Where Are Your Real-Wood Shutters Made?

“Where are your real-wood shutters made?” This is a question we get asked regularly.

All the major shutter retailers in the UK have their real-wood shutters made in China by a company called NienMade.

And while manufacturing takes about five days, the rest of the delivery time is taken up by sea freight. The proverbial slow boat from China.

NienMade supplies all the leading UK wood shutter suppliers, including John Lewis, Clement Browne, Hillarys, Edinburgh Shutter Company, Acorn Shutters, S-Craft, Shuttercraft and of course, us here at The Scottish Shutter Company.

Not only that, as Norman International they are also one of the biggest suppliers to the most discerning of shutter markets, the USA.

Designed in Scotland

At The Scottish Shutter Company, we are a little bit different. We design all our shutters here in Scotland for subsequent manufacture by Nien Made. Unlike most companies, we don’t send your measured dimensions to our factory. We send detailed drawings. We don’t want our factory making decisions, that’s our job. So your shutters will fit perfectly.

For even the simplest of rectangular windows, we can take up to twenty measurements. But for those intricate windows, we can take up to two hundred measurements.

We’ve Been Measuring, Designing and Fitting Shutters for a Long Time

Over the last thirty-three years that we’ve been supplying and fitting shutters, we’ve tried and tested lots of different manufacturers in the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world.

NienMade’s attention to detail, massive investment in sophisticated production equipment and total understanding of timber handling are without equal.

We Don’t Want Your Shutters to Twist or Warp

Nienmade’s knowledge of the humidity and atmospheric conditions here in the UK far outstrips all the other shutter manufacturers. This understanding is vital so that your shutters don’t warp and twist when they are installed in your warm rooms.

The Only Master Partner in Scotland

NienMade has been our strategic shutter partner for real-wood shutters for the last seventeen years, and we are their only Licensed Master Partner in Scotland.

If Only We Could Get Real-Wood Shutters in Scotland

If we could have found a real-wood manufacturing facility closer to Scotland with the same levels of quality as NienMade, then we would have used them to shorten the delivery time. But, sadly, there isn’t anyone.

Inferior Look-Alikes

If you are buying shutters, buy a genuine Nienmade product. Beware, there are a lot of inferior copies out in the big bad world. You don’t want to be left with one of these in your home.

What Makes Nienmade Shutters The Very Best?

Well, with more than 30 years of manufacturing excellence, Nienmade employs the same time-honoured woodworking techniques used by artisans of exceptional home furnishings. All NienMade Shutters are made of only the finest materials and handcrafted especially for you.

Reinforced Engineered Stile

The stiles are the most critical part of any shutter panel. These are the two vertical bits of wood which are on either side of the louvres. These must be very straight and true. Because if they’re not, or if they warp or twist over time, then this will severely affect the opening and closing of the louvres and the opening and closing of the panels. NienMade stiles are made from multiple layers of wood. These wood layers are bonded together to bolster the stability of the core of the stile. Providing a robust and hearty support system for your shutters.

Prescription Wood Conditioning

Nienmade’s trademarked wood drying technique dries the wood to emulate the environmental conditions of the location where the shutter will be installed here in the UK. This practice also reduces post-installation shrinking and swelling.

Mortise and Tenon Joint

Most shutter frames are made with a simple dowel and glue construction, but, as you would expect of quality window furniture, this is not the case with NienMade shutters. All Nienmade shutters use a mortise and tenon joint. Mortise and tenon joints have been traditionally used in demanding furniture and building construction for many years. Mortise and tenon joints are designed to withstand the shear stress and racking forces applied when operating a shutter. It means that your panels will keep their shape for years to come.

**Patented Polypropylene Coating **

Superior to traditional paints, NienMade’s patented Polypropylene coating makes the shutter surface extremely durable, robust and resistant to cracking or chipping over time.

Nienmade’s InvisibleTilt™ Next Generation Louvre Tilting Mechanism

Function, performance, style. InvisibleTilt™, a breakthrough louvre tilting mechanism, is engineered to enhance your shutter ownership experience. Unobstructed view, streamlined appearance, tight and even louvre closure, no protruding moving parts. With InvisibleTilt™ from NienMade, louvre tilting mechanism just evolved.

**Quarter-Sawn Wood **

Timber craftsmen have, for many years, recognised that quarter-sawn wood results in a superior shutter with remarkable strength and stability. These boards are highly prized and well worth the effort and time it takes to produce them. Remember, only Nienmade shutters are made from Quarter Sawn Timber.

Cheaper than The Scottish Shutter Company

We’ve been supplying and installing shutters for a very long time, and over the years, we have seen many shutter, and blind companies come and go. In almost every case, their only claim to fame was that they were “cheaper than The Scottish Shutter Company”.

To the best of our knowledge, we have never ever come across a shutter company in the history of the Galaxy which has claimed to be technically more competent. Or better understood shutter design and installation in the UK than The Scottish Shutter Company.

Designed in Scotland

Also, we are still the only UK shutter supplier that actually designs shutters here in Scotland. All the other companies still send your window dimensions to a factory and ask them to make something which fits.

Some companies say they offer a design service, which really boils down to helping you choose which louvre width and which colour. When we mean design, we really mean design, drawing your shutters very accurately on our own in-house Computer-Aided Design system. That way, we can be absolutely sure that your shutters will fit perfectly.

Poor Shutter Design

Properly designed shutters look good not only from the inside but equally as important from the outside as well. On our many thousands of miles covering Scotland measuring and installing shutters, we see some terrible examples of poor shutter design. It’s clear looking from the outside that some shutter companies simply take the width of a window recess and simply divide that width by the number of required panels.

Well, that’s just not designed. Designing shutters means looking very closely at the existing window geometry and seeing where the current vertical and horizontal lines are. Then designing shutters that match the window geometry.

Why We Design Our Own Shutters

The reason we design here in Scotland on our own in-house computer-aided design system is so that we have full control of the process. Most shutter companies just send your measurements to the factory. We send accurate drawings with the message, “do not deviate”. We don’t want the factory making design and installation decisions about your shutters. That’s our job. That’s why we take so many measurements and then create very detailed drawings for the factory to work from to create your shutters. We’ll take around fifteen measurements even for the simplest rectangular windows.

The trapezoidal gable window shown in the drawing on this page created something of a record for us. We took two hundred and four individual measurements for just one window.

And it was a perfect fit.

The British Blind & Shutter Association

We are very proud to say that we are members of The British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA).

This is your assurance of the highest possible workmanship, service and fair trading standards.

Before joining the BBSA, prospective members have to undergo a strict vetting procedure. Potential members need to have been trading for a minimum of three years. They must have a good financial history, a commitment to training, appropriate health and safety standards, and quality systems.

Occasionally challenges can arise, and membership of the BBSA requires members to handle customer complaints quickly and appropriately in line with the BBSA’s Code of Practice. In the case of an unresolved dispute, you can request the BBSA investigates on your behalf. Complaints against members are rare, showing both a robust selection procedure and an assurance that there is strict adherence to the BBSA’s Code of Practice.

You can buy from members of the BBSA safe in the knowledge that they are operating to the highest standards of quality and workmanship. With the backup of the only national trade association for window blinds, awnings and shutters.

All BBSA members are part of the BBSA’s ‘make it safe’ campaign.

The BBSA and its members are fully committed to helping eliminate the risk associated with hazardous looped operating cords, chains and tapes used on window blinds.

Window shutters are the most child-safe window covering you can buy.

So, don’t assume. Always check that any company you are thinking of buying shutters from is a fully paid-up member of the BBSA.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are real wood shutters manufactured? Most real-wood shutters sold in the UK are manufactured in China by NienMade, the world’s largest and most technically advanced shutter manufacturer. NienMade supplies major UK brands including John Lewis, Hillarys, and The Scottish Shutter Company. Their investment in sophisticated production equipment, prescription wood conditioning, and quarter-sawn timber techniques is unmatched anywhere in the world.

Why are wood shutters made in China and not the UK? There is currently no real-wood shutter manufacturing facility in the UK, or anywhere in Europe, that can match the quality, precision, and scale of NienMade’s operation in China. NienMade has over 30 years of manufacturing excellence, using time-honoured woodworking techniques combined with patented technologies like their Polypropylene coating and InvisibleTilt™ mechanism. The five-day manufacturing process is remarkably fast, with most of the lead time accounted for by sea freight.

What wood are real wood shutters made from? NienMade real-wood shutters are made from quarter-sawn timber, which is prized by craftsmen for its remarkable strength and stability. The wood undergoes a trademarked prescription conditioning process that dries it to emulate the environmental conditions of the UK, reducing post-installation shrinking and swelling. The stiles are constructed from multiple bonded layers of wood for maximum rigidity.

How long does it take to get real wood shutters delivered? Manufacturing real-wood shutters takes approximately five days at the NienMade factory. The majority of the lead time is taken up by sea freight from China to the UK. The current lead time for custom-made real-wood shutters from The Scottish Shutter Company is typically 14 to 16 weeks from the point of order.

Do real wood shutters warp or twist in the UK climate? NienMade’s understanding of UK humidity and atmospheric conditions far exceeds that of other manufacturers, and their prescription wood conditioning process is specifically designed to prevent warping and twisting. The reinforced engineered stiles, made from multiple bonded layers of wood, provide exceptional stability. Combined with mortise and tenon joints rather than simple dowel and glue construction, NienMade shutters are built to maintain their shape for years.

What is the difference between designed and measured shutters? Most shutter companies simply send your window measurements to the factory and let the factory decide how to make the shutters. The Scottish Shutter Company designs every shutter using an in-house Computer-Aided Design system, sending detailed drawings to the factory with the instruction “do not deviate”. This means taking up to 200 measurements for complex windows and ensuring the shutters match the existing window geometry perfectly, both from inside and outside.

The Scottish Shutter Company