Clerkenwell Design Week sees Pyroguard fire glazing range debut
23 May 2013
At the Clerkenwell Design Week, being held from the 21-23 of May in London, fire glass solutions specialist CGI International will exhibit its Pyroguard range of fire glass solutions at the “Planet Showroom”.
Pyroguard is a range of fire resistant glazing products that allow architects to create large, tested sizes of glass in their designs while still complying with building regulations. The range will make use of a butt jointed system developed to be used in glazed partitions. The rail system has been certified for internal use with aluminium (E30) as well as timber and steel (EI30 and EI60).
During the Clerkenwell Design Week CGI International will launch their Pyroguard-T range, a gel-filled product made with toughened glass that offers an impact strength of up to 1B1 under European standards. The new product will be available in bespoke sizes that can be up to 3 metres in height or 3.6 metres in surface area.
The product will be on show with the Pyroguard “Applications and Tests Selector”, an online support tool that helps identify the correct fire glass products for specific tasks.
Office block redevelopment benefits from Government allowance scheme
22 May 2013
An office block conversion project in Scotland is benefiting from the Government’s Business Premises Renovation Allowances Scheme. The office block is being reclad using a modular curtain walling system designed by Kawneer, a commercial construction firm specialising in energy efficient projects.
The building formerly known as St Andrew House, was originally built in the 1960s as a mixed-use tower block for commercial and retail units. However, with the Royal Concert Hall and Buchanan Galleries opening up nearby soon the building’s outer appearance began to seem dated. The £27.5 million investment that features Kawneer's curtain walling and glazing is aimed at rectifying this.
The project involved stripping the podium down to its concrete structure, which was occupied throughout the work taking place, and recladding it using Kawneer’s glazing system.
Project architect Stewart McKenna said: "Our brief was to create a visually inspiring landmark building but the construction had limited access so we specified the Kawneer system to make use of unitised off-site production. "The design was well-received and the level of finish control could be achieved with the off-site system helping to maintain the design quality through to the build. It helps to break up the mass and accentuate the verticality."
Burnham-On-Sea glazing firm in goes into liquidation
17 May 2013
A well established glazing company based in Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset, has gone into administration. The firm, Burnham Glass and Windows Ltd, is now being liquidated with the help of the Mazars firm of accountants.
Burnham Glass and Windows Ltd was a small firm, with only three employees. It specialised in replacing glass for windows and conservatories, working with both commercial and domestic clients, however the difficult economic climate took its hold on the business. The company built up debts with HM Revenue & Customers, who took action against the firm, prompting the liquidation.
The business and its assets have been transferred to Beach View Glass Ltd, a company that is continuing to trade, employing the three staff from the old company.
Tim Ball, the restructuring services partner at Mazars’ Bristol office, is the liquidator for the business.
Ball said that, "On the commercial side, they typically supplied building contractors with windows for new homes developments, but orders dropped off dramatically. Meanwhile, the poor state of trade saw work for the general public also decline."
New chief executive appointed to Norwich-based Evander Glazing and Locks
02 May 2013
Norwich-based door and window company Evander Glazing and Locks has appointed Rick Francis as its new chief executive. Francis will join the Evander Group on July 1, leaving behind his position as managing director of contract hire and rental business Lex Autolease.
He was appointed to lead the firm due to his impressive growth CV, which involved heading up Lex Autolease and various roles in the insurance and manufacturing industries.
Evander Glazing specialises in locks, doors, windows and glazing, servicing commercial and residential customers with over 770 staff and revenues of £58.6 million.
Rick Francis will replace current chief executive Alan Horton, who has to decided to move on from Evander Glazing so that he can build his portfolio of non-executive roles.
Debbie Hewitt, Evander’s chairman, said, “Rick has a wealth of business to business, operational and general management experience and will continue to develop our strong customer relationships,” she said. “He has led the growth of his current organisation to £2bn of revenues and employs over 1,500 people across eight sites, so this is a real coup for Evander and we are excited to welcome him here.”
Francis said: “I am really excited to be joining Evander and to becoming part of a business that has such potential to grow. It’s a vibrant business, with a great competitive position and commitment to service.”
AGS’ assets sold off
01 May 2013
AGS, a troubled, Devon-based glazing firm that entered administration last month, has had its assets bought up by two other companies which also intend to employ some of AGS’ staff. Until it went into administration AGS Home Improvements, based in Newton Abbot, supplied windows, conservatories and doors while employing 125 staff.
Britannia Windows, a Bristol based glazing firm, is one of the buyers, while the Cheltenham-based Epwin Group, owners of Europlas Window, is the second buyer.
AGS was established in Newton Abbot in 1974. It expanded into Devon, Cornwall and Somersett before running into financial problems. According to the administrators responsible for AGS, Britannia is planning on speaking to former employers at AGS, hoping they can fill as many roles as possible so that they can keep fulfilling orders.
Meanwhile, Jim Rawson, the chairman of Epwin, has said he’s planning on employing 16 former staff from the firm. Epwin is a big employer in the region, employing 650 staff in south Devon.
However even with both Epwin and Britannia looking to give jobs to the staff at AGS, it is expected that not everybody will be getting their jobs back.