Case Study: Gowercroft

Background

Gowercroft designs, manufactures, and installs high-quality bespoke joinery for both internal and external applications. The company has built a strong reputation across private residential, commercial, and specialist one-off projects, where precision and finish are critical.

Prior to adopting Qwood in August 2015, traditional timber beading presented ongoing challenges within production. To accommodate natural movement, a 1mm expansion gap was required—introducing variability that made it difficult to achieve a consistent, high-end finish. This also increased time in the fitting stage, with additional adjustment needed to achieve the desired result.

At the same time, a move towards laminated timber reduced the availability of suitable offcuts for producing beads, creating inefficiencies and additional material waste.

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“Easy to work with, easy to use.”

Solution

Working in partnership with QPSL, Gowercroft introduced bespoke Qwood beading profiles tailored to their manufacturing requirements.

Qwood eliminates the issues associated with expansion and warping, allowing beads to be fitted cleanly without the need for tolerance gaps. This delivers a tighter, more traditional aesthetic while significantly reducing the need for remedial work.

Crucially, Qwood integrates seamlessly into existing workshop processes. It can be machined and installed using standard tools, requiring no changes to production methods. While material costs remain comparable to Accoya, the overall cost efficiency is improved through meaningful labour savings.

Additional benefits include:

Reduced time in the fitting and finishing stages
Elimination of elements within the painting process
Greater consistency across production runs
Less reliance on timber offcuts, improving material efficiency

Thanks to Qwood’s lean manufacturing and reliable lead times, Gowercroft can also reduce stock holding—freeing up cash flow and workshop space, while maintaining confidence in supply.

Testimonial

“Switching to Qwood has made a real difference to both our manufacturing efficiency and the consistency of our finished product. It machines just like timber but without the unpredictability—saving us time in fitting, reducing rework, and helping us achieve a much cleaner, more reliable finish every time.”

Qwood Bead Innovation

Qwood is a timber composite which reflects the natural look and feel of timber. It can be machined just like traditional bars and beads, but it has no knots, defects, or imperfections. It is resistant to temperature and environmental changes, and will far outlast its timber alternatives.

A major advantage which Qwood has over traditional timber beads is the labour time saved in the manufacturing process. Every profile can be used straight out of the box, with no prep work. There is no need for de-nibbing, sanding, or other time-consuming tasks, and only a top coat of paint is required. The bars and beads can simply be cut to size with traditional joinery methods, and they are ready to paint and fit.

Qwood also has the benefit of superior longevity. It will not warp, rot, or swell over time, meaning that remedial work is greatly reduced. It is extremely stable, and its durability ensures excellent long-term performance. Plus, all of the timber which goes into the wood fibres used to manufacture Qwood is sourced from sustainably managed forests in Germany with full Chain of Custody certification available.

The products which Qwood manufactures includes various glazing bars and beads for casement windows, staff and parting beads for sliding sash windows, and a range of profiles for doors. As all Qwood profiles come ready-made, there is no need to select suitable timber pieces, or run them through a spindle moulder. Simply remove the profiles from the box, and use every piece, every time.