essex trade fabricator, Pioneer Trading Company, poor quality, underperforming composites are a personal bugbear and are the reason he was inspired to introduce a superior solution to the UK with the introduction of the Gerda brand.

Do composite doors warp and bow?

“Composites are inherently prone to warping because they’re constructed from a variety of different materials,” he says. “Those components will react differently to temperature extremes on the internal and external sides of the door and this is what causes them to twist.

“The rise in demand for grey, black and darker colour finishes, especially on south facing properties that will retain heat has exasperated the issue. It’s a well-known problem in the trade and was a major headache for my customers – which is why I felt compelled to find an entrance door that would eliminate costly remedial work once and for all.”

Originally developed for mainland Europe, Gerda Doors are engineered from steel and aluminium – built around a highly energy efficient polyurethane core that can deliver U values from as low as 0.8 W/m2k – and as a result, are immune from the warping and bowing found in lesser composites.

This strength also means that they are highly secure as standard, boasting PAS24 accreditation and the European RC3 burglar-resistant classification.

Gerda Doors are also compatible with Tedee smart locks, an advanced security solution that integrates mechanical and digital protection that is designed to give homeowners a seamless and secure way to control access to their property.

“Tedee was developed by Gerda’s hardware division, so the technology is a natural fit, is quick and easy to install and adds real value for homeowner customers that are looking for smart security options,” says Danny.

Gerda doors – contemporary designs

And while a door constructed from steel and aluminium may sound like a product more suited to a commercial environment, Danny is quick to point out that Gerda Doors are actually presented in a range of stylish and contemporary designs and finishes perfectly suited to the UK residential door sector.

“Gerda Doors are a premium retail product, they look fantastic,” continues Danny. “But the quality of engineering and design of a Gerda Door can only really be fully appreciated once you’ve had a chance to physically operate one, to feel the weight and hear the ‘thunk’ when closed.

“It’s a visceral experience but it absolutely communicates that this is a door that is going to properly secure a property, no matter what you throw at it.”

The reassuring Gerda ‘thunk’ is a marketing theme that has already been successfully communicated to a trade audience, as well as directly to homeowners via showrooms up and down the country thanks to Gerda’s growing retail network.

But it is now due to be amplified considerably, thanks to the launch of a new TV advertising campaign, launching on GB News in the New Year.

Love the Thunk – Close a Gerda

“When you consider that homeowners place security above all else for entrance doors, the sound of the ‘thunk’ is an incredibly powerful foundation for the new TV ads,” explains Danny.

“It helps establish an emotional connection to the brand and ultimately it will deliver real value to our trade partners as consumers actively seek out Gerda retailers.

“And while the ‘thunk’ is an effective marketing hook, it’s also the perfect way to impress on people the difference between a Gerda door and a regular composite. After all, you can have the best hardware in the business, but if it’s fitted to a composite, there will always be a concern that it could be compromised.

“For a relatively modest additional premium, Gerda Doors takes away all that doubt, with levels of security, energy efficiency and aesthetics that some composites door brands can only dream about.”