Year after year the heating and cooling of various residential and commercial buildings has been known to consume vast amounts of energy, therefore finding better alternatives to produce resilient, high-performance buildings that are more energy efficient is now key in construction. This is the reason why the popularity of district
A highly-complex floor refurbishment has transformed a derelict warehouse into highly-marketable business premises, thanks to global product supplier, Sika. Concrete flooring at the former Matalan distribution centre in Skelmersdale, west Lancashire, had fallen into disrepair and required urgent attention to enable the building’s owner to re-let the site. Flooring which
Over three in four (78 per cent) engineering services firms say turnover increased or remained steady during the final quarter of 2016, according to findings within the sector-wide ‘Building Engineering Business Survey’, sponsored by Scolmore. Over the same period, almost four in 10 survey respondents (39 per cent) said that
Year after year the heating and cooling of various residential and commercial buildings has been known to consume vast amounts of energy, therefore finding better alternatives to produce resilient, high-performance buildings that are more energy efficient is now key in construction. This is the reason why the popularity of district heating networks is growing rapidly, and Swedish business SWEP International has created the perfect solution with its brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE). The installation of district heating and cooling networks such as the BPHE means that there is the potential to significantly reduce both costs and your carbon footprint, and thanks to recent technological improvements the building of these networks has been made much easier. The BPHE is now the most common heat exchanger technology in Europe’s district energy network, with this innovative technology being used mainly for heating substations and tap water stations. The BPHE is assembled using brazing technology, and 95% of its material is used for heat transfer which makes this the most energy efficient method, with the advantages quite clear for all to see in comparison to the traditional gasket-plate heat exchanger (PHE). Over the period of 15-20 years, the life cycle cost of the BHPE can be as much as half the cost of the traditional solutions; therefore it really is a win win for companies using this technology. The high-capacity B649 heat exchanger has also been specifically designed by SWEP to work well with applications that demand close temperature approaches at high operating pressures, and this is available in three different pressure classes, with the same capacity of PHEs but at half the weight and with the same reduced carbon footprint of the alternative technologies. SWEP will be exhibiting these innovations at the Ecobuild Exhibition at the Excel in London from 7th to 9th March, so if you want to see more about the high-capacity B649 unit and the BPHE technology then the company is welcoming visitors to the stand next month!
A highly-complex floor refurbishment has transformed a derelict warehouse into highly-marketable business premises, thanks to global product supplier, Sika. Concrete flooring at the former Matalan distribution centre in Skelmersdale, west Lancashire, had fallen into disrepair and required urgent attention to enable the building’s owner to re-let the site. Flooring which offered durability, a seamless, aesthetically-pleasing finish and a five-year warranty was a prerequisite of the refurbishment. Sikafloor®-264, was the only system to offer such guarantees. A high-performance, two-part, economic epoxy resin, Sikafloor®-264, provides a roller and seal coat for concrete and cement screeds which need to withstand heavy wear in environments such as car parks, garages and production plants. In total, 30,000m2 of product was applied to two units at the distribution centre. Before the Sika system could be applied, contractors IRL Group Ltd had to repair sections of the original concrete substrate where racking had been removed. Temporary heating was also installed. The ideal substrate temperature for the application of Sikafloor®-264 is between 10°C and 30°C. With the distribution centre having remained empty for a considerable time, warmer internal conditions were required to maximise the new flooring’s performance. Members of Sika’s technical team were on site during the project to assist contractors and ensure manufacturing methods were properly applied as a condition of the warranty. Once the surface had been smoothed, a coat of Sikafloor®-264 was installed. This was followed by Sikafloor®-264 Thixo, a two-part, epoxy resin. The coloured roller coat is textured, an ideal constituent for the provision of a hard-wearing, non-slip, easy-apply, high-gloss finish. Mark Ollerenshaw, Managing Director at IRL Group Ltd, said: “The client was over the moon with the new floor. Installation standards and the finish itself had to be of the highest quality as the owners were essentially showcasing the distribution centre to new tenants. It was a highly-complex project, made all the easier by using a flooring system we knew and trusted – and performed precisely as we’d hoped.” The distribution centre refurbishment was carried out in two phases over a five-month period. The second phase is due to be completed in March 2017. The badly-damaged, unsafe flooring has been replaced by a smooth, uniform, light-grey surface which will stand the test of time – whatever the nature of the business of the site’s new occupants. Read more at http://specificationonline.co.uk/articles/2017-03-01/sikafloor-creates-high-performance-base-for-new-look-warehouse
Over three in four (78 per cent) engineering services firms say turnover increased or remained steady during the final quarter of 2016, according to findings within the sector-wide ‘Building Engineering Business Survey’, sponsored by Scolmore. Over the same period, almost four in 10 survey respondents (39 per cent) said that labour costs had increased. Furthermore, almost six in 10 businesses (57 per cent) said that they were not being paid within 30 days for public sector work, in breach of legislation. ECA CEO Steve Bratt and BESA chief executive Paul McLaughlin commented: “These new survey findings show that the engineering services sector is powering forward, despite challenges from rising material and labour costs. Our sector is extremely resilient and technological advances are continually opening up new business opportunities.” SELECT managing director Newell McGuiness added: “This is the first time that SELECT members have participated in the business survey and we are encouraged at the confidence in future workload opportunities. However, this is tempered a little by the increase in material costs, which are beginning to be felt and the on-going issue of extended payment periods, particularly in the private commercial sector”. Businesses of all sizes had a strong final quarter, with over three-quarters of micro, small, medium and large businesses all seeing turnover rise or remain constant. Very large businesses (turnover over £20m) had the strongest quarter, with over half (54 per cent) seeing turnover increase. Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2017, the business outlook is very positive, with almost nine in 10 businesses (86 per cent) expecting their turnover to increase or stay the same. The engineering services sector covers a broad range of work including electrical, mechanical, renewables, heating and ventilating, datacomms, and fire and security systems. The survey is now being run in partnership by the ECA, the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), and Scottish electrical trade body SELECT. It had 529 responses from across the building engineering services sector in January. However, over six in 10 (61 per cent) engineering services firms say their material costs increased during the final quarter of 2016.
