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We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who visited us on our stand at the recent Healthcare Estates show in Harrogate. The stand marked a significant step towards a new era of advanced multi-outlet and multi-functional electronic controls. Moving on from our established range addressing self-harm prevention, hand wash hygiene, cross-contamination and safe water temperature, the new products boast exciting energy and communication features.

Under the ‘Take Control’ banner, ECO-Logic UK unveiled a Safe Room communication panel designed especially for secure room facilities. The panel offers low voltage lighting, cell call, emergency call, and limited telephone, television and audio links, with remote management control. In another product launch, MC Modular was featured to run alongside the existing ECO-Logic UK control package. MC Modular capability enables the inclusion of Air Movement, Security Locking and Heating Controls, together with BMS Links. The eye-catching ECO-Logic UK stand also displayed innovative Bathfill and Showering products, which can now link to remote central control points, for example nurse and management stations.

A new compact and fully welded ECO Pipetank design was also unveiled and enjoyed much interest from architects and designers alike due to its unique space saving benefits. This innovative product will be introduced in 2008 alongside a new ECO-Logic flushing valve.

Meanwhile, ECO-Logic UK achievements have been recognised in a recent award from Medilink West Midlands for Growth in Sector. This award was given to recognise company sales growth and technical advancement in intelligent control systems for Healthcare. At a glittering ceremony, satirical comedian and GP Dr Phil Hammond presented the prestigious awards, created to recognise the most outstanding business accomplishmentsn across the West Midlands. Judges praised all five winners for their drive, passion and investment in medical technology. With more than 1300 medical manufacturers in the region, competition for the awards was fierce.

MedilinkWM’s Communication Director, Michelle Dalton said, “These awards are an excellent chance to celebrate the huge variety of skills, expertise and experience in this sector and recognise the huge impact the medical manufacturers in the West Midlands are having on national healthcare services”. Each winning company will now go forward to represent the region in the national Medical Technology Awards. All in all, these are exciting times for ECO-Logic UK, who are now poised for excellent growth in 2008.

MedilinkWM’s Communication Director, Michelle Dalton said, “These awards are an excellent chance to celebrate the huge variety of skills, expertise and experience in this sector and recognise the huge impact the medical manufacturers in the West Midlands are having on national healthcare services”

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BonaKemi has introduced a unique Dust Care System for wood floor specialists. Using either Single or Multi versions of this highly sophisticated vacuum system, clean-up time after sanding can be drastically reduced, sanding machine performance improved and working conditions made much healthier

The Bona Dust Care Single is a powerful portable vacuum unit which is compatible with all Bona sanding machines as well as other brands. Its 7.5 metre hose can also be connected to edge sanders which, as contractors will know, often cause very high levels of dust. The sanding dust is safely collected inside the unit's high capacity 'longopac' bag and emptied using a quick 'two cable-tie' technique which means that neither contractor nor the environment are exposed to its harmful properties. Weighing just 38 kg, new Dust Care Single is designed to be highly manoeuvrable and can be laid flat for transport.

In tests, the Dust Care System removed 99.996% of dust from the working environment. As the dust is drawn away from the sanding machine, the belt and the floor during the sanding process, 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 – particularly when working in museums, hospitals, residential premises and other 'dust sensitive' areas. The system is suitable for use when sanding all types of wooden floor including wood composition floors.

The Dust Care Multi is a trailer based vacuum system which can be connected to two sanding machines simultaneously. This option is designed for contractors working on larger projects such as museums, airports and shopping centres. The trailer is parked outside the building and its 30 metre hose connected to the sanding machine/s inside. The sanding dust is taken via the hose to the vacuum unit in the trailer which is powered by a powerful Honda 4-stroke, two cylinder engine. The trailer is also designed to store sanding machines, and other tools and materials.

Both Dust Care Single and Dust Care Multi are based on patented '2-step cyclone' technology and, because of their time saving potential, are set to revolutionise the way contractors work! BonaKemi distributors will have more details, alternatively contractors can call BonaKemi direct on 01908 399740 to arrange a demonstration.

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Coy Ponds Business Park is an elegant new commercial development, close to Poole in Dorset and nearing completion. The complex, at present comprising 2 self contained buildings, offers office suites between 93 and 260m2 and is finished to an exceptionally high standard with particular attention paid to architectural detail.

Twelve individual open plan suites of high grade accommodation are available – Building 1 has 7 independent office areas over 3 floors whilst Building 2 has a single open plan area on each of 5 floors. All floors are separately air conditioned by Daikin Sky Air RZQ Super Inverter heat pump systems with capacities between 9.1 and 24.4kW (cooling) and 11.2 to 27kW (heating), designed and installed by Cold Service Ltd, Ringwood, Dorset.

Seven Sky Air systems handle Building 1 with a further 5 looking after Building 2. EERs and COPs for the systems vary between 2.81/3.71 and 3.21/3.61 respectively. All outdoor condensing units are located at roof level on both buildings. Conditioned air for the light and airy office areas is delivered by a total of 47 Daikin FCQ ‘Roundflow’ ceiling cassette indoor fan coil units to maintain internal design temperatures of 220 C in summer and 210 C in winter.

The Roundflow cassette, introduced recently by Daikin, is currently unique in the UK market in that it offers complete 3600 radial conditioned air discharge, which not only ensures against localised draughts but also provides a more uniform air distribution.

Fresh air for the fan coil units is provided by Daikin VAM heat recovery ventilation units, which modulate the temperature and humidity of the incoming fresh air and match it to prevailing indoor conditions. This enables the mechanical ventilation cooling and heating loads place upon the air conditioning systems to be reduced considerably. All VAM heat recovery ventilation units and air conditioning systems are monitored and controlled by remote wall mounted room temperature controllers.

Commenting on the installation, a Cold Service spokesman states: “our choice of the new Daikin Roundflow cassettes was based primarily on their ability to provide 360 degree air distribution but also their shallow 214mm depth enabled them to fit comfortably into the 225mm ceiling voids. “In addition, the VAM units could be integrated into the same control systems governing the air conditioning.”

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Group's landfill waste now equivalent to ordinary British household's

Multi-environmental award winning Hambleside Danelaw, which manufactures insulated GRP rooflights and other roofing materials in Inverness and Daventry, has been certified as Planet Positive™ by leading carbon solutions company dcarbon8.

The Group is also on track to achieve by the end of 2007 a reduction in its total landfill waste from 904 tonnes in 2001 to approximately 3 tonnes – the latter being equivalent to the waste of the average British household. This achievement should be measured against the fact that Hambleside Danelaw is manufacturing circa 1.5 million square metres of roofing materials each year.

Hambleside Danelaw has gained Planet Positive™ certification because its design and production processes already embody an environmentally responsible footprint which is imperative to receiving certification. The Planet Positive™ mark will inform contractors that Hambleside's business carbon footprint, the volume of greenhouse gasses generated by the company's manufacturing and distribution processes, is more than offset by activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The certification relates to the processes behind all of the Group's building products and Hambleside Danelaw is currently the only UK rooflight manufacturer to carry the Planet Positive™ mark. Other leading companies in the building industry, who are members of dcarbon8 and are working towards Planet Positive™ certification, include CA Group.

As well as meeting high environmental objectives, dcarbon8's off-site projects around the developing world seek to improve the social and economic well-being of the local area. This can be done in many ways, for example, reducing energy costs, improving employment, education, health or saving habitats and wildlife.

Hambleside Danelaw has chosen to support two of dcarbon8's selected projects: the first is a hydroelectric power plant connected to the national grid in Guatemala, which provides a constant source of renewable energy that has significantly reduced the country's demand for fossil-fuel generated electricity. The second project aims to install solar panels into remote, rural schools in the Eastern Cape of South Africa with the additional installation of much needed ICT and internet facilities.

Robin Jeffery, Hambleside's vice-chairman, said: “The Planet Positive™ certification is perhaps the strongest indication yet to our clients that we wish to be seen as a market leader for environmental responsibility in the building industry. A major attraction of being a dcarbon8 member is that we can work with the company's experts to constantly source further improvements in our sustainability performance.”

Janet Kidner of dcarbon8 said: “I saw on my recent visit to the Group's manufacturing facility in Inverness the significant steps that Hambleside Danelaw has taken to set a carbon footprint benchmark which, in our experience, only a few others in the building industry currently match. But dcarbon8 is encouraged that the sharing of best environmental practice in the sector is really starting to gather pace.”

Hambleside Danelaw is now working with dcarbon8 to certify their products as Planet PositiveTM; this will include a detailed carbon footprint analysis of its products. When this process is complete, contractors who purchase products from Hambleside Danelaw will be given dcarbon8 carbon credits to select rigorously approved carbon offset projects for further investment

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An international colour workshop held by Eternit Germany, the sister company of the UK's leading manufacturer of cladding and roofing materials Marley Eternit, reveals huge differences in the colours preferred by architects in the various EC states.

Some may be as obvious as flamboyant French architects preferring pink and the more conservative English preferring more muted, natural colours. However, what they all agree on is how important colour in design is to them.

This importance was reflected in the fact that four European architects accepted Eternit's invitation to spend a day discussing colour in design, reviewing the company's cladding portfolio and touring the group's fibre cement factory in Neubeckum, Germany.

UK architects were represented by Cany Ash and Robert Sakula from Ash Sakula Architects in London. They were joined by Konrad Wohlhage from Leon Wohlhage Wernik Architekten in Berlin and David Trottin from Peripheriques Architectes in Paris and were complemented by five architects working within Eternit companies in Europe.

These are Shane O'Toole from Tegral, Ireland, who is architecture correspondent for the Sunday Irish Times, and Prof Jan Krause of Eternit Germany, who is Professor for Architecture Media Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, as well as Eternit architects in Spain and Italy.

Conducted in English, the workshop focused on a discussion of Eternit versus competitor products and future development of Eternit's portfolio of fibre cement cladding panels.

Accompanied by 10 other senior Eternit sales and marketing personnel from all over Europe, the architect consultants reviewed the colour ranges and sales figures of each participating country before Jan Krause spoke about the use of colours in architecture, showing recent architectural works with natural or industrial facade materials.

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Mapei UK Ltd's Little Black Book Range is now available to download free of charge at www.mapei.co.uk.

Both Ceramic and Flooring ranges are available in easy view pdf versions, enabling a snapshot of Mapei UK's product portfolio at your fingertips.

The Ceramic Black Book contains information on the range of paste and powder adhesives, latex additives, waterproofing systems, screeds, levelling compounds, grouts, primer and sealant.

The Flooring Black Book includes information on the UK range of screeds, levelling compounds, surface membranes, primers, adhesives, sealants and tools, and includes the successful ECO Range – a portfolio of products with virtually zero emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds.

For your free glance please visit www.mapei.co.uk

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Modern building design incorporates the latest technology, combining contemporary cost-effective construction techniques with consideration of ongoing energy and operating costs. These principals apply to the whole building and the products and systems, which make up the Building services, play a vital part in the overall plan.

Every Design, Facility and Energy Manager knows that the basis of good management and control is effective measurement, to provide a picture of what's happening, feedback on actions taken, demand trends and actual consumption! And in the area of Liquid flow, heat and energy measurement a comprehensive Sub-metering system is vital to energy management of the building.

Micronics Fixed “Clamp-On” meter solutions based on non-invasive, ultrasonic technology offer a cost-effective alternative to conventional meter installation with established savings of up to 90%! They can make a significant contribution in a comprehensive sub-metering system and they are simple to service and maintain with no need for system drain downs, facilitating fast repairs and minimum down times.

They are in short a modern tool for contemporary building designs with advanced building services. And these clear benefits have been recognised by the incorporation of “Clamp-On” non-invasive meters in major developments such as London's ExCeL exhibition centre and more recently Heathrow Terminal 5 where “Clamp-On” meters form a significant part of the Terminal's sub-metering system.

So if your design requires a fixed flow or heat measurement/metering solution the “Clamp-On” alternative should be a must consider option particularly for large pipe-work installations!

Micronics offer a comprehensive range of fixed “Clamp-On” meters to cover a wide range of Building services applications. And they also offer flow measurement and analysis services, combining their product range with Flow Analysis software and expert staff to conduct flow and pump efficiency surveys.

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ATG Access has been short listed for an award at the Institute of Highways & Transportation (IHT) awards 2007. The awards which are run in conjunction with Corus and the National Security Advice Centre (NSAC) were set up to celebrate and reward the remarkable achievements of those working in highways and transportation.

ATG has been short listed in the “Security in the Public Realm” category for its work at Paradise Street bus station in Liverpool. The location of the station left a nearby building vulnerable to vehicular attack and ATG's SP1000 rising bollard system closed that gap.

The SP1000 has been crash tested as part of the production of the PAS 68 standard, various tests have been carried out, the most impressive of which saw a 7.5 tonne truck impact into a single bollard at 50mph. The truck was stopped dead and the bollard continued to function.

Rated to exceed the criteria in American standard K12, the SP1000 is a masterpiece of engineering and protects government facilities, embassies and high profile stadiums around the world from the threat of terrorist attack.

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Sentinel, the UK’s leading water treatment specialist, has highlighted that energy efficiency – and complying with Building Regulations – not only makes sense from a green perspective – reducing emissions of CO2 and reducing energy bills – it actually makes good business sense for installers from an income point of view. In fact, adopting an energy efficient approach to being an installer, is a business in itself.

Sentinel is committed to reducing the environmental impact of domestic heating systems and has commissioned independent research, carried out by GASTEC-CRE, that has shown that a poorly maintained system may experience a 2-3% reduction in boiler efficiency and up to a 15% reduction in overall system effectiveness. For the householder that isn’t funny.

Sentinel’s Sales Director for UK and Ireland John Lynch says that for many installers, using Sentinel products to clean and inhibit the heating systems they install or service can – on average – add around £100 to their income each week. That’s an additional £5,000 a year and that’s not to be sniffed at: “It’s a significant amount. It’s simple to use and it’s not a cost that will cause problems when billing a customer,” he says. “Increased awareness of the need to be energy efficient – to reduce emissions of CO2 and to address the problems associated with global warming – has made many consumers keenly aware that they can have a direct and positive impact on helping to reduce energy usage in their homes. The lower fuel bills are often the key driver, but if an installer raises the issue and gets the customer onside, the cost of chemical water treatment products is not going to be a problem for householders.”

Sentinel has launched its new Energy Efficiency Campaign with a view to hammering home the facts about water treatment in domestic heating systems, adding further credence to the benefits of doing the job properly: “We know that there are still a significant minority of people claiming to be installers out there who are cutting corners and leaving their customers with incomplete installations, and systems that will very rapidly lose the efficiency levels that new high efficiency boilers can provide,” says John Lynch. “They do the quality installers no favours at all. Cleaning a system properly, either utilising a manual flushing with Sentinel X400 or for heavily scaled and clogged systems, a jetflushing, using our heavy duty, one visit X800 cleanser, followed by proper inhibiting of the system using X100, to keep it the way, it will ensure that the boiler and the system operate at optimum efficiency levels and provide welcome reduced energy bills for the householder and a system that performs as it should, responsible for significantly less CO2 emissions than a dirty, untreated system. It’s a very simple way forward and as we’ve proved already, it can add a healthy chunk of profit to an installer who uses Sentinel products, even just 3 times a week.”

Installers simply have to go to the Sentinel web site, click on the ‘energy efficiency’ tag and sign up for a range of freebies and information. Just by signing up you will receive 10 free Sentinel Quick Test kits, a number of customer leaflets explaining the benefits of water treatment – ideal for popping in with quotes, a £10 discount voucher for the Sentinel Water Treatment Training Pack and that’s not all! You’ll receive regular energy efficiency updates from Sentinel and automatically be entered into a free prize draw for Premiership Football match tickets.

The recently launched takeaway pack for installers – the Building Regulations Compliance Pack – that includes everything an installer needs to comply with the Building Regulations in England, Wales and Scotland – X800 cleaner, X100 inhibitor and a CombiGuard unit, required by Building Regulations to address the problems of limescale in a domestic hot water system in areas of the country where hardness of the water exceeds 200ppm – will help installers to make increased profits too. The installation of a CombiGuard unit with its twelve month polyphosphate cartridge, allows installers to return every twelve months to replace the cartridge and check the status of the inhibitor in the system, helping to build the customer relationship as an on-going one from year to year.

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The appearance of ATG Access at IFSEC 2007 underlines the company's ability to provide effective security solutions and secure access control for every type of application.

Whilst maintaining its links to traditional bollard security with its latest fully accredited manual security posts the attention of visitors to the show will almost certainly be drawn to the impressive video footage showing the companies SP1000 automatic rising bollard.

Crash test footage showing one single bollard taking the impact of a 7.5 tonne truck travelling at 50 mph and stopping it dead will impress all who see it. The SP1000 was tested as part of the production of the PAS 68 standard and its test results exceed those in the American K12 standard.

Stand number 23245 will feature the answer to every level of security, from a single residential driveway right up to the anti-terrorist SP1000.

Call on stand to hear about the latest additions to the product range, a static bollard from the SP range which will sit in a shallow mount foundation of just 200 mm. This product has already been tested and performed a dead stop on a 7.5 tonne truck travelling at 30mph with zero penetration.

The company will also be releasing to market a revolutionary crash rated gate, manufactured using the latest high tech synthetic fibres and designed to offer a lightweight but very robust and secure access control solution. Both these products are masterpieces of engineering and are set to revolutionise the security industry.

For more details on this story, or any of the ATG Access product range, please contact their marketing department on 01942 685 522 or e-mail: ian.parry@atgaccess.com , visit their website at www.atgaccess.com for extensive product information or to see footage of the crash tests of the SP1000 bollard.

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