Clearview 283 - June 2025 | Page 76

Fabricator Focus

Range Recognised with a King’ s Award for Innovation 2025

» GARNALEX HAS RECEIVED a coveted King’ s Award for Innovation 2025 for its groundbreaking Sheerline aluminium windows and door range. With only 46 businesses being recognised in the innovation category this year it is testament to how game changing the Sheerline system has been.
This award reflects the significant contribution and advances the company has
made within the fenestration industry. Although Sheerline was launched during the global pandemic, the challenging external landscape has not stopped it from achieving success.
Two innovative aspects in particular were highlighted by the awards process. Firstly, Sheerline’ s patented construction method, which not only reduces waste and locks in quality, but also results in better looking windows with less misalignment in frames for improved aesthetic appeal.
In addition, Thermlock ®, Sheerline’ s proven proprietary thermal technology was highlighted. Aside from offering greater thermal efficiency than legacy polyamide systems, easily achieving Part
L compliance with competitive U-values, it also allows installers to fix through the optimum area profiles as it’ s less brittle than polyamide.
Thermlock ® is also a key ingredient in Garnalex’ s market leading agility and ability to deliver consistently on its 5-day lead-time promise, as it allows finished profiles to be assembled close to dispatch.
It has differentiated itself in a competitive industry by focusing on product innovation, its customers and firstclass service, and delivering on its promises. This approach has enabled it to blaze a trail where others have lost momentum.
Roger Hartshorn, Garnalex’ s CEO, said:“ The fenestration industry has always been a
competitive industry, where accolades such as this make a real difference. Not only will it enable us to continue to stand out in an increasingly crowded space, but it highlights the far-reaching impact we’ re having as a company.”
The King’ s Awards for Enterprise( previously known as The Queen’ s Awards for Enterprise), now in its 59th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’ s Awards Emblem for the next five years.
www. sheerline. com

DHF ISSUES WARNING ABOUT EXTERNAL PANIC AND EMERGENCY EXIT DOORSETS

» DOOR & HARDWARE FEDERATION( DHF) and GAI( the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers) have recently been informed by the Office for Product Safety and Standards( OPSS) that they are aware of cases where external panic or emergency exit doorsets have been supplied, conformity marked against EN 14351-1:2006 + A2:2016, but without the necessary third-party certification.
“ There is concern that some economic operators may not be fully aware of the conformity marking requirements for these products, and we believe it is appropriate to issue a general reminder to the market,” explains Michael Skelding, DHF’ s General Manager & Secretary.“ There is no suggestion of course, that the suppliers concerned were members of either DHF or GAI.”
The testing and certification required for conformity marking( CE or UKCA) is specified in the Annex Z of EN 14351- 1:2006 + A2:2016. To conformity mark an external doorset that is neither fire-resisting nor an emergency / panic exit, no third-party certification is required. Other performance characteristics, such as watertightness and resistance to wind load, will typically require third-party testing from a notified or approved test body, but not third-party certification.
“ The requirement for third-party certification arises when an external doorset being placed on the market has either or both of the following special characteristics,” concludes Michael,“ that it is a panic or emergency exit( fitted with
appropriate hardware), and / or that it is fire-resisting. Third-party certification must be obtained from an EU notified certification body( for CE marking) or a UK approved certification body( for UKCA marking). The certification body will issue a Certificate of Constancy of Performance, which the manufacturer( or person responsible for placing the product on the market) must retain in their technical file for the product.”
For further information on this, please contact the DHF technical team on technical @ dhfonline. org. uk.
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