The Brunsdon family have been making windows in Oxford for more than 80 years but times have changed since Jack Brunsdon first opened his business in Summertown and ran his joinery and DIY shop in St Ebbe's.

Now his grandson, Chris, has taken the company back to its roots by changing its name from Oxford Double Glazing to Jack Brunsdon & Sons, at a time when wooden windows are coming back into fashion.

He said: “My grandad would have been 100 this year, so it seems timely.”

But there are also sound business reasons for the change. First, the double glazing industry got a bad name from high-pressure door-to-door salespeople in the 1980s and 90s.

Mr Brunsdon added: "Oxford Double Glazing smacked of all of those old-school selling techniques and white plastic windows.

“We have never really done that. We have always given people very straightforward prices. People don't want that kind of pressure. Our initial response to a sales inquiry is to invite people to our showroom.

“We find the most effective way is if the first meeting takes place there. A double-glazing salesperson turning up at the house is always a bit of a worry for people, so we do not work that way.”

Surprisingly, the name Oxford — generally supposed to deliver a high-quality sales cachet — was even more of a problem for the company.

“We cover a much wider area than Oxford and a big feature of modern life seems to be that people want to buy locally. We were having big problems with the name and it did not reflect what we do or the geographical area we cover.”

The name change coincided with Mr Brunsdon rejoining the business after setting up his own company designing a range of timber windows, which he sold to the Performance Window Group.

A drama graduate, he once promised his wife that he would never go into the family double-glazing business.

"One summer I ran out of money and I needed the work, so I started working for my dad. Now I find it fascinating, and my wife has to put up with it!"

But after a few years working for his father Alan he branched out on his own.

He said: “Oxford Double Glazing was in Summertown then. I realised that people were asking for timber windows, but we only sold aluminium and PVC like everyone else.”

Customers were worried that new timber windows would warp, twist, and rot; let out heat or let in draughts, so he started to look for answers in Europe.

“We used engineered timber, a system for making it warp- and twist-proof,” he said.

The windows are made in Poland, Latvia and other countries to UK specifications. Having sold his business, now a major supplier to Jack Brunsdon & Son, he rejoined the family firm and last year took over as managing director from his father, who continues to work a 50-hour week aged 74.

As well as a depot and small showroom in Marston, the company has a larger showroom at Blenheim Palace Sawmills, near Combe, and a showroom in Beaconsfield.

Mr Brunsdon said: “I was aware that changing a good name that had been in existence for nearly 40 years was a risk, especially when companies are going bust and emerging under different names. We wrote to everyone we traded with over the years to explain.”

For the relaunch, he tracked down several of the original apprentices, who had worked in Jack Brunsdon's workshop in Western Road, Grandpont. "There were 20 staff making staircases, furniture and so on for Oxford colleges and banks,” he said.

The business was based in Osney Mead for many years before moving to Summertown in the mid-1990s.

"There have been hard times and good times over the years. You have to work really hard to win out. Before the credit crunch in 2007, the business turned over £2.5m and employed 16 staff. Now there are 12 employees and turnover has been rebuilt to £2m."

Although some customers are interested in energy saving performance, he says appearance is the main motivator. “The material that windows are made of has always changed over time. My father started taking out wooden windows and replacing them with aluminium.

“Then, in the 1980s, everyone started taking them out and replacing them with PVC. Now we are taking out aluminium and PVC and putting in wooden windows.

“It is a cycle and I am in no doubt there will be some new super material one day. They will be even better insulated and lower maintenance. I don't know what it is but it will come along. The window industry is always reinventing itself.”

He added: "The challenge in renaming the company is that Oxford Double Glazing has had a great name locally for 50 years, but we hope by renaming it we can carry the past with us to a new audience."