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Two years’ work on turning manufacturing and operations into a well-tuned service engine is paying off at the Solidor Group. The composite door manufacturer has achieved an impressive 100% OTIF (orders delivered On Time, In Full) for four months in a row between June and September, says the company.

By keeping to a five-day delivery promise for both Solidor and Residor, installers and their customers can rely on orders being fulfilled on time, in full, exactly as ordered. This makes a huge difference to service and satisfaction all the way along the supply chain. And by managing its own fleet of lorries and team of drivers, the Solidor and Residor doors arrive in perfect condition too.

The premium Solidor timber core composite door was joined by Residor’s GRP foam composite door in 2016. Both ranges come with Ultion locks fitted as standard and Solidor can also add the most secure options in the market, including Lock Lock handles and Winkhaus AV3 autolock magnets.

Residor is also now available in a range of new designs and styles, as well as the full palette of RAL colours.  This means that architects and other specifiers, installers and builders have an astonishing 2,328 shades to offer customers.

The highest service standards, combined with what the company describe as “the most secure and beautiful doors”, are reflected in a 20% increase in sales in the first half of 2017. CEO Gareth Mobley comments: “We’re really excited about our continuing strong growth and that we can match our quality products with a quality service to satisfy our customers.”

For more information go to www.solidor.co.uk and www.residor.co.uk

The architectural grandeur of a former Masonic Hall has provided the inspiration for a new sixth form campus for d’Overbroeck’s College in Oxford which features glazing solutions from Senior Architectural System’s Hybrid range.

Designed by TSH Architects, the new sixth form college is located at the site of the city’s former Masonic Hall which dates back to 1823 and which has been sympathetically restored and extended to provide a number of new facilities.  The construction materials for the new build elements, which comprise a new sixth form college and separate hall, have been carefully specified to both complement and enhance the existing Italianate Villa style of the older building. Doors, windows and curtain walling from Senior’s innovative Hybrid range, which features aluminium on the exterior to provide a durable and low maintenance solution and engineered timber on the interior for a natural look and feel, provided the perfect solution.

Fabricated and installed by Soundcraft Doors and Windows for main contractor Kingerlee Ltd, Senior’s Hybrid series 3 curtain walling system and Hybrid series 1 windows were installed to give a light and spacious feel to the two-storey teaching building and to provide exceptional views of the surrounding parklands. As well as complementing the existing architecture of the site, Senior’s high-performance Hybrid system also ensured that the required U-values and thermal efficiency requirements were successfully met.

Senior’s Hybrid curtain wall and windows were also installed to the college’s new hall that is adjacent to the main building and which provides dining facilities and a 180-seat auditorium for performance and events.  A key challenge, and one which illustrates both Soundcraft’s skill as an installer and the design flexibility of Senior’s Hybrid range, was the creation of the hall’s curved elevation that features a complex faceted curtain wall screen.

To complete the fenestration package, Soundcraft also installed Senior’s robust SPW501 aluminium doors, with an attractive feature of the college’s main building being an attractive 300mm deep entrance door system.

For more information about Senior, visit www.seniorarchitectural.co.uk

Part of the Outdoor Living Collection, the Verandah from Prefix Systems is now available in any RAL colour, reportedly offering consumers ‘a completely bespoke solution’ in terms of design and finish.

Thanks to a new high-tech paint facility at its head office in Blackburn, Prefix Systems can now harness this ‘cutting-edge’ technology to provide the most individual and exact colours for its impressive Verandah, with the promise of ‘long-term performance’. This is a system that’s becoming increasingly popular for three season outdoor living, as a premium patio area and for other outdoor applications where coverage or shading is required.

The Verandah has also become popular with commercial projects and has been installed outside schools, hospitals, restaurants and other areas where shelter is needed, which is why an increase in colour interest has grown for Prefix.

Verandah can accommodate straight lean-to, splayed lean-to and ‘L’ shape designs, with traditional aesthetics in the form of the post, column covers and brackets, along with a decorative casting to the base. There’s also the option of the normal gutter configuration or an extended glazing bar overhang detail at the eaves, depending upon the project requirements and it’s delivered nationwide from four branches, as a part-assembled kit for rapid installation in just a few hours.

For those consumers ‘not wishing for the permanence of a conservatory or extension’, the Verandah opens up the opportunities for outdoor living all year round, with wall patio heaters also available from Prefix. With the option of any RAL finish in either the PVC-U or aluminium variants, Prefix says customers ‘can look beyond the standard black crackle and white to other inspired colours and finishes’.

Chris Cooke, co-director of Prefix Systems commented: “Verandah has been an overwhelming success over the last two years and with the thirst for new colours and finishes across the home improvement sector, we’re now able to offer this and other products in any RAL finish. With four branches serving the entire UK, we’re now able to offer a near limitless colour range across our product spectrum, with the added benefit of local Prefix service and support.”

www.prefixsystems.co.uk

The post Prefix expands Verandah offering with any RAL appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Smartglass, which is described as ‘the UK’s most respected and broadest range of conservatory glass’, has just launched a #FridayFlyer initiative, which promises a free upgrade to a pre-midday delivery on a Friday.

The promotion will last until 20 October for orders, with the last delivery on 27 October 2017, just before British Summer Time concludes. Smartglass says that this will be great news for installation teams and companies looking to fully glaze a conservatory on a Friday, before the weekend.

Clayton Glass, the company behind the Smartglass brand, says the initiative is possible thanks to its ‘unique logistics arrangements’. For the last two years, the company has also been voted IGU Manufacturer of the Year at the National Fenestration Awards.

The #FridayFlyer initiative is applicable to all paid for deliveries for any mainland UK postcodes and across the whole Smartglass range, including the Ultra 86 product, which provides for the best performing product in the sector. It’s also applicable for Smartglass-W a ‘unique’ range of glass for conservatory side frames and large span bi-folding and patio doors.

Jason McCabe, commercial director of Clayton Glass, commented: “We’re well aware of the pressure that conservatory companies face on a Friday and so we’re offering this free pre-midday delivery upgrade as a thank you to our partners, making sure they get a Friday flyer. With an unrivalled product range through the Smartglass brand and our award-winning levels of customer service, there’s never been a better time to become one of our partners.”

Please quote ‘FridayFlyer’ on your next order enquiry which can be faxed to 01207 232167 or e-mailed to enquiries@smart-glass.co.uk.

www.smart-glass.co.uk

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A comprehensive range of panic and emergency exit hardware is available from Carl F Groupco.
Image shows Strand Antipanic gearing (left) and a FUHR emergency exit lock.

Hardware supplier, Carl F Groupco, is promoting its extensive range of panic and emergency exit gearing, which meets stringent safety standards for public and commercial installations. A comprehensive technical advisory service, including guidance on standards, is also offered by the company.

Commenting on the importance of offering support to the hardware sector, John Mitchell, Carl F Groupco’s technical manager, explained: “It can be time consuming for fabricators to translate standards into hardware selection – recognising this, we ensure that we are well versed in the regulations that impact this process and ensure we are fully equipped to advise customers on the best route to achieve panic or emergency exit doors.

“First, it is important to establish exactly where the door set will be fitted and who will be using it – this will determine what hardware is required to meet regulations. Non-public buildings, for example, where potential users have received full door operation training, require hardware to meet the EN 179 standard for emergency exits. However, if the door is to be fitted to public buildings or other premises where occupants may not be familiar with exit routes and hardware devices, the door will need to meet EN 1125 for panic exit. Carl F Groupco offers hardware solutions to meet the requirements of both of these standards.”

As a long-standing partner of the German lock manufacturer FUHR, products offered by Carl F Groupco include the FUHR 870 and 871 type 8 emergency exit locks for aluminium, PVC-U or timber doors. Proven over 18 years of service, the multipoint locks are reportedly capable of achieving EN 1125 panic exit and EN 179 emergency exit requirements. In order to comply, the lock must be used with a tested hardware set, such as the CES free movement cylinder and FUHR panic bar. Carl F Groupco also distributes Facefix Strand Antipanic gearing: products offered are the EN 1125 motorised or modular touch bar, the EN 1125 modular push bar, the EN 179 modular push pad and a lever or knob operated outside access device.

www.carlfgroupco.co.uk

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A major initiative within the builders’ merchant sector is set to boost fire safety knowledge and the installation of properly certificated fire doors in a huge range of building projects, large and small.

Travis Perkins, the largest builders’ merchant in the UK, has confirmed its decision to become a BWF-Certifire  Approved Fire Door Centre as part of its long-standing commitment to fire safety.

It will establish 10 branches across the UK as experts in the specification and supply of BWF-Certifire third-party certificated fire doors and doorsets; located in Battersea Lombard Road, Birkenhead Stores, Glasgow Pollackshaws, Luton, Paddington, Salford, St. Pancras, Staples Corner, Vauxhall and Vivark Stores (Huyton).

The service will be made available to all Travis Perkins customers, from individual tradespeople to the company’s major contracts with local authorities and social landlords.

Richard Holland, category manager for doors, windows and joinery at Travis Perkins, said:

“While we first started selling third-party certificated fire doors more than 60 years ago, becoming an Approved Fire Door Centre now means that our trained branch teams will be able to offer specialist advice based on a much deeper knowledge and understanding of third party certificated fire doors and compatible components.”

Hannah Mansell, technical manager for the British Woodworking Federation and spokesperson for Fire Door Safety Week, said:

“Travis Perkins’ leadership in this area is to be celebrated. It is critical that the merchant sector steps up to this standard of expertise in products such as third-party certificated fire doors which play such an important role in saving life and property. A fire door won’t work unless it is fitted with all its correct and compatible components, and installed correctly, which some customers aren’t aware of. The chain of knowledge from supplier to customer is integral in making sure these life safety products are fit for purpose and work when they need to.”

She also highlighted the launch of the BWF’s Fire Door Procurement Tool and factcard, which is being promoted for all builders’ merchants during this year’s Fire Door Safety Week campaign (25 September – 1 October 2017).

The Fire Door Procurement Tool is a free, interactive app designed to support the procurement process for fire doors. It is particularly useful for merchants in the way it guides the user through each stage of the process, from design and specification to ordering, delivery and storage, and even installation, maintenance and inspection of fire doors.

The toolkit features a range of interactive checklists, diagrams and videos, and works on any smartphone, tablet or laptop that has Adobe Reader.

It can be downloaded free here.

According to Window Ware, anyone who has scoured the market recently for a PAS24 compliant letter plate will have turned up ‘meagre findings’ despite increasing demand for high security hardware.

And, says Window Ware, unless you’re prepared to spend extra time fitting a separate internal restrictor cowl on a standard letter plate or a self-contained external post box, you’re going to struggle to meet the latest requirements of PAS24:2016 and Approved Document Q of Building Regulations.

Thankfully, says Window Ware, the ‘clever’ engineers at Trojan have responded to this gap in the market with the launch of the TS008 approved, Unicorn letter plate, which is said to be ‘a great catch for fabricators struggling to meet the very latest requirements of PAS24:2016 and Approved Document Q of Building Regulations’.

Said to fit most domestic front doors, Trojan’s TS008 Unicorn letter plate can reportedly achieve ‘top-level security’ straight ‘out-of-the-box’ and is now available to buy from Window Ware.

Window Ware’s technical specialist, Robert Vaughan, said: “The TS008 Unicorn letter plate is the perfect addition to our range. Innovative products like this ensure we are always answering our customers’ calls for high-spec hardware that complies with the requirements of the PAS24: 2016 standard or Document Q of Building Regulations.”

The TS008 Unicorn letter plate’s patented design aims to reduce the likelihood of thieves using the letter plate to gain unlawful access to the home, or to steal personal belongings near the entrance. The inner protective housing has a unique concealed hinge mechanism to prevent attack. To guard against ‘fishing’, the inner flap has a ‘positive stop feature’ which lets mail through freely but won’t open wide enough to feed ‘light-fingered hands’, rods or hooks through the letter plate. And though the internal flap stands proud of the door somewhat, according to Window Ware, it only projects out as far as the average door handle, so it won’t ‘encroach on hall space’. Concealed external fixings also make it difficult to remove the letter plate by force.

The TS008 Unicorn letter plate is said to be suitable for both composite and PVC-U doors. Window Ware stocks a choice of three external finishes: chrome, PVD gold and white, all with white internal finish as standard. The external flap is manufactured from weather-resistant 304 stainless steel, with a 25-year anticorrosion guarantee (galvanised mild steel is used for painted finishes). There’s also a 10-year mechanical guarantee on all versions.

www.windowware.co.uk

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Endurance Doors is backing Fire Door Safety Week, which will be held during the week commencing 25 September.

Fire Door Safety Week is promoted by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) at www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk and Endurance Doors says it is ‘eager to play its part’ with its FD30S-rated, ‘proven, solid and secure’ composite door. As well as a best practice guide on the website, there’s also an initiative to stop fire doors being wedged-open, with people encouraged to share their images using the hashtag #ClickItKickIt www.bwfcertifire.org.uk/kickit.

Thanks to the Rehau specification of the Rauferno Fire Door, Endurance Doors says it has been able to lead the solid core composite market with this FD30S performance standard, that is also said to offer reduced sound reduction to 34db. The range includes standard doors, along with additional top and side light options. With opportunities for sales of internal garage doors that necessitate additional security, it’s also a product USP that’s an important part of its portfolio.

According to Endurance, internal garage doors are a part of the composite door market that’s ‘relatively untapped’ but, the company says, the reported burglary of Jamie Oliver’s house through the garage door, back in October 2015, demonstrates the importance of a high security, internal garage door.

Stephen Nadin, managing director at Endurance, said: “We’ve been quietly promoting our fire doors for a number of years and with the considerable added security they offer, they make for a perfect internal garage door. With all the designs and colours now on our online door designer, it’s an unrealised segment that we hope to penetrate further.”

www.endurancedoors.co.uk

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