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The water delivery system for highly innovative ‘pre-wash’ stations being installed in the entry and exit corridors that athletes will use leading to and from the Beijing Olympic swimming pools has been designed by Cheltenham based Rada Controls, the commercial division of Kohler Mira.

The stations are a triumph for global inter company co-operation as the exterior elements are fronted with Kohler Water Tiles which create an invigorating 22 nozzle body spray. But behind the scenes it is Rada equipment that will consistently deliver the water through the nine tile banks that are ceiling mounted.

The spectacular $100 million ‘Water Cube’ which houses the Beijing National Swimming Centre for the XXIX Olympiad bristles with innovation. It has two full Olympic size pools, a diving pool, leisure water features and can seat 17,000 spectators. It has been designed for year around use by the residents of Beijing once the Olympics are completed.

The centre is designed by Australian architects and it was the style and quality of the Kohler Water Tiles that they felt complemented the pools overall design and quality. Having approached the Kohler China sales team to supply the tiles, they in turn contacted Group sister company Rada in Cheltenham UK to create a water delivery system that is consistent and fully automated.

Rada specified its Rada Pulse multiple outlet infra red control system with ceiling mounted sensors that activate the water supply to the panels. Each pre-wash station is served by 2 Rada 222-T3 thermostatic mixing valves which are fully TMV3 compliant.

The Rada 222-T3 is well proven, wholly reliable and offers safe, accurate temperature control under varying supply conditions, which will prove invaluable to the contractors in Beijing where, in a complex so large, maintaining constant water pressures is likely to prove a challenge.

On the installation, Roy Minett, Rada’s commercial manager comments; “to be associated which such a prestigious project is a great honour for Rada. We specialise in all aspects of commercial washroom activity and our design expertise and product range reflects that.

“As such, when we received the initial enquiry from our colleagues in Kohler China, we were able to respond with a constructive proposal. Our design theories were proven in our test facilities in Cheltenham before shipping the units to Beijing where they were successfully installed at the end of January this year.”

In total there are 10 water stations servicing the two Olympic pools in the Centre, each with nine Kohler Water Tiles, two Rada 222-T3 TMV’s and a Rada Pulse installation on each.

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Environmental award-winning building products manufacturer, Hambleside Danelaw, has been presented with a Plan Vivo certificate in recognition of the carbon offset payments that it has made into a plantation and forestry project for farmers in south-west Uganda.

Carbon offset is an important, but only one, aspect of a comprehensive environment strategy operated by Hambleside Danelaw which involves the careful design and selection of raw materials for its energy-efficient products to ensure an extended service life, coupled with the recycling of production waste. Landfill waste is expected to be no more than 3 tonnes by the end of 2008, having stood at 900 tonnes per annum in 2001.

Hambleside’s Plan Vivo certificate resulted from its offsetting of 1,217 tonnes of CO2 last year. A payment by the Group through the BR&D Plan Vivo scheme contributed to an Ecotrust project in the Bushenyi district of Uganda. The project works with established groups of farmers to plan agroforestry and small scale plantations, helping diversify farm incomes and allow controlled access to fuelwood and building materials. The project has been operating successfully since 2003.

Commenting on the award of the Plan Vivo certificate, Hambleside’s environment manager Ray Khan said: “This certificate is a further symbol of our belief that environmental policies are good for business, improve customer relationships and provide far more reaching socio-economic benefits.

“The Plan Vivo project attracted Hambleside Danelaw because as well as making a contribution to biodiversity conservation, it is reducing poverty and helping to sustain livelihoods through sustainable agriculture and micro-enterprises.”

Hambleside Danelaw is also a member of dcarbon8 which encourages clients and end-users in the commercial property market to choose building materials that will help to achieve a sustainable, economical and responsible method of reducing carbon emissions.

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Scottish Water – Scientific Services in Dundee are undertaking surveys of 111 Treatment Works sites to establish the current infrastructure capacity as part of their overall development program. And they are using Micronics PDFM IV portable instruments to monitor wastewater flow rates and establish load profiles within the Treatment works.

The objective is to establish the demand profile and the effectiveness of existing plant to determine development requirements and this is the area where the Micronics instruments have proved to be a valuable tool, enabling the engineers to establish the diurnal sewage patterns and analyse the performance of existing plant.

Having considered various measurement alternatives Ultrasonic, Clamp-On, Non Contact measurement was selected due to the ease of installation and operational benefits associated with the non-contact technology. And Micronics were selected as the supplier due to a combination of their experience with ultrasonic, flow measurement technology and their helpful pre-order service and guidance including a free trial/demonstration offer.

Two Micronics PDFM IV instruments were purchased as a package. The PDFM IV's are portable instruments, which are suitable for full or partially filled pipes. And they have the capability to measure and log influent and or effluent flow and totalised flow rates within Treatment Works.

The survey project is currently 50% complete and the instruments have been successfully used on various sites. Scottish Water have found them easy to install and simple to use, a key requirement to provide a fast return in valuable information for a minimal investment in time! The software is user friendly with good graphing facilities to identify peak demand and duration peaks using a range of sample rates selected by Scottish Water to establish flow and load profiles over 28 day logging periods.

Scottish Water is pleased with the Micronics products, which have performed well and the pre-order and post order service response has been good. The instruments have been successful and the information gathered has made a valuable contribution to the survey project and the potential for further use of the instruments within Scottish Water is extensive.

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Many will have noticed, by now, that there has been something going on at Lewden Electrical Industries over the last few months.

An announcement, last autumn, heralded the commencement of a joint venture with Palazzoli of Italy, both being similar companies in terms of the experience and respect that they enjoy within the Electrical Industry. From February Lewden : Palazzoli will be distributing, on an exclusive basis, the Palazzoli products in the U.K. along with many of the, already well accepted, and much demanded, Lewden products.

?We see this as a very exciting time for us and also for our customers?, said Alan Green their Managing Director, ?This joint venture enables us to offer a very much broader range of products, by utilizing the best from both companies. At the same time Lewden is investing a great deal more resources in it?s, constantly growing, custom build department, for which customer demand is continuing to increase at a steady rate. Lewden is now poised to reaffirm its position as a leader in the market place.?

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Stertil Stokvis has recently completed a significant distribution centre installation for Multipart Supply Chain Solutions. Multipart has invested £20 million in the 268,000 sq ft site in Chorley, Lancashire and the new centre handles operations for the company's client Lex Auto Logistics.

Multipart Supply Chain Solutions is a specialist in supply chain management, delivering a complete range of linked services from cataloguing and order capture to inventory control and supplier management. It also provides specialist storage, handling and transport, as well as reverse logistics and customer services. The company chose the new Chorley distribution centre to relocate its operation for Lex, which had been situated on a site in a predominately residential area. The new centre relies upon 12 dock leveller loading bays and Stertil was awarded the contract to supply and install them.

Stertil worked alongside Bowmer and Kirkland, the main building contractors, to complete the installation, which will allow around 25 deliveries and 10 despatches to be made from the distribution centre each day. The products Stertil installed included a swing-lip dock leveller, wheel guide, collapsible dock shelter and a Thermadoor insulated sectional overhead door for each loading bay, as well as two level access doors, eight fire exit doors and three RapidRoll 660 doors inside the building.

“We have major strategic plans for the future but were constrained by the limitations of our former site,” explains Deven Thakrar, Multipart's Managing Director. “The relocation of the distribution centre is a big step forward and will enable us to pursue new business opportunities and continue to improve our service to existing clients. It also provides job security for our employees and potential for employment growth.”

Multipart has developed high-value propositions for niche market sectors such as automotive, retail, manufacturing, vending and utilities. The company's solutions regularly deliver a wide range of benefits to clients, including release of capital, improved product availability and savings in both purchasing and transactional costs.

Stertil is a market leader in the development, production and marketing of dock equipment, producing inflatable and curtain shelters and dockseals; wheel guides; mobile yard ramps; dock bumpers and vehicle restraint systems, as well as both mechanically- and hydraulically-operated dock levellers.

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Worcester has added to its growing range of renewable technologies with the introduction of a new collection of Greensource air to water heat pumps, offering homeowners an alternative option for ‘greener’ home heating with minimal CO2 emissions.

The technology inside an air to water heat pump works on similar principles to a domestic fridge. An external fan draws air from outside the building into the unit before converting the latent heat within the air into useable heat for home. Designed to work with existing wet central heating systems, Greensource air to water heat pumps transfer the converted heat into water to deliver low-cost, energy saving heating and hot water all year round.

Worcester’s air to water heat pumps are also the perfect partner for underfloor heating and oversized radiators. Even though the heat pump can operate at up to 65oC flow temperatures it is more efficient when operating on lower temperature heating systems. However, even really cold air can be converted into heat, as the Greensource system is capable of working efficiently in outside temperatures of up to -20oC.

When properly installed, an air to water heat pump can produce up to approximately 4 times more heat energy for use in the home than the electrical energy it consumes. Greensource air to water outdoor units have a COP (Coefficient of Performance) of up to 4, which means each heat pump is capable of providing up to 4 kW of energy for every kW used.

A choice of three outdoor air to water units is available from June 2008 – 6kW, 7kW and 9.5kW. And to complete the package, Worcester has also introduced a Greensource hot water distribution unit for indoors with compact dimensions and a storage capacity of 151 litres.

Martyn Bridges, director of marketing and technical support said: “Air source heat pump technology has become increasingly popular in the Swedish market, so with our comparatively mild winters these products will suit UK requirements perfectly. We think they will catch on quite quickly, as the only space requirement for installing an air to water heat pump is an accessible outside wall. This makes them suitable for a wide range of property types, especially those with open plan spaces.

“We have been working hard to develop and test our Greensource products over recent months to ensure they are absolutely spot-on for the British market. Making them easy to install was also vitally important.

“As would be expected, we are introducing a new training course to support installers keen to start passing on the benefits of this new technology to their customers. Given the feedback we have already had from the trade, we are confident that air source heat pumps will become a very popular alternative to traditional heating systems in the next few years.”

The latest in advanced, sustainable heating and hot water solutions, Worcester’s innovative Greensource air to water heat pump and Integrated Cylinder will be available from June 2008 and are soon to be followed by the introduction of an air to air heat pump this autumn.

All air source heat pumps in the range are covered by a comprehensive 2 year warranty* as reassurance of the built-in quality and reliability for which Worcester, Bosch Group is renowned.

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Hanson Building Products has just published its updated Guide to Aircrete Blocks. This 36-page, full colour A5 publication presents the many benefits of the Thermalite aircrete block range which offers products for every building application.

Stressing the benefits of these blocks, including high compressive strength, light weight, high thermal insulation and moisture resistance, the publication explains the properties, workability and services offered to customers. The versatility of application is outlined – from basements, foundations, beam and block floors to cavity, solid and separating walls, as well as partitions and detailing. Each product is pictured in full colour in situ, complete with product description and specification information.

This new guide also includes a section focusing on Thermalite Thin Joint Masonry and the benefits it offers builders and contractors: these include faster build time, increased productivity, improved thermal performance, better airtightness and reduced wastage on site. Step-by-step in situ photography effectively illustrates the information supplied.

An updated section focusing on thermal insulation presents three tables to illustrate examples of Thermalite solutions to meet Part L requirements. The tables list detailed specification information for partially filled cavity, fully filled cavity and solid wall applications.

All Thermalite products feature specific scratch marks to identify the different range of densities of the blocks available. As this simplifies the specification and identification process, the various scratch marks are all illustrated in the new guide to help builders familiarise themselves with the products.

Product performance and thermal insulation information are followed by a detailed section outlining Hanson’s commitment to the environment and the building of a sustainable future. The message is clear: Hanson’s environmental policy not only ensures builders and contractors meet the latest building regulations and standards; it also supports them in developing and maintaining their own green credentials.

The concise style and easy-to-use format of this new guide will make it a handy reference tool for specifiers, contractors, builders, merchants and stockists, whether they are specifying, selling, choosing or using Thermalite aircrete blocks.

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