VELUX® SPRINGS FRESH REWARDS ON INSTALLERS

£35 of rewards for every VELUX white polyurethane roof window bought this spring 

VELUX® is offering its customers across the UK and Ireland a raft of rewards, redeemable at a range of top brand partners each time they buy VELUX white polyurethane roof windows this March and April.
 
For every white polyurethane roof window bought during the period installers can claim £35 of rewards, redeemable at retailers including M&S, Argos, Pizza Express, Thomas Cook, Ticketmaster and Currys PC World.

Installers have until 12 May to claim their rewards from VELUX, but can only do so by registering to the scheme online at www.velux.co.uk/rewards.
 
Originally developed for bathrooms, the VELUX white polyurethane roof window has evolved into a vast range of products ideal for contemporary white interiors and ceilings. They comprise a solid core of thermally modified timber encased in moulded polyurethane with a bright white finish.
 
Typically, installers and customers choose this finish for more humid rooms like kitchens and bathrooms as the windows have no visible joints, ensuring a clean and moisture resistant finish.
 
Almost the entire VELUX range is available in white polyurethane, from manual, centre-pivot and top-hung standard roof windows to combination solutions, and remote controlled VELUX INTEGRA® roof windows.
 
Richard McArthur, marketing manager from VELUX said: “The VELUX Rewards scheme is a great way for installers to get something back each time they choose our products. During March and April we will be offering fantastic rewards for every roof window bought with a white polyurethane finish, which is ideal for humid rooms like bathrooms and kitchens.
 

“We know that our customers enjoy rewards that allow them to give themselves and their friends and families a treat, so partnering with some of the country’s best loved retailers and restaurants is a great way to say ‘thank you’ for their continued use of our products and service. Whether you are a frequent installer of VELUX products or use them just a few times a year, it really makes sense to join VELUX Rewards and start earning points with every purchase.”

In July 2016 a new office skyscraper was made available for use in the capital of Poland. The Q22 is a pointing building with glass façades made of PRESS GLASS IGUs. Over 25,000 m² of IGUs were used to complete the project. The façade construction involved a breakthrough technology while innovative photovoltaic systems were used on the roof.

The skyscraper is located in the centre of Warsaw, in the area of the former Fryderyk Chopin hotel. In 2011 the hotel was closed down and then dismantled. It is worth highlighting that all materials were recycled. Construction of the new facility started in June 2013.

A Polish design studio Kuryłowicz & Associates was in charge of the skyscraper design. The acquired concept combines elements typical of constructivism and neomodernism. The Q22 stands out with its pointing construction and a glass façade constructed by means of innovative technologies.

The name of the building, which stands for quality and quartz, best reflects the nature of the skyscraper. The building structure has a very high level of energy efficiency, which was possible owing to the applied glazing and photovoltaic panels. It is confirmed by the BREEAM Interim Excellent certificate granted to the facility.

The construction lasted for three years, with ECHO INVESTMENT being the main investor. The completed building has the height of 195 m and the total area amounts to over 91,000 m². The major part of the space is intended for offices. Moreover, there are 5 underground levels and 320 parking spaces. The skyscraper was made available for use in July 2016.

Glass façade with innovative technology

The glass façade was the key element of completing the building. DEFOR became the main contractor and was implementing the project in close cooperation with PRESS GLASS – a manufacturing company specialising in production of glass for construction industry.

The initial concept included a segmented façade with aluminium strips  visible on the outside and a separated floor strips. But the Investor wanted to get a visual effect resembling a quartz crystal.

“We took the challenge and in cooperation with architects we proposed a solution that has never been used before, anywhere in the world – a segmented structural double-glazed façade with a glass pane to the full height of a storey, with no visual separation of the floor strip. The design required close cooperation with the Construction Engineering Institute as well as suppliers, including glassworks and glass fabricators”, says Piotr Węglewski, DEFOR’s Commercial Director.

Double-glazed units with 0.5 W/m²K factors and the greatest dimensions reaching 4740 x 2540 mm were used to complete the investment. Dariusz Kowalik, PRESS GLASS’ Area Sales Representative involved in the project points out that selective solar control coatings of the 70/41 type and Thermofloat thermal insulation coatings were used with the IGUs. The coatings were applied to the base glass with reduced iron content and then tempered and laminated.

“We supplied different IGUs, varying for construction, dimensions, weight, details of making the IGUs and special quality requirements for the needs of the investment. There was a special demand to produce tempered glass with strictly determined local bow”, Dariusz Kowalik explains.

According to Piotr Węglewski the issue of ensuring efficient and timely deliveries was a great challenge related to the investment. The daily demand covered 200 m² of glass packages containing 4 tempered glass panes with HST certificate, and the largest packages weighed over a ton. However, the assembly took only 9 months.

“The result we managed to achieve in Q22 lived up to 100% of the Investor’s expectations concerning technical and visual parameters. It needs to be emphasised that implementation of such an undertaking entails cooperation with reliable and trustworthy partners so we are very happy to have DEFOR complete the project with PRESS GLASS”, adds DEFOR’s Commercial Director.

It took the total of 25,000 m² of IGUs to make the glass façade of the Q22 skyscraper.

Photovoltaics on a large scale

Special modules from MAYBATT using the Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) technology were installed on the roof. The concept behind the solution is that traditional elements of a building, a part of the roof in this case – are integrated with photovoltaic panels.

“We supplied 70 mm thick glass panes with different dimensions for the investment. Double-glazed IGUs containing laminates with PV elements, composed of tempered glass, which was HST tested, were used in the building construction”, says Wiesław Wojtas, PRESS GLASS’ Area Sales Manager.

Wojtas adds that the Q22 building is the first Polish office skyscraper of such a size and in which photovoltaic glass was applied on such a scale.

The oblique roof has an aluminium framework with a post-and-beam construction. Bartłomiej Zysiński, President of the Management Board in MAYBATT points out that double-layer photovoltaic modules of the “light through” type are embedded in the outer part of the glass construction of the roof. MAYBATT applied the modules to tempered single glass panes supplied by PRESS GLASS, which were then returned to the supplier who made laminated glass panes and combined them into double-glazed IGUs with photovoltaic modules.

“The photovoltaic modules were designed according to the façade architecture design; they come in 45 different types and are based on monocrystalline cells. Each PV module consists of a tempered glass pane in the top and bottom part. Between the glass panes there is PVB foil and PV cells with internal connections and junction boxes”, Bartłomiej Zysiński explains.

The President of the Board at MAYBATT also highlights that photovoltaic systems (total of 303 modules), which are an integral part of the Q22 roof, have several functions. The functions include thermal insulation owing to two argon-filled chambers and two relevant coatings, which help to obtain the heat transfer coefficient of 0.6 W/m²K for glass panes oriented in an oblique manner.

The glass panes also provide protection against solar radiation, which is possible owing to selective solar control coating of 70/41 type, permitting up to 70 per cent of solar radiation and reducing heat radiation penetration up to 41 percent. The systems can also be used to generate electricity for heating the roof.

“The whole project is somehow unique because the modules installed by MAYBATT allow the use of photovoltaics – through PV elements in the outer laminate – as a source of heat. The solution facilitates heating and hence removing of snow in case of heavy snowfall”, Wiesław Wojtas explains.

The total of 800 m² of glass panes were used for completing the photovoltaic systems on the roof of the Q22.

Q22 skyscraper, or glass innovations (video): https://youtu.be/BjOUxhAwSjM

Image Above: Mark Ballard (r) of Beau windows, presenting his customer with a 55” smart TV courtesy of Listers and Elitis.

2017 is already in full swing and with cold winter days and dark mornings greeting us, many of us are counting down the days till the summer kicks in. Lister Trade Frames of Stoke on Trent have made sure however, that the winter months still bring plenty of cheer to their customers by announcing the latest winner of their annual prize draw.

Listers have become synonymous over the last decade for their innovative consumer facing brand, “Elitis”.Designed and built for their trade customers, Elitis allows Listers customers to compete with the large national companies with hundreds of thousands of pounds behind their marketing. And one of the many perks of being an Elitis installer, is the ability to tap into the many initiatives that Elitis offer.

One such initiative is the unique window tags that accompany every installation. Housing an individual number on each tag, the end user is encouraged to register them on the Elitis website which automatically enters them into a prize draw and by proxy, their installer.

This year’s lucky recipient was Mark Ballard of Beau Windows who scooped a brand new purpose built website whilst his lucky customer won a fantastic 55” Smart TV!

“I have bought from Listers for many years and I always make sure that I tell my customers that I’m a proud Elitis installer,” commented Mark, “I find that the brand supports me in my quest to deliver not only a great installation, but a superb product.”

Daniel Shaw, Marketing Manager for Listers had this to say, “Mark typifies what being an Elitis installer is all about. He’s a consummate professional, diligent with his installations and has fully embraced everything that Listers can offer via the Elitis brand. We’re delighted that he and his customer have been randomly selected as this year’s tag winner.”

Listers have always made sure that their customers are looked after and although winning gifts is always a welcome addition, the core of the Listers offering is all about supporting their trade installer with the very best service and products. “We are further developing our marketing support to our customers, making Elitis even more accessible and pivotal to our customers’ strategy,” commented Daniel, “and with installers like Beau Windows on board, it can only strengthen the brand in the eyes of the consumer.”

The final word goes to Mark who simply said, “Working with Listers is already a winning partnership, now I’m even able to get my customer involved which has helped me establish an even stronger relationship with my client. Literally, everyone’s a winner!”

Home improvement and glazing specialist EYG has made significant investment to double production of insulated glass units with the support of Edgetech UK.

EYG has invested £500,000 in a new high-speed Forel insulated glass line at its Hull-based manufacturing facility. It can now produce a double glazed unit made with Super Spacer® every 35 seconds. This has enabled the company to offer ‘A’ energy rated windows as standard on all double glazing installations.

John Waugh, Retail Sales Director at EYG, said: “The support we’ve had from Edgetech has been first class.

“We turned to them because they have been the leaders in developing energy efficient glazing systems over many years, and they helped us every step of the way, from guidance on machinery solutions right through to the first Super Spacer units rolling off the line.

“The team from Edgetech spent a lot of time with us ensuring we got up and running and producing our new improved windows without any issues. Their support and training was invaluable to us as the machinery, and the process of setting the glass in place, was different to what we had done before.”

EYG has seen a clear benefit from being able to advertise ‘A’ energy ratings.

“It makes such a difference to our customers to be able to say we are installing ‘A’ energy rated glass as standard in our windows,” John added.

“We have to be aware that our customers have so many other expenses these days, of which energy bills play a huge part, so it is a big selling factor for us to be able to say our windows can help reduce heating bills.

“Working with Edgetech, and using their industry leading technology in our products, has enabled us to do just that.”

Managing Director at Edgetech UK, Chris Alderson added: “At Edgetech, we are keen to support customers like EYG who are making big investments to future-proof their business.

“That’s why we offer extra support and training to help make it a smooth transition.”

Find out more about EYG at www.eygwindows.co.uk and more about Super Spacer and high-speed IGU production at www.edgetechig.co.uk.

Architects and specifiers love the design flexibility, security and thermal efficiency of the TD68 Jack Door from commercial aluminium systems supplier Jack Aluminium, according to fabricator Mercury Glazing Supplies Ltd, a specialist in niche window and door products.

Commercial glazing is a big part of the Gloucester-based fabricator’s offering and the company has found that the Jack Door meets the demands of commercial installations.

“We use the Jack Door because architects want free rein when designing large buildings.  The flexibility of the system in terms of the sizes, designs and hardware options available means we can help customers to achieve exactly what they are looking for,” says Chris Reeks, Sales and Marketing Director at Mercury Glazing Supplies Ltd.

“It’s also really important that Jack Aluminium is committed to independent testing of its system for security and thermal efficiency.  It gives specifiers real peace of mind knowing that the door is PAS24 as well as offering excellent U-values.”

Design specification is easy due to the intrinsic strength of the product.  To date, the system has been fabricated to some impressive sizes.  In relation to PAS24, the Jack Door is available up to 1300mm wide by 2480mm high, making it the largest PAS24-approved, thermally efficient commercial door on the market, claim the company.  “Having a door that has been tested to this width is really important, as it meets Disability Discrimination Act requirements on wheelchair access.”

Colour options are equally broad.  Jack Aluminium delivers powder coated aluminium profiles in any RAL colour within seven days, delivered in halves and quarters to support fabricators like Mercury Glazing Supplies Ltd in reducing wasted aluminium.

“The result is an aluminium commercial door that looks great, is a pleasure to fabricate and performs brilliantly across a range of security conscious environments.  All of this is backed by the quality of technical advice and reliable delivery we receive from Jack Aluminium.”

As well as the TD68 Jack Door, Mercury Glazing Supplies Ltd fabricates Jack Aluminium’s non-thermal shopfront and Curtain Walling systems.

www.jackaluminium.co.uk – 02476 467449
www.mercuryglazing.co.uk – 01452 383344

Distinction Doors has just announced that doorsets manufactured featuring its Signature range of door blanks will be Document Q compliant at no extra cost. Chantel Roach, Distinction’s Sales and Marketing Director, said: “Document Q of Building Regulations has helped the industry raise its game when it comes to security. By making our Signature door blank Document Q compliant at no extra cost we are in effect saying that the new higher standard is now the new normal standard. We are delighted to be making this statement of intent as to the quality and standards in our industry.”

Distinction’s Signature door leaf and glazing system are major components when part of a doorset and have a proven ability to achieve PAS24:2016, industry’s enhanced security standard, a pre-requisite in attaining certification to Secured by Design, a police initiative to protect against unlawful intrusion.

The high security credentials of Distinction’s Signature door blank are thanks to a rigid polymer sub-frame, high density insulated core and high impact resistant GRP skin.

www.distinctiondoors.co.uk

Only months after MRA Marketing was shortlisted for a record number of categories at the Construction Marketing Awards (CMA), the full service PR and marketing agency is a finalist in four categories at the prestigious, national Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) ‘Marketing Excellence Awards’.

The CIM Awards identify and celebrate outstanding marketing by organisations, individuals and teams nationally. They recognise and reward high standards of quality and integrity in the field of marketing, celebrating the finest minds within the profession, and showcasing the successes of B2C and B2B marketing campaigns.

MRA has reached the finals for ‘Best Use of Digital Marketing’ with Brisant Secure ‘Ultion, the lock that sells doors’; ‘Best Use of Social Media’ for its work with IKO PLC on their #NoMorePotholes campaign; ‘Best Use of Data and Insight – Large’, for its ‘Builders Merchant Building Index’ with the Builders Merchants Federation and GfK, the leading international data and insights company; and Agency of the Year for its consistent track record and outstanding results with strategic marketing campaigns that help companies grow.

MD Lucia Di Stazio says: “We’re delighted to be a finalist in these four categories at the CIM Marketing Excellence Awards, and immensely proud to be competing with high profile brands like the BBC, Tesco and Salesforce. The judges include Google, LinkedIn, Mondelez and similar high profile organisations.

“2016 was an incredible year for MRA after winning two Construction Marketing Awards in December and regaining the No.1 spot in the CMA Agency League of over 60 agencies that specialise in construction,” continues Lucia. “We look forward to what I’m sure will be an enjoyable evening at the ceremony in April, and are keeping our fingers crossed!”

Visit www.mra-marketing.com or follow @MRAMarketing on Twitter.

Brouha Marketing, the glazing industry’s communication specialists, has announced it has been shortlisted for B2B PR Agency of the Year category at the national PR Moment Awards.

“The 2017 PR Moment Awards report to have seen a record level of entries of a particularly high standard so we are especially pleased to be among the finalists,” says Brouha’s Helen Savage. “Although we specialise in the window, door and glass industries, it’s always nice to receive recognition from our peers in the PR world. We were shortlisted for our fun but professional approach to getting real results and for the unique and successful business model we have employed for the last 10 years. With a collective 48 years’ experience of writing PR, producing marketing materials and organising events, specifically in the glazing industry, we remain committed to getting it right for our customers.”

The PR Moment Awards have continued to increase in popularity with companies putting themselves forward for consideration in over 850 entries each year. The brand is associated with insight and original content and recognises companies in two separate award ceremonies held in London and Manchester for agencies and in-house professionals working in the South of the country and the North respectively.

Helen concludes: “We’re up against some stiff competition to take home first prize in the Best B2B PR Agency category but we are proud to be sitting alongside fellow best practice agencies that work across all sectors in both consumer and business to business public relations.”

For more information, call us on 01672 514947 or visit www.brouhamarketing.com.

Yale will be taking centre stage at this year’s FIT Show to discuss upcoming trends and opportunities affecting the door and window industry. This is part of the show’s seminar programme, which calls on a variety of industry experts to talk to attendees and provide information and advice about a range of relevant topics.

Tabitha Morton, Head of Integration for Yale, will be hosting a seminar session on ‘Future Trends in Home Automation’, taking place on the second day of the show, (24th May) at 14:30pm. This session will be exploring how the trend for smart homes is increasing consumer demands for smart security products, and the ways in which fabricators and installers can benefit from this.

With over 15 years experience in the security industry, Tabitha has a wealth of expertise and previously launched APERIO, part of the ASSA ABLOY Group. Having specialised in integration for the commercial sector, Tabitha has successfully transferred her experience and technical skill set to the residential market, working for Yale for the past eight years.

Most recently her work has focused on the development of the Yale Smart Living range, integrating Yale’s product offering with leading smart home partners including Samsung SmartThings, O2 and Control4.

Tabitha Morton commented: “I’m very much looking forward to presenting at the FIT Show this spring. The show give us the opportunity to discuss the changing security landscape with our fabricator and installer customers, informing them of the important role smart security will play in the future and how they can maximise opportunities for their business.”

Yale Door and Window Solutions will be exhibiting on stand C8 at this year’s FIT Show (NEC, Birmingham from 23rd – 25th May 2017).

For further information about Yale’s Smart Living range, please visit www.yale.co.uk/smart-living. For more information about FIT Show 2017, please visit www.fitshow.co.uk

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed Theresa May’s confirmation at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday that that she has asked the Chancellor, Philip Hammond and Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, to provide additional help for those firms worst affected by the upcoming changes to business rates.

Speaking in the Commons, the Prime Minister acknowledged that some businesses would be “particularly adversely affected” by the changes and said that the Chancellor and Business Secretary had been tasked by her to make sure there was “appropriate relief” for them.

FSB is urging the Government to act in next month’s Budget on precisely these lines, following last year’s commitment to provide £6.7bn of assistance for smaller businesses, taking many out of the system altogether.

FSB National Chairman Mike Cherry, said: “I am reassured to hear that the Prime Minister has personally intervened in this extremely worrying situation for many small businesses.

“Many of our members have contacted us to say that they are facing completely unfair and disproportionate increases in their tax bills, with some considering whether to close or scale back their business. That would clearly be in no one’s interest.

“Previous interventions by the Government, backed by FSB, have resulted in 600,000 small businesses receiving 100% relief and therefore protected from the current business rate changes. But the extent of loss faced by some small businesses who are still in scope has created an unacceptable situation and I look forward to hearing the Chancellor’s proposals at the Spring Budget in two weeks’ time.”

www.fsb.org.uk