PROFI L E S & SYS T EMS
Partnering fabricators for strong
commercial success
Rob McGlennon, Deceuninck MD, says close collaboration with fabricators
and developers is the key to Deceuninck’s successful commercial business.
The UK economy is in recession, but it
doesn’t feel like it. April in lockdown
was bleak, but Deceuninck’s customers
have broken sales records in the
last three months. Many homeowners have
been accumulating money in the bank faster
than they can spend it with holidays, travel
and entertainment postponed. Paint sales are
booming. Sales of hard landscaping, decking,
fencing, garden products, windows and doors
are going bananas. Larger housebuilders like
Persimmon are reporting a surge in sales.
According to RightMove, July was the busiest
month for the housing market for over years!
Construction has recovered well since
lockdown, and the commercial sector never really
stopped. Deceuninck commercial fabricators
are doing extremely well, and they say it’s down
to our unique approach in this sector. Our
dedicated commercial team offers fabricators
guidance on tenders, specification and technical
matters, and we work closely with developers,
specifiers, fabricators and contractors to see
the full picture of how windows work within
the build, to ensure products meet technical
specifications and are correctly installed and
perform effectively in the finished project.
THE COMMERCIAL EXPERTS
Our strong ties with developers include Berkeley
Group, Crest Nicholson, Countryside Properties,
Weston Homes and Catalyst Housing. Specifiers
love Deceuninck products – in particular our
commercial ‘ window with Linktrusion
technology – because it offers the best attributes
of aluminium and PVC-U in one system,
combining pultruded glass-fibre with PVC-U for
strong but light windows with slim sightlines and
outstanding thermal efficiency. When used with
our Decoroc colour finishing system, it’s hard to
tell it from aluminium in looks, performance or
feel – although it’s inherently warmer – and often
helps fabs break the original spec for aluminium.
EXCITING PROJECTS
We’ve worked with commercial fabricators on a
number of prestigious and technically complex
projects, such as the Hinkley Point Worker
Accommodation development. This was a
high-profile project in which 8% of the ,–
windows were installed into pre-fabricated
modules off-site. Working in partnership with
fabricator Dempsey Dyer, Deceuninck’s technical
team ensured our tilt and turn windows met the
highest energy and weather requirements both
off-site and in installation. Once assembled,
the windows passed the most stringent CWCT
water testing, normally only used for curtain
walling. Deceuninck’s technical team worked with
Dempsey Dyer to cut the windows’ decibel rating
down by RW—‘db to RW–db and RW–—db,
helping to minimise the impact of noise on
workers to make a quieter, healthier environment.
More recently, Dempsey Dyer has started
supplying Deceuninck’s ˜‘ series windows
for university student accommodation. This
modular construction project, in conjunction
with Bouygues, will see the windows shipped to
Morocco for installation in a modular factory,
with further commissioning on site in the UK.
Working closely with Dempsey Dyer, we’ve
facilitated this project by giving advice on design,
purge ventilation and interface detail. Dempsey
Dyer is also sending a team to Morocco to train
workers on effective modular installation. It’s an
exciting project and we predict the strong trend
for modular construction will continue to grow.
Another example of our close collaboration
with fabricators and end clients came in
providing a full design solution for the Springfield
Park development with Weston Homes. This was
a complex development of over — apartments
in one tower and three low storey blocks. It
incorporated a concrete frame construction
with the windows fitted on front of the frame
in steel brackets, followed by EPDM shrouding.
Deceuninck’s commercial and technical teams
worked with window fabricator, FastFrame,
to provide the technical information required
for the interface and correct installation of the
windows. Our Linktrusion ˜‘ Fully Reversible
Window (FRW) in Decoroc Quartz Grey broke
the original specification for aluminium because
it combined slim, contemporary profiles with
outstanding thermal and acoustic performance.
The development, close to roads, railways and
the river Thames, called for acoustic windows to
minimise the impact of external noise and low
‘U’ values to meet stringent energy requirements.
Deceuninck’s FRW comfortably met these
requirements with decibel reductions in the mid-
–s and ‘U’ values as low as .— W/m2K.
WANTED: COMMERCIAL FABRICATORS
In the first half of this year alone, Deceuninck has
secured £ million of commercial contracts –
more than the whole of ˜ ¦ – with plenty more
work in the pipeline. We’re always looking for
commercial fabricators so if you’d like to work in
this sector and share in their success, speak to
us! Call me, Rob McGlennon on §8 8 —8——8‘
or speak to John Duckworth, head of commercial
on §§§8 ‘—–—‘.
Deceuninck's tilt and turn window with Linktrusion
technology is said to be a popular choice with developers
September www.ggpmag.com
/www.ggpmag.com
