Clearview National April 2020 - Issue 221 | Page 44

ALUMINIUM
United in the UK – Two Aluminium
System Brands Become One
» TECHNAL AND SAPA, TWO OF THE
UK’s leading aluminium system brands, are
now one brand in the UK, Technal.
Giving customers access to ‘one’ united,
complementary and expanded product offer,
Technal UK Sales Director Allan Barr talks
through the company’s ONE VISION…
Technal and Sapa have operated
independently alongside each other, as part of
Hydro Buildings Systems UK, delivering
pioneering product solutions with a vast
project portfolio. But, evolving and
improving to meet the changing needs
of customers and the industry, this
new approach is all about one team,
one brand and one product offering; a
more customer-focused product range
and service that unites and simplifies all
aspects of our operations for our customers
into one UK offer and one brand - Technal.
Making it clear for customers, our
ONE VISION strategy sets out a clear
implementation pathway detailing what
changes and what remains the same.
ONE OFFER PRODUCT
RANGE NOW AVAILABLE
The big message is that all existing products
from both Sapa and Technal are retained and
available for specification and fabrication.
For ease, the legacy Sapa product names will
remain. They are simply prefixed Technal, for
example, Technal Elegance 52.
This united ‘one offer’ range of windows,
doors and curtain walling as well as specialist
solutions for blast and bullet resistance gives
customers access to a complementary and
expanded product offer, adapted to UK
requirements and legislation.
ONE COMMERCIAL ENTITY
AND ONE TEAM BRINGS
CUSTOMER BENEFITS
Customer service and distribution are now
all based at the Tewkesbury site, managed
by one team. From design, specification and
product testing to project support, training
and delivery, customers will see benefits at
every point of contact.
The simplification of the stock management
system, in line with the one product offering,
44 » A PR 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
entry system. It also integrates with our project
visualisation software, Tech3D®. Modelled
components can be exported to many 3D
or BIM applications including REVIT from
Autodesk or ARCHICAD, it also reduces the
potential for errors in moving from design
input to fabrication output as well as speeding
up feedback.
Another software innovation is
TechAcoustic, which is capable of predicting
the acoustic performance of a window; based
upon the design characteristics alone.
CUSTOMER TRAINING SUPPORTS
TECHNAL TRANSITION
For all products and customer software,
‘classroom’ training is provided at Tewkesbury,
the new Wakefield office or at our London
office on Store Street, following a schedule of
training events.
Practical fabrication training is delivered
by the field support engineers, usually at
our customers’ premises but subject to the
conditions being suitable of course.
speeds up order entry and acknowledgement.
And the simplified stock groupings allow
clearer communication of product lead times
across the whole range.
Technical support operates across our
Tewkesbury site and our new Wakefield office.
Technical enquiries for all Technal and legacy
Sapa products are handled by a dedicated
Product Support team, backed up by our team
of experienced field support engineers.
ONE SOFTWARE SOLUTION
PROVIDES GREATER CAPABILITY
Customers will also benefit from a more
innovative and integrated approach when
it comes to designing and fabricating
windows, doors and facades too, with ‘one
software solution’ in the form of TechDesign.
Whilst Sapa customers will be familiar with
SapaLogic, capability with TechDesign goes
beyond simple CAD, or machine preps for
fabrication.
The latest version of TechDesign allows
thermal performance calculations on all
designs. Once finalised the optimised system
requirements align directly with a new order
HELPING CUSTOMERS MEET
SUSTAINABILITY SPECIFICATIONS
In terms of new product development, one
of Technal’s priorities is helping customers to
achieve building sustainability specification
requirements.
Being at the forefront of sustainable
building practice, Technal is introducing
Hydro CIRCAL 75R in the UK. With the
lowest carbon footprint per ton of any facade
alloy, this is premium quality aluminium with
a minimum of 75% post-consumer scrap.
All remaining systems will be manufactured
from low CO2 primary aluminium thanks
to Hydro’s access to renewable energy sources
such as hydro-electric power.
This innovative approach to sustainability
and concentrating investment into one single
brand, means that we will be in a position
to better serve our building partners and
contribute to a stronger, more successful
supply chain.
Find out more about the Technal range by
visiting www.technal.com/en/uk or calling
01684 853 500.