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The stage at Leicester’s famous De Montfort Hall withstands a continuous programme of productions. When Operations Manager, Jim OMahoney, tried to find a flooring contractor prepared to sand and reseal it, he discovered many were unwilling to ‘curtain off’ the Hall’s recital organ to protect it from sanding dust.

However, Leicestershire based contractors, Heritage Wood Floors, carried out the refurbishment successfully by using Bona’s portable DCS (Dust Containment System) to achieve a completely dust free sanding operation, eliminating the need for the curtaining off process.

The Heritage team sanded the maple strip floor, working up through the grit stages to achieve a completely smooth finish. Edges were sanded by hand using an edge sander, which was also connected to the DCS system. The surface was also vacuumed between each sanding to remove any loose particles of grit. The DCS draws the dust away from the sanding machine, the belt and the floor during the sanding process, so the abrasive performs more effectively. When sanding is complete, the air, the floor and the sanding machine itself remain clean and virtually dust free, a huge plus point for contractors and their clients – particularly when working in dust sensitive areas such as museums, hospitals, schools and residential premises. The system is suitable for use when sanding all types of wooden floor including wood composition floors

Following sanding, the Heritage team applied four coats of Bona Traffic waterborne lacquer to achieve a matt appearance and a highly durable, yet easy to maintain, surface.

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Torvill and Dean won’t be the only ones dancing to Bolero following the launch of Aeon’s curvaceous new radiator.

A bold marriage of vertical rectangular brushed stainless steel columns contrasted with horizontal tubular bars, Bolero is undoubtedly a stylish sculptural design. However, with outputs of 526 – 1419 watts it also ensures that warmth is a high priority.

Ideal in kitchens and bathrooms, where the horizontal sections can be used as towel rails without compromising on heat delivery, this radiator is set to define new standards of contemporary heating. Bolero is available in three heights, 636mm, 1066mm and 1506mm, all 300mm wide. It is suitable for a variety of room sizes and is suitable for electric, hot water and dual fuel installations. Prices start at £833 + VAT.

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Metstrut has supplied the cable management systems for the massive new Airbus factory at Broughton.

Equivalent to the size of 12 football pitches, the plant has received the equivalent of 5km of Metstrut 125 deep cable ladder, plus metal framing systems to carry the armoured power cables.

Metstrut was chosen not only because of its competitive products but because of its ability to meet strict deadlines over the length of the programme.

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Queen’s Award winner Hambleside Danelaw will launch at Ecobuild 2009 two highly innovative roofing products that exploit the potential of natural daylight to slash energy bills and generate revenue-earning electricity.

Leading the way is a market first: a micro-generation rooflight. Designed in partnership with Solar Source Ltd, the Hambleside Insulator PHOTO VOLTAIC rooflight can offer a U value as low as 0.8 W/m2K and incorporates a micro-generation system that will make a significant difference to energy costs through direct use or tariff feed-in. The UK Government recently announced plans to encourage tariff feed-in following the example set by European partners.

Insulator PHOTO VOLTAIC is ideal for use in industrial or warehousing constructions and is easily installed into the roofscape, being in plane with the overall roof area. With patents pending, this product offers three functions: natural daylighting, insulation and micro generation, which makes it a first for the rooflight market.

Another market first will be the launch by Hambleside of a new self-contained artificial lighting control system. The Insulator LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM permits the artificial lighting to be automatically controlled through dimming or switching off according to the amount of measured natural daylight entering the building through an Insulator rooflight.

Developed in partnership with Setsquare Ltd, this light control system utilises the unique properties of the transparent light-enhancing honeycomb which is a feature of Insulator. Clients will immediately see a reduction in their energy bills as savings in lighting control usage normally reach 40%.

Visitors to Hambleside Danelaw’s stand (no. 2375) at Ecobuild will have the opportunity to interact with these new products.

FiberTite and Dryseal systems get a green roof on top

Hambleside’s third product launch at Ecobuild results from teaming up with a nursery to offer a green roof system for the company’s top-performing FiberTite and Dryseal single ply and GRP roofing membranes.

Insulator TIMax – a new translucent GRP insulated wall panel

The fourth and final launch at the show will see a new translucent GRP insulated wall panel arrive on the UK market. Insulator TIMax features translucent glass fibre filaments, which provide a good level of thermal insulation with U values at 1 W/m2K, and the translucent properties of the fibre elements allow natural light into the building.

Robin Jeffery, Hambleside’s vice chairman, said: “Four product launches at Ecobuild demonstrates Hambleside Danelaw’s unrelenting commitment to innovation and sustainability in spite of the recession. With the massive potential savings on energy bills, the new products are proof that sustainability makes as much sense economically for the client as it does for cutting carbon emissions.”

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Addagrip exhibited its extensive range of high quality resin surfacing systems at this year’s Ecobuild, as well as showcasing the recently-launched Addagrip Porous Proctor Pave System, a porous resin bound surface suitable for drives, car parks and footpaths.

Developed through a demand for attractive and durable sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDs), the Addagrip Porous Proctor Pave System incorporates a chosen aggregate or recycled aggregate mixed with PU Addastone TP resin in a 100% recycled plastic paver. In addition the system incorporates a filter barrier for installation savings and incredible load bearing strength whilst retaining the resin bound aggregate within the structure.

The company also exhibited its wide range of decorative exterior surfacing products, which includes Addastone, Addaset and Addastone Tree Pit. The Addastone resin bonded system and Addaset resin bound system combine a choice of natural and recycled aggregates with resin to provide a low maintenance and hardwearing surface with the soft appearance of natural stone. Both Addastone and Addaset can be used for a range of applications from gardens, domestic drives and pathways to parks, monuments and heritage sites. Addastone Tree Pit provides an attractive porous paving system that provides tree root access to both air and water penetration.

Addagrip also manufactures a range of decorative interior floor finishes such as Addagrip EDL, a high-gloss, resin-based formulation that creates a bespoke surface suitable for interior floors and wall panels in contemporary residential and commercial projects. Also available for interior application is Addatex Stone Carpet, a mix of aggregates bound in epoxy resin that provides attractive flooring with the comfort and warmth of traditional carpet.

Further information is available from Addagrip on 01825 761333.

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Mitsubishi Electric’s bold and ambitious programme to lead the nation in reducing carbon emissions within our built environment has been recognised again with nationwide acclaim at the prestigious edie Awards for Environmental Excellence 2008, held in London on 13 November 2008.

The company’s Green Gateway Initiative® won the Best Green Corporate Initiatives Project 2008 with the judges praising the energy saving plan as “a great example of exactly what a green corporate initiative should be about, showing economic and environmental sustainability working hand in hand.”

The initiative calls for everyone in the built environment to fundamentally reassess the way we heat, cool, ventilate and control both residential and commercial properties. The 10-point plan includes technological developments and new thinking combined with simple behavioural changes.

All of the initiatives are focused on creating a significant impact on CO2 reduction in the UK’s buildings by reducing energy consumption and the energy bills of both consumers and businesses.

“We are delighted with this recognition as it shows that our plan has real merit beyond our own industry and awards such as this will publicise the initiative to a wider audience and help reduce carbon emissions even more,” commented Martin Fahey, Mitsubishi Electric’s Green Gateway Manager, who collected the award at the gala dinner.

Now in their second year, edie's Awards for Environmental Excellence evolved out of a long-running annual survey of consultants and their customers.

The awards were handed out at the special event held at the Natural History Museum and enable the organisers to recognise those who are pushing the envelope when it comes to making practical improvements to the environment and the way we do business received the recognition they deserved.

Organised by Edie (Environmental Data Interactive Exchange) the awards were handed out at the gala dinner held at the Natural History Museum. Edie.net is an online resource for environmental professionals, researchers and all those with an interest in green issues, bringing together practical information and in-depth yet accessible news.

“Quite simply, we as a nation must control and minimise the energy that we all use in our buildings if we are to combat CO2 emissions and tackle global warming,” explained Fahey. “We have embarked on this mission because we felt that we could use our position in the market to influence the way everyone thinks about how we heat and cool our buildings in the UK and we are delighted that the judges have recognised this with this award,” he added.

The Green Gateway Initiative, which was launched by the company at the House of Commons, has already secured the RAC Cooling Industry ‘Environmental Pioneer’ Award 2007, the EDIE ‘Carbon Reduction’ Award and been short listed in the Defra and Independent sponsored CEED Awards in the Education category. Further details on the 10-point initiative can be found on the dedicated website www.greengatewayinitiative.co.uk.

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The ability to supply a vital switchboard in record time helped secure Eaton the order for a new PLC-controlled main switchboard for North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (Cheshire & Merseyside Area) as part of a major refurbishment of its electrical power supply. In a second order, Eaton supplied an emergency generator and new uninterruptible power supplies from its Powerware business.

The specification called for switchboard delivery within ten weeks of the official order. This put tight time constraints on Eaton, who were able to supply the switchboard on time and subsequently provided the diesel-generator and Powerware UPS units in the second phase of the project.

The electrical contractor, Hayes Electrical & Building Services of Paul Street Liverpool, had to install the new switchboard as a freestanding unit in such a way that the existing switchgear (a loose-mounted busbar and MEM Exel and Glasgow fuse-switches) could be removed in stages as the new switchboard became operational. A new 236kVA feeder will be provided by Core Utilities to replace the old 110kVA supply.

The new switchboard comprises essential and non-essential services sections. In the event of a power supply failure, a bus coupler opens automatically to isolate the non-essential loads. The majority of essential services are equipped with uninterruptible power supplies to ensure continuous power while the emergency generator starts up. The 150kVA diesel generator starts up automatically and loads are progressively connected, to avoid stalling.

Eaton supplied a 1,000A fully type-tested Form 4 Type 6 switchboard with a 50kA, 1 sec fault rating. Incoming and outgoing cables have top entry. The main incomer and bus coupler are both 400A MCCBs. The generator supply is provided through a 250A automatic changeover switch. A phase failure relay ensures that the generator will start up in the event of loss of supply in any phase (with the old system the generator would only start up if power was lost in all three phases).

The supply included all circuit-breakers, which are from Eaton’s new Series G range. These are generally 125A electronic MCCBs with adjustable thermal and fixed magnetic operation. Essential-side MCCBs open automatically in the event of loss of power but incorporate electronic time delays so that they re-close at 30s intervals to avoid stalling the generator. Full metering, with direct-reading instruments, is provided on all essential and non-essential circuits. Transient voltage surge suppression is also provided on essential and non-essential panels.

Hayes Electrical and Building Services is a major electrical and building contractor for the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Terry Hayes, Managing Director of Hayes, says “With the technical, professional support and assistance which we have received from Eaton we have been able to install a sophisticated switchboard panel into a restricted working space. This enabled us to deliver a 21st century distribution system into a Victorian Building which houses the sophisticated Control Room Integrated Systems which the North West Ambulance Services requires and relies on to carry out their essential duties.

The equipment was supplied through the Liverpool branch of Newey & Eyre.

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Laidlaw Solutions’ new Ferramenta range of lever handles and related door hardware has been designed to add an extra touch of style to residential interiors. It encapsulates the essence of simply defined, smooth lines in a variety of subtle stainless steel finishes. The exquisitely crafted range of lever designs are available in timeless, Satin or Mirror-polished Stainless Steel as well as the increasingly popular Dual Satin and Polished finish. Concealed bolt-through fixings at 38mm centres are compatible with most locks and latches to suit doors of 38 – 44mm thickness, while sprung roses are suitable for lightly sprung locks and tubular latches. A number of matching escutcheons are available for Euro profile, oval cylinders and lever key functions. The range comes with a 5-year guarantee.

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