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Image Above: From left to right – Gary Morton Central RPL, Nic Rossano Epwin Window Systems

CentralRPL, one of the Midlands largest, trade fabricators, has just switched to fabricating Profile 22’s Optima system. Gary Morton, Central’s Managing Director, commented: “Moving to Optima is a natural step for us. In terms of delivering products, marketing support and sales aids for our customers, Profile 22 are unsurpassed.”

Clare O’ Hara, Divisional Managing Director of Epwin,added: “We are delighted to have CentralRPL on board. They are a proactive, customer-focused company and in Optima they have found a system that matches their desire to offer the very best.”

CentralRPL is manufacturing the Optima Sculptured system and feedback from Central’s customers so far has been extremely positive. Profile 22 held an Open Day for Central’s customers in May and the decision to switch was met with universal approval, confirming Optima’s status as the next generation window system that offers the best of everything. Gary said: “Our customers thoroughly enjoyed the day and all that Profile 22 has to offer. In particular they were really taken by the new Excellence as Standard (EAS) programme.”

CentralRPL switched to Optima in July in a process that was as seamless as existing Profile 22 customers would have expected. Clare said: “When we launched Optima last year we moved nearly 100 Profile 22 fabricators over to it in nine months. Our process is so detailed, finely tuned and proactive that it is possible to finish with one system on the Friday and begin with Optima on the Monday, as we demonstrated once again with CentralRPL.”

Central is a company committed to offering a quality product, outstanding service, unrivalled support and a fast turnaround. It manufactures over a thousand frames a week from its 39,000 square foot premises in West Bromwich and supplies installers and trade suppliers nationwide.

CentralRPL was founded as a result of a merger between Central CRC, which was founded in 1992, and RPL Tradeframes (Reliant Products Ltd), which was founded in 1982. Martyn Elwell, Central’s Sales and Marketing Director, attributes the company’s success to its philosophy of “reinvestment to progress” and says the company always seeks to exceed customer expectations. Martyn adds: “Moving to Optima together with the services offered by Profile 22 such as the commercial support programme and marketing with the EAS programme will further help us excel with our customers. Our strategy has a strong flavour for finding products for our customers, rather than customers for our products. Optima delivers on this element of our strategy remarkably well.”

Profile 22 launched Optima last year and it has taken the market by storm ever since. A step-change in advanced window design for the 21st century, the system won the New Product of the Year Award at the 2016 G Awards thanks to its exceptional performance in energy efficiency, weather protection and security.

A company with exceptional standards and a product that’s setting the standard. It seems CentralRPL and Optima are the perfect match.

 www.profile22.co.uk

Aluminium and PVC door and window manufacturer, KAT, has expanded its Macclesfield headquarters with a new office building to streamline pre and post sales services.

The additional 3,500ft2 office accommodation, based at Snape Road, is situated next to KAT’s aluminium and PVC manufacturing facilities and its warehouse and distribution centre. An interior fit out programme was undertaken to create a spacious open plan office suite that will house the company’s Kawneer aluminium and PVC quoting and ordering teams as well as accounts, transport, safety, after sales service, marketing, purchasing and compliance departments.

The service departments’ consolidation is part of KAT’s strategic business plan to streamline its customer provisions for the trade. Chris Powell, managing director at KAT, said: “By bringing the services teams under one roof, we are immediately creating the most efficient communications between departments.

“Our team is better informed on products and business services, which in turn is passed on to our trade customers to create the most professional experience for end users.

“As our market share and product range increases, so too must our customer services to provide a holistic positive customer experience.

“We are delighted to create an inspirational working environment for our team as we continually welcome incoming talent to our expanding company.”

KAT recently announced its exclusive partnership with aluminium profile maker, Kawneer, to bolster its residential product offering.

Chris continued: “It’s a real coup for our business to be exclusive UK partners and sole suppliers of one of the biggest manufacturers in the world aluminium industry. It demonstrates our continued reputation as the go-to business for reliability and innovation.”

The post KAT stretches in new home appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Extruder, Euroseal, has reportedly made a six-figure investment in its manufacturing facility, increasing capacity and expanding its service offer.

Completed in the summer, the investment programme includes the installation of a new twin-screw extrusion line, mezzanine floor and the construction of a new tooling design workshop and servicing facility.

Chris Duff, business development manager, Euroseal, said: “We have had an exceptional year to date, running close to capacity throughout the first half of the year running a standard shift pattern – capacity can be further increased (+40%) by the use of a continental shift pattern.

“That had put pressure on our storage facility and our extrusion lines. The creation of the mezzanine floor allowed us to increase our materials storage by a further 70 tonnes and the space to bring in a new line, increasing our overall capacity.”

Euroseal says it has ‘extensive experience’ in the manufacture of a diverse range of thermoplastic extrusions, including rigid profile and co-extrusions in PVC, wood composite, HDPE, polystyrene, polypropylene and ABS.

With capacity to extrude profile from 40g to 6kg per metre and 0.7mm to 10mm thick, this includes construction products including curtain walling pressure plates, conservatory and window profiles, and cladding. It also manufactures electrical extrusions; automotive profiles; hygienic wall and ceiling profiles and garden decking.

Euroseal’s fifth twin screw line – and with a further four single screw lines, it’s ninth in total – the investment gives Euroseal a high level of service and product flexibility.

It has also built on its established partnerships with global tooling and extrusion machinery manufacturers to include an in-house tool design service – also offering financial support for customers to invest in tooling on larger volume projects.

Duff explained: “Our expanding maintenance workshop allows us to carry out our own maintenance programmes, reducing downtime and increasing the quality and performance of lines. We can also support our customers in developing and designing their own product and tooling. This starts with CAD design but goes far beyond dimensions. Understanding of the extrusion process, speeds and behavior of varying thermoplastics is key to effective design.

“We have that in house and are sharing that with our customers, in the design and commissioning of new tools.”

www.euroseal.co.uk

The post Euroseal increases extrusion capacity with six-figure investment appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Leading door hinge manufacturer, SFS intec, has strengthened its position as one of the sustainability innovators in the door and window sector by implementing two new initiatives that significantly reduce the environmental impact of its Leeds HQ and production site.

The company, which manufactures the market-leading Dynamic hinges range for PVC-U, composite and aluminium door-sets, has just made a major investment to reduce energy consumption within its premises located close to Leeds city centre. A new ultra-low energy LED lighting system has been installed that will save 65 tonnes of CO2 per annum, in addition to providing a much brighter and more comfortable working environment for SFS personnel.

By removing the 349 original light fittings and replacing them with 155 low-energy LED lights, SFS intec is cutting its annual electricity consumption for lighting by nearly three quarters. The new LED lights allow for customised lighting levels which adapt to the amount of natural light entering the building through rooflights and windows.

In a separate programme to reduce its carbon footprint, SFS intec has also appointed a new partner to help it maximise recycling and eliminate landfill waste. Working with waste management specialist ACM Environmental PLC, new processes implemented right across the site will ensure all the company’s cardboard, dry mixed recyclables, wood, scrap metal and general waste is separated and sent to recycling plants, with none sent to landfill.

Luke Wood, QES Manager at SFS intec, who led both sustainability programmes, said, “We’re always looking at utilising new technology, services and processes to ensure we’re operating in a sustainable way, guided by the three ‘P’s of sustainability – People, Planet and Profit.

“Cutting our energy consumption and waste help us to minimise our carbon footprint and maintain our position as an environmentally sustainable supply chain partner for all our built environment customers. Our next programme is looking at our consumption of gas for heating and to power our air-handling systems and, when implemented, could deliver even further CO2 savings.

“The products we manufacture and supply are often used in low and zero carbon buildings, so it is important for our customers to have confidence that each SFS intec product used is manufactured sustainably. That’s where we add value and give the industry a ‘greener’ choice.”

SFS intec manufactures a wide range of door hinges and fastening systems for roofing and cladding applications. The company is part of the Swiss-based SFS Group which has annual sales in excess of Ј1.1bn and a history dating back to the 1950s serving customers in the construction, automotive, electronics, industrial and medical products markets.

Full details about SFS intec are available at www.sfsintec.co.uk.

Image Above: SmartSpeed1 and SmartSpeed2

Inagas has long been recognised as one of the market leaders when it comes to IGU gas filling technology. This year is their 25^th anniversary, and in that time they’ve built a reputation as true global experts in the gas filling industry. To mark the occasion we asked Inagas Director Chris Kemp to give us a preview of their newest gas filling system – SmartSpeed.

While Inagas already offers a range of seven IGU gas fillers, this year we’ve continued our history of development and innovation by launching the brand new SmartSpeed range.

SmartSpeed builds on both the success and the technology of our SmartFill system. But with SmartSpeed the clue is in the name – it has been designed for high speed argon gas filling.

There are two models in the range – the single line, single screen SmartSpeed 1 and the dual line, dual screened SmartSpeed 2. Both feature internal IGU pressure sensors on the lance, which allows the system to regulate the variable filling speed between 70 and 85 litres per minute, to ensure a fast, pressure-balanced, accurate gas fill.

To put that into context, at 85 litres per minute the flow rate on the new system is almost three times that of SmartFill. The result is that SmartSpeed fills a standard 1000 x 1000 x 16mm test IGU in 40 seconds, compared to 95 seconds with SmartFill. For our customers this means that each line will fill an IGU in less than half the time is used to take. And on SmartSpeed 2 that flow speed is per line, not combined. So when both lines are filling you can get a rate of up to 170 litres per minute.

We’ve also made sure that the new system utilises some of the key innovations from previous systems that we know our customers love. The system is operated using the same 250mm touchscreens as before, which give a live display of the gas filling process and IGU pressure as well as access to all the various settings and controls that are available. The Data Logging and Print features are also included as standard. And perhaps most important of all, we’ve included SmartStart as standard, which allows operators to start and stop the filling process directly from the interactive lance rather than having to return to screen each time. The system is so fast that they won’t have time to keep running back and forth!

At Inagas our mission has been the same for the last 25 years; to help our customers save time and money. To do that we continually innovate – developing new systems and components, testing new ideas, and pushing at boundaries that created limits in the past. We’re out in the field on a daily basis, working with IGU manufacturers. This is how we identify market needs – by talking to our customers.

That’s exactly how SmartSpeed came about. Through our customers we identified that on-line gas filling could be a bottleneck in a fast moving IGU line. To get around it you used to need more gas fillers, which is expensive and takes up more space in a busy factory. So in response to customer needs we developed a faster system, and overcame the numerous obstacles that faster filling presented.

Inagas has come a long way in the last 25 years, and constant evolution is the key to our success. We’re looking forward to being at the forefront of gas filling technology – with all the benefits it will bring to our customers – for many more years to come.

www.inagas.co.uk

Picture above: Innovation from HEGLA: The new RapidLam makes use of its patented cutting technique and accurate grippers to score out precise shapes and models from laminated glass in just one work operation.

As the glass industry once again begins preparations for the Vitrum exhibition in Milan, this year will see HEGLA, a leading glass machinery innovator, bringing linear drive technology and LSG cutting into focus.

New solutions and concepts for cutting laminated glass shapes will be presented by HEGLA and they will play a significant role in the on-stand exhibits. Visitors will be able to see the performance capabilities of electromagnetic linear drives in action with the Rapidline cutting system on show.

The Rapidline will be the centrepiece of a three-part line with manual break-out table and automatic loading, which has proved particularly popular as a product in the HEGLA portfolio. Fitted with low-maintenance electromagnetic linear drives which is considered a key technical feature, the system provides accurate, high speed cuts via the cutting bridge.

It’s compact design and balanced levels of automation have seen this system increase in popularity for customers looking to optimise efficiency whilst also wishing to create special shapes in float and ornamental glass.

“The market for free designed forms from LSG is growing rapidly,” says HEGLA’s Manfred Vollbracht – underlining that shape cutting will be a big topic at the trade fair. “When we first presented a cutting system with this technology back in 2012, we would not have expected that just five years later almost every second one of our laminated glass systems would be ordered and delivered with the Shape equipment”.

Equally, attention will also focus on the Prolam and its LSG cutting systems which can score pretty much any shape, from simple rectangles to more complex designs such as trapezia or circles and, in the case of straight sections, it can also perform automatic cutting.

New to the machine builder’s programme is the RapidLam, which was primarily designed as a stand-alone system for processing laminated safety glass products. Depending on customer requirements, the system can be incorporated into an existing production line.

In order to be able to move glass in the easiest way, grippers are integrated into the table so they can be lowered, providing a high degree of flexibility.

HEGLA Managing Director Bernhard Hötger, who played a key role in its development stage, is convinced the new concept will revolutionise the sector. Mr Hötger comments: “With significantly less time requirements, and a high degree of precision, our customers can offer LSG models of the highest standards that will create competitive advantages for them”.

The patented HEGLA process scores free forms and models, with the glass initially fixed by grippers which is then moved underneath the dual cutting head that moves on a single axis. Precision cutting is controlled by a separate drive which follows a cutting plan and generates exact, synchronised cuts on both sides of the pane.

For UK customers the exhibition will provide the ideal platform to demonstrate the engineering excellence that has been synonymous with the HEGLA brand for over 4 decades.

To see the revolutionary HEGLA concepts in action join the team on Stand R01 in Hall 5 at the Vitrum Trade Fair. For more information on the range of automated glass cutting solutions or to pre-arrange a meeting at Vitrum please call Steve Goble or Paul Gibbs on 01908 261933.

Improved sealing of windows is provided by ISO-BLOCO ONE foam tape available from leading supplier ISO-CHEMIE.

The multi-purpose foam tape enables installers to quickly and easily seal windows from inside the building during construction, avoiding the need to use time consuming and costly external access systems like scaffolding and ladders.

This can provide cost savings of up to 70% when compared to traditional three component systems – hiring access systems, with the associated health and safety issues, can add significantly to the overall cost of a new build or renovation project.

Moreover, because the foam sealant can be used in the wet and rain the installation of windows can be undertaken regardless of external weather conditions, avoiding time consuming and costly delays.

This can add-up to potential savings of hundreds of pounds per day, ISO CHEMIE estimates.

Self-adhesive ISO BLOCO ONE provides a high-performance seal for window and door joints up to 30mm wide and is impermeable to driving rain at a minimum of 1,000 Pa – 66% higher reliability than most conventional joint sealing tapes.

The internal air tight seal has been tested at 1000 Pa pressure difference (20 times more than UK Building Regulations.) and found to give less than 0.1 m³ of air loss. At the same time, depending on tape width, it will also supply a U-Value of 0.55 and reduce sound by 63 dB, straight from the box.

Once installed, the tape ensures structures are better protected from elemental factors like wind, dust and moisture ingress by accommodating the changes in structural movement caused by environmental, cyclical and settlement factors. Product complies with energy saving regulations (EnEV) on windows and doors as well as the RAL quality assurance association and can accommodate extremes of temperature changes, from -30°C to + 80°C.

BLOCO ONE offers a single product ‘fit and forget’ solution for fast and effective sealing based around the European RAL principles of three level sealing – the inside seal area is more airtight than the external one, allowing any trapped moisture inside the joint, or within the wall, to escape outwards rather than into the building.

The external seal area provides weather resistance and breathability, while the intermediate seal area provides extra thermal and acoustic properties and the internal one air tightness and humidity regulation.

ISO-CHEMIE is one of Europe’s main producers of impregnated foam sealants, specialising in the manufacturer of foam products from polyethylene (EPE), polypropylene (EPP) and polyurethane (PUR) using the latest production techniques. The company’s UK technical and distribution operation is based in the North East of England, supported by a dedicated logistics service to ensure customer orders are completed as quickly and efficiently as possible (usually next-day delivery).

www.iso-chemie.co.uk