A bumper haul of products this week, including sophisticated recessed lighting, fast doors, architectural mesh, aluminium cable coverings and intelligent lighting controls – plus the latest news and essential reading
Aluminium cable covering
Hager has made its Tehalit Compact perimeter cable management solution available in aluminium. The product is called CA60 to differentiate it from the PVCu product C60 and is suitable for positioning as a skirting or as a dado. It is available in white, grey or plain aluminium.
Hager
www.hager.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 301

Parge coating
Knauf Drywall has launched a plaster called Gypsum Parge Coat for coating block walls prior to installing drylining systems. Part E of the Building Regulations, which covers acoustic insulation, stipulates that a 6 mm thick parge coat has to be applied prior to drylining to ensure that gaps that could transmit sound are sealed. The product comes in 25 kg bags, and the company say one bag should cover 4.25 m when applied in a 6 mm layer. It is suitable for application by manual or mechanical methods.
Knauf Drywall
www.knauf.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 302

Recessed strip lighting
Zumtobel Staff Lighting has launched a lighting system called Slotlight. The fittings are recessed, so can be installed flush with walls or ceilings, and they provide a continuous ribbon of light. The company say the luminaires have special mountings and a light diffuser so there are no dark spots where the fluorescent tubes meet. Each luminaire can be controlled by a centralised lighting management system and emergency lighting capabilities can be incorporated.
Zumtobel Staff Lighting
www.zumtobel.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 303

Another fine mesh
Architectural mesh maker Potter and Soar has extended its range with a welded mesh called Tsunami. It is made from flat wires and is suitable for balustrading, partitioning, walkways, window guards and cladding. It is available in three versions, of varying strength and flexibility. it comes in 2400 × 1200 mm sheets in a plain, galvanized or powder-coated finish.
Potter and Soar
www.architecturalmesh.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 304

Structural cables
Structured cabling specialist Krone has brought out a socket outlook faceplate with a circular central section. The company says it gives the product a less utilitarian look and makes it easier to install onto shallow back boxes. It is available in 50 mm square double and 50 × 100 mm quad variants and is compatible with Category 5e and Category 6 cable terminals.
Krone
www.krone.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 305

Self-healing sandwich
Structural waterproofing systems maker RIW has launched a waterproofing solution for use below ground with vertical and horizontal structural foundations. Called Structureseal, it is a geotextile sandwich filled with a chemical called sodium bentonite. This swells up on contact with water to form a seamless membrane that can self-heal if small cracks form in the concrete structure as a result of settlement or concrete shrinkage. The geotextile outer skin protects the product from damage during construction.
RIW
www.riw.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 311

Fast, safe roll doors
Hörmann has launched a soft edge roll door for industrial applications. The door has a feature called SoftEdge which the maker says reduces the risk of injury or damage to anything caught under the door as it closes – which is useful because one of its other selling points is that it has a fast closing cycle. The door has reinforcing ribs, so it is stable in the horizontal direction and can resist wind pressures of up to 30 km/h.
Hörmann
www.hormann.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 312

Plastic plumbing range
Durapipe UK has launched a plastic plumbing range suitable for chilled water and low temperature heating systems. It is called Wefatherm and includes pipe fittings and valves that can be welded into position in situ. Wefatherm is available in three versions, Wefatherm PP-R, which is a plain polypropylene product, Wefatherm Fibre Pipe, which is a fibre-reinforced polypropylene that offers better strength at high temperatures and Wefatherm Stabi, which incorporates an aluminium layer for greater dimensional stability at high temperatures.
Durapipe UK
www.durapipe.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 313

Smart lighting system
Lighting management specialist Ex-Or has brought out a photocell called LightSpot MP2000UF for automatically controlling lighting levels. It turns off, dims or brightens according to external lighting levels, and has a "passing cloud" timer that can be programmed to prevent nuisance switching when external light levels change temporarily. The company say the product is suitable for flush mounting.
Ex-Or
www.ex-or.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 314

Movers and makers

  • An import specialist called ExChina has been set up to help organisations procure products in China. The company, which has an office in Shanghai, sources products, inspects them before they are exported, and organises freight arrangements and export duties. The company also carries out ISO 9000 quality accreditation of Chinese factories. ExChina says it can source products for up to 80% less than they would cost in Europe.

  • Naylor Drainage has acquired plastic pipe maker Pipe UK. Pipe UK makes PVCu pipes at its factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham and Naylor said the acquisition would complement its existing manufacturing capacity and enable it to offer an wider range of ducting, drainage and sewer products. Naylor said manufacturing would continue at Newton Aycliffe, and that it intended to invest more money at that site.

    Door and window maker Jeld-Wen says it is the first firm of its type to create an online library of its products that are downloadable as intelligent objects. The Autodesk Architectural Desktop objects are embedded with detailed scheduling information and can be dragged off the web directly into working drawings.

  • Cladding specialist Schüco has supplied its first computer numerical control machining centre to the UK. Called the PBX AL, it has been supplied to cladding fabricator CEP Architectural Facades and will enable the company to turn Schüco’s aluminium profiles into finished curtain walling systems, and to incorporate its own panels within the finished product. CEP Architectural Facades said it chose this machine as it would enable it to dramatically increase its capacity.

  • Trade body the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association is managing a DTI funded project that aims to reward small generators who want to export electricity to the national grid. BEAMA said the costs of exporting power could exceed its value. The exporting regulations have been amended to allow small generators to export electricity more easily. The project will determine the power generation profiles needed for the new scheme to work. These include micro combined heat and power plants, photovoltaics, micro-wind and micro-hydro generators.

  • HansenGlass has bought what it says is one of the largest screen-printing machines in the UK.

    It measures 4.8 × 2.44 m and will be used for surface-printing the company’s Ceramalite and Ceraphic glass products.

    • Information point

    Satchwell product guide
    Climate Controls Europe has launched a product selection guide for Satchwell’s building control products, together with complementary products from Controlli and Drayton. The guide contains product information including technical specifications, product compatibility and obsolete products cross-referenced with the existing range. The guide comes with a CD-ROM containing more detailed information, including Satchwell’s product data sheets.
    Climate Controls Europe
    www.climate-eu.invensys.com
    www.building.co.uk/enquiries 306

    Best practice examples
    Constructing Excellence and the Construction Products Association have teamed up to publish Building Success: Lessons from Manufacturers and Suppliers Who Got It Right. It is intended to show the construction industry the benefits of involving manufacturers and suppliers early on in the construction process, it contains 10 case studies where suppliers’ and manufacturers’ early involvement led to product innovation and process integration. It also highlights a “checklist for success”. In addition, the publication is intended to help manufacturers and suppliers to meet the target set in Accelerating Change, for 20% of projects to have integrated teams by the end of 2004.
    Construction Products Association/Constructing Excellence
    www.constprod.org.uk
    www.building.co.uk/enquiries 307

    Integrated learning
    The Council for Aluminium in Building has launched a guide called Setting the Standard 5, the latest in a series offering up-to-date advice on technical issues on the use of aluminium in the construction industry. The new publication is a best practice guide to designing and specifying aluminium doors and entrance screens. It also covers relevant Building Regulations and fire risk requirements.
    Council for Aluminium in Building
    www.c-a-b.org.uk
    www.building.co.uk/enquiries 308

    Loading bays galore
    ThorWorld Industries has launched a catalogue on its product range of loading bays and associated materials handling equipment. Products listed in the 44 page publication include ramps, dockplates, dock levellers and modular docks. It also has details on the company’s new collapsible dock shelter made from fabric and LED traffic light system.
    ThorWorld Industries
    www.thorworld.co.uk
    www.building.co.uk/enquiries 309

    Hafele’s Essentials
    Hardware maker Hafele has brought out the latest edition of its Essentials directory. Aimed at contractors on the move, it contains details on the company’s fittings, consumables and ironmongery. It lists products ranging from screws and washers to adhesives, locking and security systems. The company will update the publication on a quarterly basis.
    Hafele
    www.haefele.com
    www.building.co.uk/enquiries 310