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Crittall, the originator of the steel window and the sector’s leading manufacturer, has launched T60 – a highly innovative thermally broken steel window and door system.

T60’s slim profiles replicate original Crittall steel windows, combining traditional aesthetics with 21st Century levels of performance. T60 features an advanced high density polyurethane isolator as a thermal barrier. This, together with housing high performance double or triple glazing up to 37mm wide, ensures the system surpasses the requirements of current regulations while at the same time providing contemporary levels of comfort, particularly in harsher weather conditions where traditional steel windows may not have previously been sufficient. Market-leading weathertightness performance has been tested to European and ASTM Standards.

As with all Crittall products, T60 is corrosion protected and finished with Duralife, an architectural grade polyester powder coating. Its slim sightlines maximize the benefit of natural daylight thereby reducing reliance on artificial lighting. Each frame is fully welded enhancing strength and durability. The inherent strength of steel gives peace of mind in respect of robustness and security, boosted by optional multi-locking. A wide range of opening configurations are available.

Traditional aesthetics ensure T60 can be specified with confidence for Listed buildings or properties in Conservation areas.

The clean, slender design is ideally suited both to restoration work and new build projects and T60 is expected to be specified for a full range of market sectors, including offices, health, education and hotels.

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A bespoke cable management solution was delivered to a tight deadline ensuring halls of residence at the University of Warwick were ready to welcome students in time for the new term.
Marshall-Tufflex’s sleek Odyssey PVC-U trunking system offers a completely curved profile and is the only one of its kind on the market. It has been designed specifically with health, education and office environments in mind.

Bespoke lengths of 2.25m were cut to size to fit-out student rooms in the Arthur Vick Residence at the university. The Odyssey trunking was supplied in white with flush fitting charcoal accessory boxes to comply with Part M of the Building Regulations.

The dado trunking delivers data and electricity to desk areas in each of the 150 study rooms and was part of a refit of the whole residence. The halls are in constant use so the pressure was on to complete the refurbishment during the university vacation time.

Marshall-Tufflex has a dedicated team to deal with special projects where cable management products are fabricated to customised design and specification. The team was able to provide the bespoke cut lengths with a quick turnaround, helping the refit stay on track and on budget.

This specialist service offered by Marshall-Tufflex was a key consideration, but Odyssey was also chosen for its stylish curved profile, which has the added benefit of avoiding dust traps or cluttered surfaces and makes cleaning easy. Specially designed wrap-around covers give added security and result in smoother lines to further enhance Odyssey’s unique appearance.

Electrical Design Engineer Gary Price, from the University of Warwick Estates Office, said the system was chosen to enhance the look of the student rooms and also to provide the most cost-effective and timely solution. He said: “I have used Odyssey many times in the past and it looks aesthetically pleasing and is a very good product. We only had 10 weeks on site and I wanted to limit any waste in terms of time and materials. Having the product cut to size in the factory and delivered as a complete package for each study bedroom meant that it could be easily fitted into place with no waste. This has delivered a very good result.”

With a tight turnaround to get the project completed, ease of installation was another key factor. As well as being cut to size off-site, the base is pre-punched so does not require drilling. The trunking has adjustable bends with a 25mm bend radius to manage difficult angles, and cabling is made easier thanks to a specially designed internal cable tray.

The three compartments allow full cable segregation and both trunking and accompanying fittings are suitable for installations up to Cat 7a. The system is even tamper resistant thanks to fittings that locate with a special clip design, which is useful in school or high security settings.

Supplied by Edmundson Electrical in Coventry, the Odyssey range is also available as an antimicrobial option, and with electromagnetic shielding.

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The new £140 million Macallan distillery and visitor experience on the Easter Elchies estate near Craigellachie in Moray features Armourcoat Surface Finishes.

Macallan is a luxury single malt Scotch whisky brand, with leading positions in some of the world’s most significant markets including the USA, Taiwan, and Japan. The distillery is designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, who were selected to lead the project after an international competition.

Over 400m2 of custom coloured Armourcoat Spatulata polished plaster has been applied to the curving staircase walls, boutique store, lift lobbies and reception. Spatulata is Armourcoat’s own superfine marble stucco paste developed from traditional materials and manufactured in the UK. It is trowel applied in numerous fine layers by skilled applicators to create a highly polished decorative surface that adds a touch of luxury to interior spaces.

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Designed to appeal to the contracts sector, a new range of Kinedo shower enclosures has been added to the portfolio of showering products by Saniflo.

Fast 2000, named as such because of the 2000mm high profiles and the rapidity of installation, is a collection of enclosures designed to suit every size and shape of bathroom. Offering exceptional value for money, the collection includes:

• Pivot doors: 700 – 1200mm
• Sliding doors: 1000 – 1700mm
• Corner entry sliding doors: 700 – 1200mm
• Quads with sliding doors: 800 or 900mm
• Fixed panels: 700 – 900mm

As is synonymous with the Kinedo range the Fast 2000 is quick and easy to install and manufactured using quality components throughout. Interlocking aluminium profiles ensure the frame is very simple to assemble whilst easy release rollers can be fixed to the door profiles without any tools. Handles are attached using pre-supplied screws and fixings for the glass panels slot neatly and securely into place. The whole job is easily completed by one person.

The design of the Fast 2000 range is both high quality and provides an elegant shower space for new build and renovation projects alike.  Features include:

• 20 – 40mm of adjustment for ease of fitting
• Top and bottom rollers on slider doors for ease of release and excellent stability
• Anti-limescale treatment as standard for an easy clean solution
• Reversible glass panels
• Quick release rollers on slider doors
• 2m height enclosure with 6mm glass
• Easy fit profile covers and concealed fixings for a neat finish

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Condair plc has been accredited by the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, the national accreditation standard that recognises an organisation’s commitment to improving the lives of those who work there.  Condair achieved the standard through initiatives such as the introduction of free staff health MOTs, subsidizing gym subscriptions, investing in sit-stand desks and appointing trained mental health first aiders.

Condair plc, the UK’s leading humidification specialist, employs 75 people, located either at its headquarters in West Sussex, or remotely situated around the UK, across its nationwide sales and service teams.

Tim Scott, head of sales at Condair plc, comments, “Employees who are happy and healthy are more engaged and productive in the workplace. We are very proud to have obtained this important accreditation, as it objectively demonstrates our commitment to continually improving the happiness, health and wellbeing of our staff.

“Condair has been at the forefront of the UK’s humidity control for 37 years. The fact that over half our staff have been with us for at least 10 years, and many for much longer, is testament to the importance we place on employee wellbeing and happiness. This doesn’t just make our day-to-day working lives more enjoyable but has a direct impact on the business’ profits. It helps us retain talented individuals, builds the most experienced workforce in the marketplace and ensures we deliver the best possible service to our customers.”

As part of the Workplace Wellbeing Charter accreditation, Condair was independently reviewed by a consultant, against a set of eight topic areas. These topics ranged from leadership and absence management to physical activity and healthy eating. The objective is to assess the company’s level of commitment to creating a culture that values health and wellbeing.

Tim Scott continues, “As an organisation, we have always been proactive about creating a happy workplace, with regular social events playing an important part in building a cooperative and friendly team atmosphere. We also encourage staff to manage their own health through subsidizing gym subscriptions, promoting tax-free bike-to-work schemes, offering sit/stand desks, company bikes for staff use, free bi-annual health MOTs and offering medical cash plans, which allow staff access to cheaper healthcare services for things like dental, optometry or podiatry.

“Alongside these investments, we also provide services to employees such as workshops on stress management, healthy eating and mindfulness, give staff support to stop smoking and allow time-shifting in working hours. Simply starting and finishing a working day at a slightly different time can improve a person’s work life balance and alleviate stress.

“Mental health has also been a focus for us in recent years. As well as internally promoting government initiatives like Mental Health Awareness Week, we have appointed and trained two mental health first aiders. These individuals are able to offer direct and confidential support to people who need it. As well as this one-to-one support, employees also have access to a confidential helpline, with experts who can provide advice on a range of topics from bereavement and debt to health and relationships.” Tim concludes.

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidification and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair plc, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares.

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An aggressive coastal location coupled with conservation regulations were key challenges for contractors tasked with installing a new air conditioning system at Brighton’s historic Grand hotel.

Marshall-Tufflex’s Glass Reinforced Polyester (GRP) cable management system fitted the bill perfectly thanks to its corrosion-resistance, long-lasting durability and a heritage sensitive ‘sand colour that perfectly complemented the building’s Victorian facade. 

More than 320m of perforated GRP tray with standard covers was installed on the rear of the seafront hotel to hold air conditioning pipes and cables to service all 201 bedrooms. This ambitious project was part of an on-going multi-million pound investment programme following the Grand’s sale to independent owners in 2014.

Paul Smith, of air conditioning contractor Airtemp, based in St Leonards-on-Sea, explained why GRP cable containment was the ideal solution: “We could not use metal due to the hotel’s position on the seafront, so the GRP provided a robust and saline-resistant solution. The sandy colour of the Marshall-Tufflex product also fitted perfectly with the back of the building and was recommended by planners.

“This was the first time we had used GRP trays but we modified the product to make it fit nicely and are pleased with the result. The system is of a very good quality and highly robust,” added Mr Smith.

GRP, particularly in locations exposed to extreme weather conditions and high salinity, is the perfect alternative to steel cable management. It is a corrosion-resistant, robust product specifically designed for challenging environments. It is also 40% lighter than steel, making it easier to move around site and fix, another plus point for this project given that The Grand wanted to minimise the impact of renovations on guests so ease of installation was crucial; the Marshall-Tufflex GRP trays require fewer fasteners and benefit from interlocking and self-adjusting couplings making it quick and easy to fit on site and modify without the need for special tools or earth bonding. Additionally, it has excellent fire safety credentials as GRP is a low conductivity, self-extinguishing material that is fully compliant with fire standards and regulations.

The GRP trays were supplied by Phase Electrical, Hastings.

A spokesman for The Grand Brighton said: “Following feedback from our guests we made the decision to install air conditioning throughout our 201 bedrooms. The project was uniquely challenging considering the infrastructure and heritage requirements of working on a Victorian era building so it was essential that we sourced the best contractor and products that would cause minimal disruption to our guests. 

“We selected Marshall-Tufflex based on its top quality products and its established reputation. We are delighted with the results so far and the company went above and beyond to deliver the highest standard of customer service.”

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Condair is appearing at the forthcoming Data Centre World exhibition on stand D921, at the Excel Centre in London from 12th to 13th March. The company will be displaying the latest in adiabatic and steam humidifier technology, which provides in-duct evaporative cooling and humidification to data centres.

Condair has extensive experience in working with data centre designers and air handling unit manufacturers that need to incorporate evaporative coolers or humidifiers into their systems. Previous data centre projects have involved clients such as Facebook, Microsoft, Digital Realty, Hewlett Packard, Amazon and eBay.

Condair’s experts will be on-hand at Data Centre World to give advice on how the latest humidifier technology can reduce data centre operating costs through improved energy consumption and reduced maintenance requirements.

Products on display include the Condair ME evaporative humidifier that offers 0.68kW of adiabatic cooling to an air handling system for every 1kg of moisture evaporated into the air stream. As the humidifier can provide up to 1,440kg/hr of humidity while operating on less than 1kW, it presents significant benefits to data centres using free air cooling systems. The technology can be employed to deliver direct or indirect evaporative cooling to facilities in warmer climates or add massive amounts of low energy humidification to data centres using cold, dry outside air in cold climates.

Alongside its market-leading in-duct evaporative system, Condair will have the Condair RS resistive steam humidifier on its stand. The Condair RS offers steam humidification to data centres without the need to frequently replace boiling cylinders, as is the case with many on-board humidification systems supplied with CRAC units. The humidifier has a scale management system that allows lime scale that builds up in the boiling chamber to fall into a removable tank at the base of the unit. Routine scale removal can be carried out by in-house maintenance staff in minutes, saving costs on consumables and maintenance time.

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidification and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair plc, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares.

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Armourcoat created a ‘quiet zone’ on their stand at the Surface Design Show in February to highlight the benefits of their acoustic plaster system. The company also featured among the main stage speakers and presentation to the 2019 Surface Design Award winners.

The Surface Design Show, held at Islington’s Business Design Centre, is a must-attend annual trade event to source products, gain new insights and connect with innovative and exciting materials such as Armourcoat Acoustic.
The system comprises of a special mineral wool composite panel that is bonded onto the substrate and finished with a seamless layer, presenting an elegant marble-based plaster finish while allowing sound energy to pass through the surface.

The Armourcoat stand focused on creating a ‘quiet zone’ at the show using the new acoustic plaster system recently granted the Quiet Mark Award – the international mark of approval from the Noise Abatement Society Charitable Foundation. Through its pioneering acoustic tests, Quiet Mark awards its distinctive Purple Q Mark to products and services that show excellence in low-noise and high performance.

Poppy Szkiler, founder and managing director of Quiet Mark shared seasoned insights as a third generation noise reduction campaigner on the main stage, discussing acoustic solutions for a noisy world.

Armourcoat were also delighted to support the 2019 Surface Design Awards, sponsoring the ‘Sustainability’ categories.

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Humidification specialist, Condair, has appointed Tony Fleming as the Head of Sales Cluster Northern Europe. Tony takes on responsibility for the operations of Condair’s two sales and manufacturing facilities based in the UK and Denmark, as well as the Condair sales offices in Ireland and Sweden.

Tony Fleming comments, “I am delighted to take on this new role of developing Condair’s operations in the key markets of the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. The Condair Group has made significant investment in these regions as part of its recent global expansion and has seen good growth in all fields of humidification, evaporative cooling and dehumidification.”

Tony’s appointment follows a restructuring of Condair’s regional operations and the association of the UK and Ireland with Scandinavia as “Sales Cluster Northern Europe”. Tony’s previous position at Condair was Technical & Operations Director at Condair plc, for which he was and continues to be based in the Condair office in West Sussex, UK. Alongside his role at Condair, Tony also serves as a Non-Executive Director on the board of BSRIA.

All positions within Condair’s regional operations remain unchanged, including Tim Scott remaining as Sales Director for Condair in the UK and Ireland.

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidity control and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications.

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A vast amount of data cabling is required to keep Swansea City Football Club’s media centre running smoothly – and Marshall-Tufflex’s Sterling Curve and Sterling XL PVC-U trunking have provided the perfect cable management solutions.

The club plays in the English Football League Championship and its media centre is regularly used by news and media agencies, such as Sky Sports, for outside broadcasts, interviews and press conferences.

The large amount of cabling required to service the centre is now managed via Marshall-Tufflex’s trunking fitted across four media rooms, which form part of the club’s new Fairwood training base. The state-of-the-art facility was built in collaboration with Swansea University at a cost of £10.5million.

Sterling Curve perimeter trunking is a three compartment, sleek, data compliant trunking with one or two curved data compartments. It has been specially designed to stop clutter, prevent dust traps and be easily cleaned. It is also easy and cost effective to install and incorporates a 25mm bend radius that allows it to be manipulated around corners for a sleek finish.

Accompanying this, Sterling XL trunking was chosen for its large capacity provided by deep, four-part compartments that can be segregated and added too. The system can be fed from larger trunking systems for increased cable distribution.

Both cable management solutions were supplied by Electrical Wholesale Supplies (Swansea) Ltd and designed and installed By EmC Services electrical contractors based in Carmarthen, Wales. Each is suitable for dado and skirting application and have power boxes available to comply with Part M/DDA requirements for visual impairment. They are available in white or charcoal as standard, are compliant up to Cat 7a and include adjustable data boxes that can be screened to help against electromagnetic interference.

This is the first time Swansea City FC has had its own training facility, previously using different local pitches and sports clubs. The Fairwood training base is predominantly used by the first team and has cutting-edge facilities that, alongside football pitches, include a high tech gym, altitude chamber, hydrotherapy pool, treatment rooms, large kit room and social areas.

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