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Armourcoat’s new Acoustic Plaster System has been granted the Quiet Mark Award – the international mark of approval from the Noise Abatement Society Charitable Foundation.

Quiet Mark is the international award programme and system of support for brands and consumers. Through its pioneering acoustic tests, the organisation awards its distinctive Purple Q Mark to products and services that show excellence in low-noise and high-performance.

Designed to optimize the acoustics of interior spaces, the Armourcoat Acoustic plaster system offers a clean and smooth mineral surface that can be applied seamlessly over large expanses to both flat and curved surfaces. Comprising of a special mineral wool composite panel that is bonded onto the substrate and finished with a seamless layer, the system presents an elegant marble-based plaster finish while allowing sound energy to pass through the surface.

The Armourcoat system includes a high percentage of pre and post-consumer recycled material, zero VOCs, is class ‘0’ fire-rated, and achieves a class ‘A’ Noise Reduction Coefficient rating for the 50mm system.

Poppy Szkiler, Founder and Managing Director, Quiet Mark, comments: “We welcome Armourcoat to the growing family of global organisations that are prioritising investment in acoustic research to create quieter solutions, as recognised by the Quiet Mark award. Armourcoat’s innovative acoustic plaster system performs to the highest building standards and incorporates special wool composite. This delivers excellent noise reduction properties and minimises the unnecessary intrusion of unwanted sound into our buildings, allowing the creation of a peaceful and supportive aural environment in our homes and places of work.”

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The brand new MagnaClean DRX is now available.

Its innovative and compact design includes a magnetic belt wrapped around a precision engineered stainless steel case which makes installation and servicing quick and easy.

The MagnaClean DRX has a robust and versatile design

The DRX has joined ADEY’s family of filters which are designed specifically for commercial systems. It will provide essential protection for plant rooms and comes complete with a host of features to provide a versatile solution for heating engineers:

Innovative and compact design which includes magnetic belt technology

• Flexible installation options – for both in-line and side stream applications
• Easy to service
• Effective capture of black iron oxide sludge
• Captures large and small size particles
• Available in sizes 2”, 2 ½”, 3 “ and 4”

To see the DRX’s design for yourself, you can watch a brand new video that is available via the ADEY YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/mOVnVCFNpAs

Along with the rest of ADEY’s range of Commercial filters, you can also download Building Information Modelling (BIM) technical data for the Magnaclean DRX by visiting adey.com / bim-store or via bimstore.co.uk

ADEY’s Commercial Division has also been expanded to support their customers further:

The continued expansion of ADEY’s Commercial Division now means that customers have access to a dedicated and highly-experienced team who are able to offer focused technical insight, help and advice, no matter what the system size, scale or problem.

To request a free site visit where a member of the ADEY team will come out and assess your plant room, just go to www.adey.com/support/customer-support
You can contact ADEY on 01242 546 717 or via info@adey.com

You can also keep up to date with ADEY’s latest activities via their social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn. And if you would like to find out more about the MagnaClean DRX or ADEY’s Commercial range, please visit adey.com

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Podcast Now Available: BNE Product News – BBA – ‘Special Edition’ Interview

In this BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast, Alvaro Enguita-Gonzalez – Head of Test at the BBA discusses the BBA Product Excellence Programme (PEP). The interviewer for BusinessNet Explorer is Mick de Leiburne.

Click to play interview on YouTube:

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Condair has appointed Julien Taschot as Business Development Manager for its range of industrial and commercial dehumidifiers. Julien’s role will be to develop sales of Condair’s dehumidification systems across the UK and Ireland.

Julien has 11 years’ experience in humidity control having been with Condair in various sales positions across both the UK and French Condair offices. His previous role within Condair was to support international sales of adiabatic humidification systems manufactured in the UK but sold internationally throughout the Condair Group.

Julien comments, “I am delighted to be joining Condair’s UK Sales team and to be playing a central part in Condair’s focus on dehumidification systems. Condair is largely known for adding moisture to the atmosphere with its range of humidifiers so this newly created role within the company highlights Condair’s commitment to this sector.”

Condair’s range of dehumidifiers incorporates both desiccant and condensing technologies and is suitable for any commercial or industrial drying application. Standard capacities range from 0.5-182kg/h extraction rates, -30°C to 40°C operating conditions and dry air volumes from 120 to 25,000 m³/h.

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. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair plc, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk.

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Customers throughout the world are requesting an ever greater number of products and solutions that meet increasingly strict environmental requirements. Green building is one of the expressions of this trend: The effort to work environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle.

COOL-FIT 2.0, the revolutionary pre-insulated plastic piping system by GF Piping Systems, can help achieve relevant green building declarations like DGNB, BREEAM, and LEED. It fulfills important requirements necessary for the overall building assessment:

COOL-FIT 2.0 is free of HBCD, halogens and halogenated blowing agents. It contains also no chlorinated paraffins and neither lead nor tin.
It contains no other substance of very high concern according to the REACH criteria of the European Chemicals Agency or any candidate substance.
It does not lead to toxic or corrosive fumes in case of fire, protecting both inhabitants and environment from additional risks and hazards.
GF Piping System as the producer is certified according to ISO 14001 for its environmental management system and the Georg Fischer Corporation publishes sustainability reports according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Energy efficiency and climate and environmental protection are strategically anchored as key elements in our product development processes.

COOL-FIT 2.0 is manufactured in Switzerland. This premium system for efficient cooling is the result of strict quality management (ISO 9001) and health and safety management (OHSAS 18001). Its unique qualities improve the overall performance of each building.

“COOL-FIT 2.0 helps to save at least 30 percent of energy compared to traditional cooling systems and thus reduces operating costs and CO2 emissions drastically”, says Daniel Dossenbach, Head of Pre-Insulated Systems at GF Piping Systems. “It is a product that combines economic and environmental benefits very well.”

Its longevity, at least 25 years of usage within a building, and its non-corrosive nature lead to additionally saved resources related to maintenance, repairs and replacements. While many conventional insulation materials can lose their insulation effect by absorbing moisture (rain or air humidity), COOL-FIT 2.0 is protected by its PE jacket tube and virtually watertight.

COOL-FIT 2.0 helps building green while staying cool. For more information please visit here to learn more about the advantages of this revolutionary system.

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Condair plc is offering a new CIBSE-approved seminar on humidification for facility managers. It provides an overview of the different humidifier types, the service requirements for each, details an FM’s responsibilities in relation to L8 and offers trouble-shooting tips for common humidifier issues.

The CPD seminar is ideal for any contracted or in-house FM team working with or looking to install a humidification system. The session is free, one-hour long and conveniently delivered over lunchtime at a company’s site or office. Condair will even pick-up the catering bill.

The CIBSE accreditation means that the seminar’s content has been independently verified to be unbiased, up-to-date and technically accurate. It also enables attendees to gain CIBSE CPD points from the convenience of their own workplace over lunch.

To request further details or to book a seminar, please telephone 01903 850200 or visit www.condair.co.uk/cpd.

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. Condair plc is the new name for JS Humidifiers following the organisation’s rebranding in October 2014. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk.

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Ancon has been honoured at a Royal reception to celebrate its success in the 2018 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise – the third Queen’s Award for the company.

The champagne reception, held in the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace, was hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales, on behalf of HM The Queen. Other members of the Royal Family, including HRH The Duke of Kent, were in attendance, underlining the status of this prestigious industry award.

Ancon’s Export Manager, Hervé Poveda, and Operations Director, Peter McDermott, represented Ancon at the event, along with representatives of its business partner, MagmaTech, joint winners with Ancon of the 2018 award.

It was a very proud moment for the two Ancon representatives who share over 50 years’ service and have played important strategic roles in the company achieving and maintaining UK market leadership and its significant international growth.

Speaking after the reception, Hervé Poveda said ”What a wonderful personal experience to meet the Royal family at Buckingham Palace and a great honour to be asked to represent Ancon at this event. A Queen’s Award not only recognises expertise in developing new products or achieving commercial success, but also excellence in every area of business. I am proud to be a part of an organisation that has proved itself, once again, to be among the best in the world.”

Peter McDermott added, “Winning one Queen’s Award is a great achievement, but winning three is a real measure of the depth of expertise, knowledge and dedication that exists within Ancon, at every level of the company. Today is a proud moment for every Ancon employee as well as our suppliers, customers and partners who have contributed to Ancon’s achievements throughout the world.”

Ancon’s latest Queen’s Award, for continuous excellence in innovation, comes as a result of expanding into advanced composites, with the successful introduction and on-going development of the ultra-low thermal conductivity Teplo range of basalt fibre wall ties, which improve the energy efficiency of masonry construction.

This success follows Queen’s Awards for International Trade in 2015, for three years of outstanding sales growth across new and existing export markets, and a Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2012, for the in-house development and commercialisation of a patented Lockable Dowel, a product that revolutionised the construction speed of post-tensioned concrete buildings.

The 2018 Award will be officially presented to Ancon later in the year when the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, HM The Queen’s local representative, visits the company’s recently-extended production facility in Sheffield.

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As a showroom partner, wood floor specialist, Bona, through twice daily talks, will introduce the Clerkenwell community to its new ‘Inspiration’ wood floor styles, designed to transform the look of tired, existing wood floors or to embellish unfinished new ones.

Created by Bona in collaboration with internationally recognised trend analyst, Cay Bond, each of the 17 new looks can be achieved using a combination of Bona’s sanding and brushing methods to enhance the grain, followed by treatments with the company’s waterborne lacquers, oils and colours. The styles, Nordic Shimmer, Garden Atmosphere, Malibu Dreams, Touch of Grace and New Modern, include everything from dark, rustic floors to floors with a pale, lacquered finish.

Floor owners are often simply not aware of how an existing wood floor can be transformed, giving a room or space a completely new look and feel. From a sustainability perspective it makes sense too – the old floor has already been manufactured and transported.

A campaign starts on June 1st using social media, print and online advertising to target and inspire floor owners. Contractors will be able to use the professional pages at bona.com to see how the individual looks can be achieved, and samples and beautiful inspirational brochures will also be available for designers, architects and flooring contractors to leave with their clients.

Register for twice daily showroom talks entitled ‘Inspiration through renovation – how to achieve contemporary trends on existing wood floors’ at this link – https://www.bona.com/en-GB/Professional/Support/Events/Clerkenwell-Design-Week/ or via Bona’s Showroom page at clerkenwelldesignweek.com

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Structural fixings manufacturer, Ancon, has won a 2018 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category, for the successful introduction and on-going development of its advanced composite, low thermal conductivity, Teplo wall tie range.

This is the third time that Ancon has been honoured in this prestigious award scheme that rewards outstanding achievements by UK businesses; it follows Queen’s Awards for International Trade in 2015 and Innovation in 2012.

Teplo wall ties are manufactured from continuous basalt fibres set in a resin matrix; a fibre-reinforced polymer that is 70 times more thermally efficient than steel. When used to join the two leaves of a cavity wall, this material virtually eliminates cold bridging across the insulated cavity. Launched by Ancon in 2010 as part its market leading wall tie range, Teplo has had a major influence on the growth of low energy housing in the UK and Ireland, and helped future-proof traditional masonry cavity wall construction techniques, by minimising insulation thickness and wall footprint.

Whilst Ancon’s first Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2012 recognised the company’s in-house development of a unique lockable concrete-connecting steel component, this second Innovation award has been won jointly with its external strategic partner in this advanced composite development, MagmaTech.

Head of Marketing and Innovation at Ancon, Annabelle Wilson, says “Ancon launches a number of new and improved structural fixing solutions every year and invites ideas into our innovation process from both inside and outside the company. We saw potential in this new material immediately, and over the last eight years have committed our business resources to improving and extending the Teplo wall tie range as part of the Ancon product portfolio, bringing the benefits of advanced composites to mainstream UK construction.”

Today, the Teplo wall tie range includes Teplo-L suitable for surface-fixing in timber frame construction, the Teplo-BF with moulded safety ends that improve buildability particularly in lime and other slow-setting mortars, and the Teplo-BFR which can be resin-bonded in existing walls for retrofit applications. Teplo has been used in numerous ground-breaking developments, including the UK’s first masonry cavity wall ‘PassivHaus’, the UK’s first zero-carbon retrofit and the largest building in the UK built to the ‘Passivhaus’ standard, the University of Leicester’s Centre of Medicine.

Ben Williams, MagmaTech’s Managing Director says “Ancon has proven to be an exceptional partner for cutting edge innovation. They embraced a concept that was potentially disruptive to their existing stainless steel business, promoting it with passion and commitment. Taking a truly innovative energy-saving product to this level of market acceptance in just a few years is a truly outstanding achievement, surpassing our expectations.”

Commenting on their latest triumph in the Queen’s Award programme, Ancon’s Managing Director, Stuart Maxwell, says “Winning three Queen’s Awards in seven years is an extraordinary achievement and reflects the level of professionalism with which Ancon employees, in all areas of our organisation, go about their daily business. Our focus on quality and innovation, combined with a single-minded determination to excel in everything we do, not only underpins our brand reputation in the UK but its growing significance worldwide. It is another very proud day for everyone connected with Ancon and I thank our employees – both home and abroad – our customers and our suppliers for their continued support.”

Later this year the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire will visit Ancon’s head office and main manufacturing site in Sheffield and officially present the 2018 award on behalf of HM The Queen. Ancon representatives will also attend a royal reception at Buckingham Palace this summer, hosted by HRH the Prince of Wales and other senior members of the Royal household.

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Ever wondered how old PVC-U window frames are transformed into brand new ones? Well wonder no more as Richard Hardstaff, General Manager at PVCR, explains it all:

Q: How easy is it to recycle PVC?

A: PVC is very straightforward to recycle and can be mixed with virgin polymer to give it a whole new lease of life. PVC can be recycled up to 10 times.

Q: Can any recycled plastic be used to make new window frames?

A: The types of material we deal with at PVCR are best recycled into new versions of themselves – so old PVC windows are transformed into new ones, old water bottles are made into new water bottles etc.

Q: Which PVC window frames can be recycled?

A: Ideally we want good quality de-glazed window and door frames to ensure the recycled material is of a good standard. Laminated frames are also OK to recycle.

Q: What processes are involved in recycling PVC?

A: Firstly, the frames are broken down and put into a shredder to reduce the size of the material, and any metal is removed. Next, the material is put in water and essentially everything we want sinks. We then separate the material again using a vacuum to ensure any rubber or leftover metal is removed before it goes into the granulator.

The granulator reduces the material to 10mm in size, before its washed, dried and put through electrostatic separation to remove any remaining residue or organic material. Its then colour sorted before the clean, white PVC material is ready to send to REHAU’s factory in Wales.

Q: What is the PVC material used for in the manufacturing process?

A: After being cleaned and lab tested, the white PVC material is sent to REHAU’s factory in Blaenau, where it used to make TOTAL70 co-extruded profiles.

Q: Is there growing demand for recycled PVC?

A: We have seen a dramatic increase in demand and by 2019 our capacity will have doubled, if not tripled.

Q: What’s the reason behind this uplift in demand?

A: Consumer demand is the main driver. By using recycled plastic, businesses can meet the needs of eco-conscious customers, give their products a USP, and do their bit for the environment.

For more information and to see the process in action visit www.pvcr.co.uk

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