Products & Materials : Building Trade Materials News

The ISO Certified Microcrane

Microcranes, Inc., a leader in the emerging mini crane industry, has introduced the ISO Certified M1 Global Model Microcrane designed to fit through 36 in. doorways, narrow aisles and inside elevators, yet expand to boom up to a 22 ft. tip height. The M1 Global hydraulic pick & carry portable

Read More »

Gripple Launches Fast Trak Campaign

Gripple, the manufacturer of building services suspension systems, has launched a global campaign that supports its newest time and labour saving trapeze bracket solution, Fast Trak. The campaign offers new and existing customers the chance to get in ‘pole position’ and win tickets to the Formula One Grand Prix events

Read More »

Baumit External Wall Insulation Offers Housing Solution

Baumit supplied its external wall insulation system to a 72 property scheme, based in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland and comprising a mixture of social and private housing. The semi-detached, three and four-bedroom homes, designed by Craftstudio Architecture, needed to eliminate instances of cold bridging and increase the properties energy efficiency,

Read More »

Kingspan Light + Air Offers Bright Solution

A popular community primary school located in the heart of Salford, Manchester, has been welcomed into its new home, created with the help of Kingspan Light + Air. The bright facility comprises high performance Kingspan Kapture Prismatic Skylights with climate control glazing, which offers savings of up to 80% on

Read More »

Metsä Wood: MIT Architecture contributes to Open Source Wood

Metsä Wood is pleased to announce that a graduate architecture design studio called ‘Mass Timber Mid Rise’ at the Department of Architecture at MIT is contributing to the Open Source Wood initiative – the pioneering open innovation project aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and growth in modular wood construction. “At

Read More »

Saint-Gobain and Barnardo’s Celebrate One Year of Partnership

Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, is celebrating its one year anniversary of partnership with children’s charity Barnardo’s, for which it has raised more than £200,000 over the year. Saint-Gobain’s charity programme brings together employees, customers and suppliers across the company’s 36 businesses to fundraise for

Read More »

Covers sponsors Chichester Rugby Club

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

Read More »

UZIN Provides Flooring Refurbishments for MCHFT

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

Read More »

Hiab’s MOFFETT E-Series recognised for zero-emission logistics

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

Read More »
Latest Issue
Issue 335 : Dec 2025

Products & Materials : Building Trade Materials News

The ISO Certified Microcrane

Microcranes, Inc., a leader in the emerging mini crane industry, has introduced the ISO Certified M1 Global Model Microcrane designed to fit through 36 in. doorways, narrow aisles and inside elevators, yet expand to boom up to a 22 ft. tip height. The M1 Global hydraulic pick & carry portable crane is rated at 905 kg and it has a hook height of 6.1 m. It is only 762mm wide and weighs 816 kg, with 136 kg of removable counterweights to reduce weight while transporting. The lifting crane also comes with several configurations such as a roof top configuration that allows floor to floor or ground to roof lifting of material at up to seven stories. The ISO Certified M1 Global is built to ASME standards, exceeds OSHA standards and is CE Certified to meet international standards for the USA and Canada, Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South America and other territories that look to a CE mark for a measure of conformity. Safety features include an upper limit switch (anti-two- block), 1.5 load safety factor, 4:1 rated hook with safety latch, brakes on rear and front wheels, brake on winch, dual stop points on four piece boom and a winch shield. “We work with many industries, from startups to fortune 100 companies around the globe to provide equipment for tight spaces and alternatives to renting or buying expensive large cranes. Our cranes are used in industrial building, glazing, HVAC, maintenance, aircraft/aerospace, steel, marine, stone, military, manufacturing, utilities, auto and energy,” said Josh Clark, CEO and founder of Microcranes, Inc. The machine unfolds from sides and back for stabilisation, while the four piece boom extends to a 22 ft. tip height. Users can easily raise and lower the hydraulic boom with hand controls, and raise or lower live loads with a DC power winch powered by 24v deep cycle battery power with an on-board charger. The line speed is 30 FPM (9m/min.). The M1 Global Model can also be made in stainless steel for clean room environments.

Read More »

Gripple Launches Fast Trak Campaign

Gripple, the manufacturer of building services suspension systems, has launched a global campaign that supports its newest time and labour saving trapeze bracket solution, Fast Trak. The campaign offers new and existing customers the chance to get in ‘pole position’ and win tickets to the Formula One Grand Prix events in Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps and Austin. “With sales of over £1 million anticipated within its first year, Fast Trak™ is our biggest and most exciting construction product launch since the wire rope kits in 1997. After launching the product last September, Fast Trak™ has become a trusted solution for electrical, mechanical and HVAC installations and this campaign aims to increase that awareness and drive further sales,” explained Mark Kimberley, product manager at Gripple. The Fast Trak campaign includes promotional packaging, branded gifts, a dedicated landing page and social media competitions and will run from the 26th of March until the 5th of June. The second stage of giveaways includes monthly prizes throughout 2018 for the best customer feedback. “The promotion compares the product’s characteristics to motorsport, highlighting its speed, efficiency, safety, performance and of course, Gripple’s world class team! We’ve even introduced a Fast Trak™ character who has already been spotted around various Gripple sites and will be the centre of the campaign, featuring in videos showcasing the benefits,” added Mark. Fast Trak is a prefabricated, trapeze bracket solution that offers speed, flexibility and efficient use of space for the installation of electrical containment, pipework, ductwork and other mechanical services in restricted places. The safe solution comprises metal tracks and mounting brackets, it has tool free adjustments, it creates zero waste and it’s lightweight for ease of delivery and handling on-site. Each system has a 3:1 safety factor and can suspend a maximum weight up to 180kg. The range was recently extended to include new track lengths and further innovative additions, which are scheduled to launch later this year.

Read More »

Baumit External Wall Insulation Offers Housing Solution

Baumit supplied its external wall insulation system to a 72 property scheme, based in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland and comprising a mixture of social and private housing. The semi-detached, three and four-bedroom homes, designed by Craftstudio Architecture, needed to eliminate instances of cold bridging and increase the properties energy efficiency, so Baumit’s high quality external wall insulation was selected due to its performance and 10-year warranty. The work on the external wall insulation started in January 2017 and it was jointly installed by Ecoclad and Morrin Building Services, both appearing on Baumit’s approved contractor’s list, thus guaranteeing the quality of work being carried out. The chosen solution was the Baumit EPS, a high performance external insulation with superb thermal properties and high impact resistance. “Baumit’s EPS system was selected for the project due to the inherent cold-bridging issues within the properties’ single-leaf masonry construction. The EPS external wall insulation performed as highly as we’d hoped and resolved these issues,” said Peter Mcgonigle, director at Craftstudio Architecture. The BBA/NSAI-approved system consisted of 100mm expanded polystyrene façade insulation boards in grey graphite that were adhesively bonded to the building’s exterior walls. A reinforcing mesh coat was placed over the boards and once dried, Baumit SilikonTop provided a ready-to-use, resin-bound coat to give a highly-decorative, long-term protective finish. Throughout the application, Baumit’s technical team offered support, including site visits, to assist installers. The EPS system is compatible with any number of products from Baumit’s vast range of finishing renders, including its NanoporTop offering which uses natural daylight to trigger its ‘photokat’ photocatalysis self-cleaning technology to keep facades looking fresh and blemish-free. Completed in January 2018, the Carrickmacross project welcomed its occupants into a property that looks as good as the comfort it provides, with its energy efficiency helping reduce household fuel bills, making it a long term cost effective solution.

Read More »

Kingspan Light + Air Offers Bright Solution

A popular community primary school located in the heart of Salford, Manchester, has been welcomed into its new home, created with the help of Kingspan Light + Air. The bright facility comprises high performance Kingspan Kapture Prismatic Skylights with climate control glazing, which offers savings of up to 80% on artificial lightning energy consumption. The Deans Primary School had to be relocated due to the high demand for school places in the area. The new building has been designed by Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, to offer the best environmental conditions for learning, including high-quality daylighting within the classroom and corridors. It also aims to enable students and teachers to work comfortably within bright spaces that contribute to the overall sense of positivity and wellbeing around the school. “Our vision is to create an environment which is both stimulating and interesting for our pupils, allowing their talents and personalities to flourish. It was important that the new school building embodied and supported this vision. The Kingspan skylights have helped to create a calm ambience throughout the top floor of the building, supporting the learning that takes place there,” commented Stephen Kirkpatrick, head teacher of The Deans Primary School. The technical team at Kingspan Light + Air used climate-based daylight modelling of the proposed building to design a skylight system, comprising Kingspan Kapture Nano-Prismatic Skylights with climate control glazing. The unique contoured form of the Kapture Skylights allows light to be captured at low sun angles such as in the early morning and late evening, ensuring the internal spaces are illuminated all day. Research has shown that exposure to sunlight has considerable physiological and psychological benefits for the learner, improving their attitude, learning rates, health and attendance. Therefore, the Kapture skylights were specified in Kingspan Light + Air’s climate control glazing option as they can achieve a solar heat gain coefficient as low as 0.45, with an overall light transmission of 81%. After installing the products, the team at Kingspan conducted a full site report that confirmed that the Kingspan Kapture Prismatic Skylights achieved a Daylight Factor of 5% in the classrooms and 3.5% in the corridor. The scheme also achieved a uniformity of over 90%, complying with the requirements of CIBSE Lighting Guide 5 Lighting in Schools, and the Education Funding Agency (EFA).

Read More »

Metsä Wood: MIT Architecture contributes to Open Source Wood

Metsä Wood is pleased to announce that a graduate architecture design studio called ‘Mass Timber Mid Rise’ at the Department of Architecture at MIT is contributing to the Open Source Wood initiative – the pioneering open innovation project aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and growth in modular wood construction. “At a moment when many coastal US cities face the challenges of urbanization, innovating and so testing ideas for green urban hybrid housing is more essential than ever. Our MTMR studio explores new models of mid-rise affordable housing utilizing mass-timber technologies and Metsä Wood’s Open Source Wood initiative provides us valuable insight into wood construction and prefabrication technologies”, says Professor Andrew Scott of MIT Architecture. The Open Source Wood initiative aims to speed up the growth of modular wood construction by making wood element designs freely available for all. Only a fraction of urban construction today is wood, partly because knowledge and expertise in wood construction have been difficult to find. Open Source Wood gathers innovations in modular wood construction from all corners of the world and makes them available for all, free of charge. “We are excited to work with the design studio at MIT Architecture and I look forward to what we can achieve together”, says Mikko Saavalainen, SVP Business Development Metsä Wood. The MIT group participates today in an Open Source Wood Hackathon in Finland together with Metsä Wood and students from Aalto University. Learn more about Open Source Wood and how you can participate: www.metsawood.com/opensourcewood

Read More »

Saint-Gobain and Barnardo’s Celebrate One Year of Partnership

Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, is celebrating its one year anniversary of partnership with children’s charity Barnardo’s, for which it has raised more than £200,000 over the year. Saint-Gobain’s charity programme brings together employees, customers and suppliers across the company’s 36 businesses to fundraise for the chosen charity. “Our funds are being focussed on two critical areas: firstly, we’re building on our commitment to training to develop a new training academy in London together with a range of construction based training programmes to give young people valuable skills to help build better performing homes. Secondly, we are funding the construction of new transitional homes for young people leaving care – using know-how and combined solutions from more than 20 of our brands to create comfortable, high-performance homes,” said Richard Batley, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and HR for Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland. Tara Honeywell, Head of Corporate Partnerships for Barnardo’s, also commented on the outcome of this partnership: “The money raised by Saint-Gobain will really make a difference to transform the lives of the vulnerable children and young people we work with. This could not have happened without the dedication, hard work and commitment demonstrated by the Saint-Gobain brands. We look forward to building on this momentum in year two and seeing the impact of such an important partnership.” If you would like to donate towards Saint-Gobain/Barnardo’s projects please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/saintgobainbarnardostogether or if you would like to see how the partnership has gone so far, you can click on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0u5NKPiigs. Saint-Gobain in the UK and Ireland includes some of the best-known and respected companies in the construction sector including: British Gypsum, Jewson, Graham, Weber, Isover, Glassolutions, Saint-Gobain PAM, and Ecophon. Together they offer a range of high performance energy-saving products and solutions to help create great living places and improve daily life.

Read More »

Covers sponsors Chichester Rugby Club

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.”

Read More »

NEW MULTI-MILLION £ FACILITY OPENS USING CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY TO TURN GLASS INTO INSULATION

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    

Read More »

UZIN Provides Flooring Refurbishments for MCHFT

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.

Read More »

Hiab’s MOFFETT E-Series recognised for zero-emission logistics

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.”  

Read More »