Covers Timber and Builders Merchants is delighted to have agreed to sponsor Chichester Rugby Club for another season. The club, which has its home ground at Oaklands Park, runs four senior teams, and a full range of junior teams. Covers’ sponsorship deal will include having the company’s logo appear on
Knauf Insulation and Veolia have officially opened a new high-tech glass recycling facility in St Helens. Each year, over 60,000 tonnes of used glass bottles and jars will now be given a new lease of life as the partners join forces to clean, separate and refine household glass, before transforming
UZIN has been chosen by the Leighton Hospital, part of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) to help rebuild a Critical Care and Theatre facility. The facility received a £25.2 million in funding for its refurbishment, which includes durable flooring that would be able to withstand heavy footfall and
Hiab, part of Cargotec, has won a coveted ‘Archie’ trophy at the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) Annual Awards for Excellence for its industry-leading approach to reducing the noise associated with out-of-hours deliveries. The award recognised the benefits achieved when Hiab’s customer Pets at Home switched to a fleet of
To support the growing surface preparation market in the UK, US based surface preparation equipment manufacturer, National Flooring Equipment, is attending the UK Concrete Show on March 21 and 22, 2018 at the NEC, Birmingham. You can find a range of its floor strippers, grinders and other equipment on stand
Door & Hardware Federation’s (DHF) Timber Doorset Group has produced a comprehensive guide to the benefits of ‘factory prepared complete timber doorsets’. The group actively promotes the commercial and legal benefits of specifying complete timber doorsets, as opposed to purchasing individual components from various sources; they are then made up
Amber Precast Group, the Alfreton based manufacturer of bespoke precast concrete, has recently undergone a brand make-over with the help of Armstrong, the leading B2B branding and marketing agency. The new ‘look’, together with the new website and the restructured offering will strengthen and refocus the business as it moves
Six years on since the first Solid Wood Solutions (SWS) event, it is back by popular demand this year and will take place on 08 May in London. The event will reflect the swift upward trajectory that materials such as cross laminated timber (CLT) are now on as a sustainable,
Sika has supplied a concrete repair system to refurbish the façade of Chatterton Water Tower in Spalding, a long-standing feature of the area’s landscape. The 30 metres high construction overlooks the local bus station and its distinctive tulip fascia makes it stand out. The construction has existed for 63 years;
The hub South West, the construction and infrastructure focused partnership, will support the Lanarkshire Business Week, taking place in the last week of February, with two key events. In one of them, over 50 members belonging to the construction sector will be meeting at South Lanarkshire Council’s offices in Hamilton
Covers Timber and Builders Merchants is delighted to have agreed to sponsor Chichester Rugby Club for another season. The club, which has its home ground at Oaklands Park, runs four senior teams, and a full range of junior teams. Covers’ sponsorship deal will include having the company’s logo appear on the club’s pavilion, website and match day programmes. Ron Migliorini, from Chichester Rugby Club, said: “Our relationship with Covers stretches back many years and we are delighted that they will be continuing to back us this season and would like to thank them for their ongoing support. Their sponsorship is invaluable in ensuring we can continue to maintain the club’s facilities and training for all our teams.” Henry Green, Managing Director at Covers, added: “With our company’s head office based in Chichester, and our great love and affection for all things sport at Covers, it is an absolute pleasure to be supporting the club. We wish them the very best of luck for a successful season.”
Knauf Insulation and Veolia have officially opened a new high-tech glass recycling facility in St Helens. Each year, over 60,000 tonnes of used glass bottles and jars will now be given a new lease of life as the partners join forces to clean, separate and refine household glass, before transforming it into high performance, energy-saving insulation solutions. Veolia’s world-first facility uses the latest technology to sort and separate glass at a micro-level with exceptional accuracy, delivering an ultra-pure glass cullet. The state of the art machinery includes vibrating screens for size sorting, magnets to extract ferrous materials and eddy current separators[i] for non-ferrous materials. The new facility enables Knauf Insulation to secure its glass supply and maximise the use of recycled materials instead of virgin minerals. Also the proximity of the new facility will save approximately 375,000 miles of road journeys. The glass collected equates to over 350 million bottles thrown out yearly – which could otherwise end up in landfill or pollute our environment. With a £10M investment and a decade long commitment from Knauf Insulation, both companies are demonstrating their dedication to sustainable and circular manufacturing. John Sinfield, Managing Director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, said: “Our insulation solutions play a key role in helping reduce carbon emissions and benefit the environment. “This is also a real boost for the circular economy and the fact we have delivered this in partnership with Veolia demonstrates what can be achieved when two leaders in their respective fields work together to achieve mutual goals.” Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President at Veolia UK & Ireland, said: “This innovative new facility is a £10 million investment in the UK green economy which is good for jobs, good for the community and good for the planet. [i] The Eddy Current Separator is an advanced metal sorting unit that is capable of separating non-ferrous metals, (such as aluminium and copper) from dry recyclables
UZIN has been chosen by the Leighton Hospital, part of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) to help rebuild a Critical Care and Theatre facility. The facility received a £25.2 million in funding for its refurbishment, which includes durable flooring that would be able to withstand heavy footfall and traffic load for the predictable future. What UZIN did was rectifying a long lasting issue involving a failing floor before supplying a suitable system for the new building and many other refurbishment projects. The floor supplier worked in collaboration with iFloor to meet all the specific requirements and overcome any challenges that might arise during the project. In total, UZIN installed over 15,000 m2 of flooring without any issues, enabling the MCHFT facility to improve the quality and safety of patient care. Following the success of the project, UZIN continued to work on all further flooring refurbishments for the subfloor. “The new flooring has helped breathe new life into the facilities which have been refurbished. The finish and look of the flooring materials are first class and I can testify to their durability,” commented Paul Swindells, Senior Capital Project Manager, Estates & Facilities Division at MCHFT. UZIN has an experience of over 100 years and it provides the UK’s flooring professionals with ecological, innovative and high quality products and solutions, from new installations to renovation of all types of floor coverings. Its whole range consists of practical products and solutions for today’s flooring contractors, including smoothing compounds, adhesives, and damp proofing systems. UZIN offers a range of products for all types of flooring requirements, from low emission and eco-friendly products to switchTec® adhesive technology for quick refurbishments. In addition, they also provide a selection of products which can be used on 90% of all flooring installation. The company is committed to investments into basic research, product development, product safety, and application technology.
Hiab, part of Cargotec, has won a coveted ‘Archie’ trophy at the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) Annual Awards for Excellence for its industry-leading approach to reducing the noise associated with out-of-hours deliveries. The award recognised the benefits achieved when Hiab’s customer Pets at Home switched to a fleet of Hiab’s MOFFETT E-Series forklifts, the world’s first electric-powered truck-mounted fork lift trucks. This recognition by the FLTA follows hot on the heels of the project winning a Quiet Logistics accolade at the Noise Abatement Society’s John Connell Awards. With 80% of Pets at Home’s weekly 1,400 store deliveries being carried out after 8pm, the retailer needed to find a solution to noise complaints that it was receiving from residents located close to some of its stores across England. Working with Hiab, Pets at Home began a six-month trial of a MOFFETT E-Series as it was the noise from the retailer’s diesel-powered forklifts that residents were complaining about. Steve Travis, General Manager for Transport at Pets at Home, described the MOFFETT E-Series as a “total game-changer” as it enabled the retailer to return to scheduling its fleet at the most economic time of day, “saving money on fuel, reducing our carbon footprint, and no longer being a nuisance to our neighbours”. During the trial, the drivers reported that that MOFFETT was just as “up-to-the-job” and just as “user-friendly” as its diesel counterpart, and there was plenty of charge-time to enable through-the-night multi-drop deliveries. “Demands from our customers and technology advancements are driving Hiab to provide environmentally-friendly emission-free products,” said Barry McGrane, Sales Director, Truck Mounted Forklifts, Hiab. Hiab’s desire to ‘become the number one partner, shaping and inspiring the industry’ is highlighted in the development of the MOFFETT E-Series. “By working closely with our customers, we know they are facing a tougher and more demanding load-handling environment with tougher emission regulations. Legislation is demanding it, and our customers’ customers want it. Our MOFFETT E-Series range of truck-mounted forklifts go a long way to solving this problem.” Rogier van der Linde, Managing Director, Hiab UK & Ireland, added: “More and more people are moving to the cities – urbanisation is happening at a fast pace, so we all have a role to play in thinking in a more sustainable way and finding solutions to the challenges of delivering in urban environments. At Hiab, we respond to these needs with solutions like the MOFFETT E-series and HIAB loader cranes that are powered electrically by a plug-in-system (ePTO), which means that they can be operated when the truck engine is switched off. These solutions make our customers more productive, eco efficient and increase the window of opportunity for their business.”
To support the growing surface preparation market in the UK, US based surface preparation equipment manufacturer, National Flooring Equipment, is attending the UK Concrete Show on March 21 and 22, 2018 at the NEC, Birmingham. You can find a range of its floor strippers, grinders and other equipment on stand I10. On the stand, National Flooring Equipment will exhibit its popular equipment, including the Helix planetary grinder, designed for small, tough-to-reach spaces. The machine is easy to operate, with an edge grinder and dual-speed operation to create the perfect profile for new coatings. National Flooring Equipment will also showcase a range of its ride-on and walk-behind strippers that are designed to remove coatings and prepare the concrete substrate underneath. “We want to provide bespoke equipment to contractors all over the world”, explained Nick White, country manager for the UK and Ireland at National Flooring Equipment. “Last year, we launched the 5000 Cinq-Mille, a ride-on floor scraper modified specifically for European customers. As the market grows in the UK, we will manufacture more bespoke equipment to help contractors safely and efficiently complete surface preparation work. “The UK Concrete Show is also a great opportunity for contractors across Europe to physically compare our machines with equipment from our competitors. Seeing the competition also helps us see the latest equipment developments and improve to provide more for our customers.” As well as the Helix, National Flooring Equipment will also exhibit a range some of its shot blasters that strip, clean and profile concrete in a single step. The company provides safety equipment for contractors to ensure they are safe on the floor. Silica, or silicon dioxide, is a chemical compound found in materials such as concrete. Cutting concrete creates dust that, when fine enough, can be inhaled by construction workers, causing health problems including silicosis or bronchitis. To mitigate silica dust exposure, National Flooring Equipment manufactures dust collectors, such as the DL2000, that attaches to many of National Flooring Equipment’s other machines to keep contractors safe on the floor. The UK Concrete Show is the only event in the UK that is dedicated to the concrete industry. This year, over 180 companies will exhibit their equipment to visitors. To arrange a meeting with National Flooring Equipment’s team of experts at the show, get in touch with National Flooring Equipment’s director of marketing, Connie Johnson by e-mailing Connie.J@nationalequipment.com.
Door & Hardware Federation’s (DHF) Timber Doorset Group has produced a comprehensive guide to the benefits of ‘factory prepared complete timber doorsets’. The group actively promotes the commercial and legal benefits of specifying complete timber doorsets, as opposed to purchasing individual components from various sources; they are then made up on site. And with an all-inclusive list of benefits now available in an easy-to-download publication, it is anticipated that building professionals such as specifiers, architects and contractors will achieve a wider understanding and recognise the advantages to purchasing a complete product, including those involved in the modular build market. The new DHF publication lists the many benefits of choosing a complete timber doorset, primarily, that these products derive from one single source of supply, are quality-controlled products and will ultimately, result in cost-savings as all necessary items are included. In addition, using a complete timber doorset is a greener option, as they are engineered for energy efficiency and sustainability. “In everyone’s minds, recent events have brought to the fore, the premise that a poorly fitted door, or one that has had the integrity compromised, can be a liability,” explains DHF Marketing Manager, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens. “DHF believes that installing a complete doorset that has been tested as a complete unit, manufactured under a third-party certification scheme, installed and maintained by a company certified to do so under third-party certification, provides peace of mind, reduced installation time and ultimately, costs. “It is a ‘no fuss’ solution, with no need to purchase separate components as everything is included. In addition, complete doorsets can be installed later in the building process, reducing the risk of on-site damage whilst works are on-going and are a perfect solution for modular builds. There are so many advantages to purchasing a complete doorset and we believe that DHF’s latest publication will enable a greater understanding of the benefits of selecting these products.”
Amber Precast Group, the Alfreton based manufacturer of bespoke precast concrete, has recently undergone a brand make-over with the help of Armstrong, the leading B2B branding and marketing agency. The new ‘look’, together with the new website and the restructured offering will strengthen and refocus the business as it moves into the future. The industrial marketing specialists Armstrong led the design and development work, to accomplish the right ‘refresh’. “It was a pleasure to work with the Amber Precast team and translate ‘what they do well’ into brand values and messages which reflects this. We pride ourselves on developing a concept which is able to communicate this succinctly to our clients’ customers. This then forms the basis of the true values and attributes of the brand,” commented Armstrong director, Daniel Owen. Amber Precast is renowned for producing a wide range of architectural, structural, and glass fibre reinforced products for the house building, construction, civil, and nuclear sectors. What they do, together with the products they have to offer has to be reflected in the message they send; which is exactly what Armstrong did for the manufacturer. Daniel adds that “the essential message needed to be refreshed and clarified” and then the communication tools, including the website, had to highlight it. “We’re very pleased with our new positioning. The Amber Precast brand has been thoroughly modernized, reflecting our true status within the industry, and, moving forward, we are now well positioned to serve our clients with a ‘one-stop’ solution for all precast concrete product types,” said Mark Johnson, Amber Precast Managing Director. Armstrong has existed since the early 90s and it aims to dig deep into the commercial mechanics of a business I order to ensure that any customer proposition is powerful enough to outperform market growth. Armstrong draws on all aspects of a company and channels it to stakeholders in a simple, memorable way.
Six years on since the first Solid Wood Solutions (SWS) event, it is back by popular demand this year and will take place on 08 May in London. The event will reflect the swift upward trajectory that materials such as cross laminated timber (CLT) are now on as a sustainable, structural alternative to steel and concrete. The SWS event will shine a spotlight on pioneering projects through informative case studies presented by those who conceived and developed the buildings that are gaining global attention. This event presents a great opportunity to gain insight and network with those who are shaping the future of the engineered timber industry. With CLT reaching the heights of 10-storeys in the UK and up to 18-storeys in Vancouver, Canada with the Brock Commons building at the University of British Columbia, it’s not only tall timber structures that are making the headlines – complex glulam geodesic roof structures are creating outstanding buildings that will form part our architectural heritage for generations to come. As construction makes up a total of 45% of carbon emissions in the UK, sustainability is an important issue for the industry and one that should be addressed throughout every aspect of the build. As a renewable materials the increase use of engineered timber as a core structural component enhances the construction sector’s credentials not only from a sustainable perspective but equally by achieving optimum speed and performance. Traditional building processes are noted to be highly wasteful in terms of materials and figures indicated that around 32% of landfill waste comes from the construction and demolition of buildings. However, CLT, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and glued laminated timber – as offsite manufactured solutions, can dramatically improve these statistics, producing significantly lower amounts of wastage, due to the factory-controlled methods of ordering and cutting materials to size and recycling far easier to implement in a factory environment. As a rapid, robust and reliable structural solution, CLT delivers many benefits during the construction process and beyond. From reducing loading on foundations through to impressive thermal, acoustic and airtightness performance. Reducing the loading on foundations is particularly important for inner city construction where the underground infrastructure results in loading restrictions and using CLT as a lighter weight robust structural solution, can increase, the amount of storeys in a residential build – offering an increased return on investment. Finally, and most importantly, the design of a building can be critical to the well-being of its occupants. Much has been written about the impact construction can have on the environment but very little on the effect a building can have on its occupants. The influence building materials can have on the comfort and well-being of end users is an area where more research is required and even here, evidence is now emerging about the role CLT can play in enhancing and improving internal environments.
Sika has supplied a concrete repair system to refurbish the façade of Chatterton Water Tower in Spalding, a long-standing feature of the area’s landscape. The 30 metres high construction overlooks the local bus station and its distinctive tulip fascia makes it stand out. The construction has existed for 63 years; therefore the time and erosion had an impact on the tower’s surface, leading to minor repairs such as the removal of flaking and algae growth. The principle contractor Barhale, together with specialist contractors Concrete Repair Ltd, turned to Sika for a proved, durable concrete repair, protection, and anti-carbonation system. The refurbishment work started in March 2017 with the tower’s 4,000 m2 surface getting cleaned of dirt and other impurities. After breaking out defective concrete and cleaning the exposed reinforcement, Sika Monotop-610, a high-performance, one-component, cementitious, polymer-modified slurry was then applied. Its advantage is that it only needs mixing with water to provide a superb reinforcement corrosion protection coating and bonding primer. The concrete repairs were then done with Sika Monotop-615, which is the perfect reinforcement mortar for delaminated, weak, damaged, and deteriorated concrete. The following step was applying Sikagard-675 W GB ElastoColor, which prevents water ingress and is suitable for a range of concrete structures as an anti-weathering, two-way vapour permeable solution to stop pollutants and water penetrating into the concrete matrix, while protecting the internal reinforcement. “The Sika products were superb in repairing and protecting the tower’s surface. They were very easy to use, and provided the perfect base with which to restore the tower’s aesthetic qualities. We were very pleased,” said Olu Ogunwale, Senior Contracts Manager at Concrete Repair Ltd. Thanks to the Sika solution, the tower now looks just like it did in 1955 when it was built and the dual concrete protection system will ensure that the Chatterton Water Tower will remain Spalding’s pride for many years to come.
The hub South West, the construction and infrastructure focused partnership, will support the Lanarkshire Business Week, taking place in the last week of February, with two key events. In one of them, over 50 members belonging to the construction sector will be meeting at South Lanarkshire Council’s offices in Hamilton for a networking session on Tuesday, the 27th of February. The second event will see potential suppliers to the construction industry attending a forum that will offer them the opportunity to showcase their attributes to major companies. The Supplier Showcase will be held on Friday, the 2nd of March at Rutherglen Town Hall, Main Street, Rutherglen G73 2JJ, in partnership with Clyde Gateway Lanarkshire. Hub South West’s development programme was created as a partnership between local authorities, the NHS, blue light services, and a clutch of Tier One contractors, including Morisons, Graham, Morgan Sindall, and Keir, aiming to secure at least 65% of major infrastructure contracts for local businesses, recycling the local pound, and creating opportunities for businesses in the South West Scotland to thrive and expand. “Hub South West is committed to engaging positively with the locally based supply chain with a view to helping them improve their chances of gaining hub contracts,” said Michael McBrearty, CEO at hub South West. “By doing this, around £500 million of the anticipated construction spent over the next five years will result in contracts for local companies and jobs for local people”. The Supplier Showcase will accommodate 35 stands, from which 15 are reserved for Lanarkshire based businesses. Additionally, there will be learning and information sessions running alongside the event, as well as opportunities to ‘meet the buyer’, free tea and coffee, and a buffet lunch around 12 noon. Anyone interested in attending should visit the hub South West website or contact Margaret Milton on 01698 464 556. Unfortunately, the stands are all sold out now, but you can still attend the event for free as a delegate.
