The UK’s first drive-thru concrete, mortar and screed station is set to launch soon in February at Thorncliffe Building Supplies in north Wales. Customers can now collect exactly the right amount, exactly when they need it, with orders as small as 0.25m3 at the push of a button, thanks to the fully automated, self-service batching plant. The Fibo Collect machine, made by Danish supplier Fibo Intercon, aims to save customers time and money and have a positive impact on the environment. The concept addresses issues faced by smaller builders, landscapers and DIYers who need small to medium loads of concrete, mortar, or screed. They can receive it by mixing on site, collection from a ready-mix plant, or delivery by volumetric trucks. The Fibo Collect machine allows customers to choose their recipe, amount, time and payment method. The fully automated mini batching plant will have customers follow 4 steps to receive their concrete, mortar or screed. The dynamic mix options include various recipes and automated mixing technology for high-quality and consistent results. The solution also releases less carbon emissions and offers a new revenue stream for the merchant. The batching plant can produce 10 to 40m3 of concrete per hour, store 60 concrete mixes and change from one mix to another with a click. The quality of the machine matches ready-mix plants and conforms to BS 8500, EN 206. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Waddesdon Manor is home to the Rothschild Collections of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts, and was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild between 1874 and 1885. Opened to the public in 1959, Waddesdon Manor is managed by the Rothschild Foundation, a family charitable trust, on behalf of the National Trust, who took over ownership in 1957. They needed an access control system that could not only secure storerooms and valuable artwork and assets, but also keep members of the public away from restricted areas. Keys in the existing locking system were badly worn, and the security and facilities management wanted to upgrade to a proven state of the art solution that provided control of key management and more information such as audit trails. Mid-Beds Locksmiths Ltd – who have been responsible for the heritage and modern locks and ironmongery at the site for over 20 years – and the security team at Waddesdon conducted a survey of the site to identify the locks that most urgently needed replacing in stage one of the upgrade. Mid-Beds Locksmiths Ltd suggested the eCLIQ solution from Abloy would be the ideal retrofit option. The security team were aware of Abloy’s strong reputation in the security industry as a trusted brand, with many Abloy products fitted in heritage sites and museums across the UK. As Abloy is known for its premium high quality high security products, this would also fulfil insurance criteria. By switching to eCLIQ, staff would retain their own key with individual permissions, rather than having to share keys from the previous mechanical master key system. This meant Waddesdon could implement a fully traceable electromechanical key hierarchy system, with each department given different access rights based on their requirements. What’s more, the solution required no wiring, making the installation simple and maintaining the original appearance. Abloy and Mid-Beds Locksmiths Ltd specified a new bespoke solution, issuing around 20 keys and 35 cylinders for stage one, with a view to expanding the system with further upgrades in the future. The eCLIQ cylinders are suitable for doors of any thickness, making them the ideal solution for heritage doors as there are no cables or drilling required, plus the cylinders do not damage the original lock. Ornate cylinders were specified where required, fitting in with the building’s aesthetics and maintaining the appearance of historic locks. The Waddesdon security team explained: “The eCLIQ system is the perfect solution for the heritage sector, as it allows access control in a historic property where you normally wouldn’t be able to get it without considerable impact on infrastructure. “All of our access is now controlled by the admin onsite, and no one can give the wrong access to the wrong person – it just can’t happen. It’s a busy environment so this has saved significant admin time handing out keys. “Instead of having to collect a bunch of 30 keys, staff have just one. Now people come to work in the morning, enter their key and are automatically given their access rights for 24 hours. “Permissions are deleted after a period of time, so we don’t need to worry about lost or stolen keys. If someone lost a key previously, we would have to change 50-60 locks, but that’s not an issue anymore. Plus, the system offers tracking and audit trails for us to keep an eye on who is accessing which areas and when. “We can change batteries so they won’t wear out, which offers another cost saving, and the locks are more robust for multiple use, so I’m confident it’ll be a more flexible and beneficial system long term.” View the video case study video…. For further information on products and services for the heritage sector available from Abloy, visit https://bit.ly/3wosdX5, call 01902 364 500, or email info@abloy.co.uk. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

AG, leading paving and building manufacturer, has won EIGHT major industry awards in quick succession across the UK and Ireland. Established over 60 years ago, AG is a 3rd generation family-owned business which now employs more than 230 people at eight locations across the UK and Ireland. The first accolade was being Highly Commended in both the Manufacturer of the Year and Best Family Business categories at the Business Eye awards. The awards showcase the success of companies across specialist categories and sectors. The company was recognised at the ceremony for its best-in-class walling, paving and facing brick products. The third award – from The Plant and Civil Engineering Awards for R&D Innovation of the Year– provided positive proof of AG’s ground-breaking work within the sector. AG was also recognised at the prestigious RoSPA awards where they were rewarded for their ongoing commitment to health and safety in the workforce. These best-in-class awards recognise companies that are going above and beyond to ensure their workplace is safe. Their commitment and dedication of all AG employees and contractors to safety within the company was further recognised at the NISG (Northern Ireland Safety Group) Safety Awards for 2022 where AG received a Distinction Award. The next award was for Sustainability and Quality Engineer Catherine Campbell who picked up the Future Leader award at the Innovate UK KTP Awards ceremony. The Future Leader Award is given to associates who have shown “exceptional skills in driving and delivering innovation strategy, demonstrating great teamwork and outstanding leadership potential”. As well as this AG won the Best Branding and Positioning Campaign for AG’s launch of its latest ground-breaking product, Enduur Led by Head of Marketing Ross Telford, the team launched an integrated campaign across digital and traditional media including innovative, sharply focused content aimed to showcase the unique benefits of Enduur. AG’s dedication to introducing sustainable practices into their processes saw them win their eight award of the season in the Business in the Community Benchmarking Survey. This survey scores, recognises, and rewards organisations that are going above and beyond their legal environmental requirements. AG already has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry and this award highlights their commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its operations to an absolute minimum. Stephen Acheson, CEO at AG, said winning the eight major awards was fitting recognition of the outstanding work everyone at AG has been doing. “We are extremely proud to receive these eight prestigious awards. The past year has seen continued growth within challenging market conditions, and it is truly amazing to be able to share these awards with everyone at AG as we recognise their hard work and commitment to doing and being better.” “Since we first opened over 60 years ago, we have held family values at the core of our business operations and are committed to making construction, better, faster and safer. Innovation is at the heart of what we do, and we plan to continue our focus in these areas while maintaining our community work and investment in the training and development of our staff.” To find out more about AG, visit their website – www.ag.uk.com. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Gripple’s innovative Fast Trak pre-fabricated bracket solution has been specified for One Cambridge Square, a new office and retail space within the heart of Cambridge North.  Working alongside main contractor Wates and subcontractor PA Collacott & Co, Gripple supplied its innovative rapid fit trapeze system Fast Trak to suspend electrical containment throughout each floor of the 94,000 sq ft building. Fast Trak was chosen as it offers speed, flexibility and efficient use of space and is renowned for being six times faster to install than traditional methods.  Gripple’s Fast Trak also enabled PA Collacott & Co to overcome challenges on the site, including the fact that the cable baskets and trays had to navigate through different heights and levels on each floor, whilst retaining an uncluttered appearance and not compromising safety.  Fast Trak was the ideal solution as it benefits from tool-free easy adjustment capability, where the bracket can be quickly moved up and down the track in 10mm increments, before being locked securely back into place.  This meant that if the baskets needed to be raised slightly to run underneath or through a steel beam, then this could be done quickly and easily. An electrical supervisor from PA Collacott & Co said: “Fast Trak has definitely helped us to deliver this project much more quickly.  We had some tricky steel beams to get through which Fast Trak helped overcome, with its quick adjustment mechanism – which would have been difficult and time consuming with traditional methods.  A whole floor took two installers four days to complete – the same space using traditional methods would have taken at least three weeks, saving a great deal of time and labour!” As One Cambridge Square is BREEAM Excellent rated, it was an added bonus that Fast Trak offers carbon savings over traditional methods.  Fast Trak helped to save 4,464 kg of embodied carbon on-site – this is equivalent to driving 15,338 miles. An MEP Site Manager from Wates said: “The fact that Fast Trak is pre-formed and arrives on site ready to go means we’ve seen no wastage at all.  In the past we have used wedge anchors, threaded rod and channel on a project like this.  Fast Trak by comparison is a lot quicker and has eliminated the need for hot works and permits The tracks can be bent easily in the bracket.  We have had some great feedback from the installers, who carried out the project really quickly. We’ve also seen no real waste on-site. It has been fantastic.” With fire safety in buildings becoming more important following the recent update to Approved Document B of Building Regulations, Gripple has secured independent test data for Fast Trak, which confirms that the entire system meets the fire performance requirements associated with BS EN 1363-1:2020.  Gripple’s Area Sales Manager Josh Bloomfield, explains: “The fact that Fast Trak achieves F120 accreditation was essential on this project. It made a big difference to health and safety on-site and also reduced labour by 17 weeks.” Fast Trak is a pre-fabricated, trapeze bracket, which enables efficient, flexible and safe installation of electrical containment, ductwork, pipework and other mechanical services. Fast Trak comprises metal tracks, from 200mm to 1,500mm in length, accompanied by mounting brackets, from 170mm to 1,470mm wide and is designed to suit a wide range of installations from high-rise office blocks, hotels, hospitals, open retail spaces, residential buildings, or transportation hubs. Fast Trak is extremely versatile as the four-sided bracket provides suspension points on each face. Thanks to its ‘channel style’ return, Fast Trak can be used with standard channel nut fixings along with Gripple’s range of fixings and accessories. All Fast Trak pre-fabricated tracks and brackets are organised in user friendly packaging, with a handle, making it easy to carry on-site. The system can also be moved onto and around site easily and stacked tidily on-site to reduce storage requirements. Instructions for Fast Trak are included on the packaging, with a QR code link, which removes the need for further paper usage. Gripple is committed to providing customers with greener solutions that reduce carbon and maximise use of recycled materials. For contractors and developers, use of Fast Trak offers minimal waste due to the fact that 95% of packaging is FSC cardboard, which is recyclable. For more information about the Fast Trak™ system visit the websitehttps://www.gripple.com/fast-trak Please see the below video on the YouTube channel… Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Global water technology leader Xylem will showcase new technologies and solutions for building services at ISH 2023, a leading trade fair for HVAC and Water taking place in Frankfurt, Germany, from 13 to 17 March 2023. The company is seeking long-term partnerships to tackle the world’s most pressing water and energy challenges – particularly within the building sector which is one of the EU’s major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. “The rate at which we decarbonize the building sector will have a crucial impact on whether we achieve our climate goals” said Victor Ferre, Senior Director, Business Development & Vertical Marketing Building Services at Xylem. “Whether you are a facility manager, a heat pump manufacturer or an HVAC installer, Xylem can help reduce the carbon footprint. Our intelligent pumps, monitoring software, reliable heat meter, and accurate water meters are already saving 50,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year – that’s the equivalent to taking 20,000 cars off the streets.” The race to zero has started and Xylem sees building sustainable partnerships as the foundation for long-term success. The company is looking for like-minded partners that lead the energy transition in the building services sector: consultants, OEMs, contractors, installers and operators. At ISH 2023, Xylem will showcase its latest product innovations to accelerate its customers’ digital transformation, including: pump management solution hydrovar nexusTM; cloud-based plant monitoring Avensor; new high efficiency OEM circulator range eco2 designed for optimized integration in all kinds of HVAC applications; and DomoJet water meters – compliant with the European Energy Efficiency Directive. Visit Xylem’s booth B81 in hall 9.0 to explore potential new partnerships and to learn about the latest Xylem and Manchester City campaign that will be launched during ISH 2023. In addition, Xylem will be hosting an initiative through the company’s social responsibility program Watermark. For each participant that pledges to take an impactful water-related action, Xylem will donate to projects supporting UNICEF’s global WASH and education efforts. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Polypipe Building Services has announced the launch of Terrain FUZE Stax. The latest addition to the Terrain FUZE HDPE drainage system, this new range of two-part fabricated stack configurations is designed to make installing the most common low to high-rise applications simpler and quicker. Because many large-scale drainage stack projects involve repeating very similar configurations of loose components across floors, significant time is spent on the same cutting and welding jobs. Using data gathered by its Advantage service, Polypipe Building Services has produced a range of stacks that reflect the most common of these standard configurations to help reduce installation time needed on site. Chris Goodwin, Product Manager at Polypipe Building Services explains: “Contractors who work on projects that require a large volume of loose components will recognise that much of the time on these jobs is spent doing the same sizing, cutting, and welding over and over again.  “We have developed Terrain FUZE Stax as the perfect solution to sit between the current options of ordering loose Terrain FUZE components or using our Advantage service for more unique, complex projects.  “These can then be installed on site quicker with minimal adaptation work which means a big reduction in waste generated by offcuts.”  Available from Polypipe Building Services stockists, the range covers three standard applications – kitchens, bathrooms, and utility rooms. Within these are a broad range of options including different top and bottom sections, stack diameters, vents and more to ensure maximum flexibility in meeting on site demands.  This latest addition means there is now a comprehensive range of ways to buy the Terrain FUZE system for different project demands. Loose components can still be bought as usual from distributors, whilst for larger scale but standardised, repetitive projects Terrain FUZE Stax can also be obtained from distributors and integrate with loose Terrain FUZE components if needed. Where project requirements are too complex to be met efficiently through Terrain loose or Terrain FUZE Stax, the Polypipe Advantage service is on hand to offer bespoke design and fabrication.  Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Companies in Bedfordshire and beyond now have a simple choice when it comes to purchasing tinted HMG Paints products. As Barton Le Clay based Simply Coatings have completed the installation of a brand-new UNIT Tinting scheme. The UNIT Tinting scheme allows Simply Coatings to mix a vast array of colours including BS, RAL, Agricultural and more for their customers. Furthermore, the scheme allows Simply Coatings to mix larger volumes of HMG Paints products and offer faster turnarounds for customers. Products that can be colour matched and tinted include 1K & 2K topcoats, undercoats and primers, as well as a variety of sheen levels. Darren Hardiman, Managing Director of Simply coatings remarked “We are delighted to be working with some of the best in the industry here at Simply Coatings and for our new investment it was an obvious choice to partner the Corob equipment with HMG Paints as we continue to grow the business in 2023 and beyond.” DTM, PVC, Wood Coatings and more Like many of HMG Paints distributors Simply Coatings are an independent family business and supplier & distributor of Paint & Protective coatings. Simply Coatings pride themselves in offering a range of products and full support from the moment customers get in touch until long after they have received their order. Along with the HMG Paints range which includes Direct to Metal Coatings (DTM), PVC coatings and wood finishes they offer a range of systems from various manufacturers. “The installation of the UNIT Tinting machine takes the offering from Simply Coatings to a whole new level, and will allow their customers faster turnaround across a wide range of HMG products.” added Roger Blinco, HMG Key Account Manager. “Darren and the Simply Coatings team have built a great business and the installation of the new HMG Mixing schemes shows their commitment to the customers on providing exactly the right product, in the right colour when they require it.” A wide selection of colours The new UNIT scheme installation is also backed up by the HMG ColourBase Colour Box, which contains over 2400 colour chips, displayed in chromatic order within 20 fan decks. The box allows distributors and customers alike to choose the perfect colour from a number of ranges including RAL, British Standard, Commercial Vehicle Fleet Colours, Agricultural, Afnor and more. Every colour in the box can be then produced across a number of 1K and 2K HMG products. Across the whole of the UNIT mixing scheme HMG offer over 70,000 colour formulations ensuring that customers can always find the correct colour for their project. Uniquely HMG Paints actually manufacture their own range of colourants which in formulations to create exact colour matches. Being a colourant manufacturer means HMG can ensure each colourants uses the best pigments on the market ensuring the perfect colours every time. As an independent paint manufacturer HMG Paints Ltd rely on a loyal, countrywide distribution network to supply and service customers. All of HMG’s paints are Made in Britain accredited and supplied across a number of industries including, industrial, commercial vehicle, decorative, defence, wood finish and arts & craft. Distributors are selected based upon their reputation and the Simply Coatings package of product and local knowledge makes them a perfect partner. Visit www.simplycoatings.co.uk to see the whole range of products available. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Swedish window manufacturer, LEIAB Windows, has joined Secured by Design, the official police security initiative. LEIAB, situated in Mariannelund, Sweden, is a bespoke manufacturer of high-performance windows and doorsets in composite timber/aluminium materials, manufacturing more than 50,000 products each year destined to a wide variety of residential projects throughout Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. LEIAB offers a choice of four window models, with a variety of frame and sash combinations to create 16 different exteriors and three interiors. All products are tailored to customer specifications, ensuring the right style and fit for each property. The most exposed parts of the window, the frame and outer sash, are composed of strong powder-coated aluminium fitted with weep holes. This prevents the window from rotting and ensures a superior life span. The interiors are engineered from dense timber with a high-quality decorative finish. LEIAB’s Secured by Design accredited products also include their timber aluminium composite door range, a selection available in double or single leaf, fully glazed, and offering a high level of security to the property. Johan Pettersson, LEIAB Windows, said: “By joining Secured by Design, LEIAB now have confirmation that their products meet the stringent SBD criteria, thus providing additional comfort to our clients by having this accreditation.” Alfie Hosker, Secured by Design, said: “I am delighted that LEIAB Windows AB have joined Secured by Design with their timber aluminium clad door and window range, and understand that they may be looking to extend this soon. I look forward to this being a successful relationship with them over the coming years.” You can find out more about LEIAB Windows and their Secured by Design accredited products at: Secured by Design LEIAB Windows Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals