Clearview National February 2016 - Issue 171 | Page 30

INDUSTRYNEWS Joining Forces in Europe »»Leading UK architectural aluminium systems supplier Kawneer joined forces with its sister companies in Europe to showcase its portfolio of curtain walling, window, door and framing products at Batimat. Batimat is one of the world’s leading construction exhibitions and Kawneer presented a high-profile stand that brought its European product offer together for the first time at this mecca for the industry. Held at Paris Nord Villepinte on November 2nd to 6th 2015 and attracting 2,600 exhibitors and 350,000 visitors, Batimat featured significant technological innovations in construction and architecture. More than 50 guests of Kawneer UK, including architects, main contractors, developers and fabricators, attended the show when they were introduced to a variety of new products including the innovative Bloomframe system which converts a window to a balcony at the touch of a button. Following the exhibition the UK guests joined a further 250 visitors from across Europe for an evening cruise on the River Seine, taking in the spectacular sights of Paris while enjoying the very best French cuisine. The party returned to the UK the following day reflecting on the opportunity to see Kawneer’s pan-European offer at one of the largest construction exhibitions in the world. Snickers Winter Warmers – The NEW Wool Sweater… …from the Next Generation of Working Clothes »»This new 100% Wool Sweater is the ideal combination with Snickers undergarments to provide a truly warm and cosy wrapper when you’re out on site in the chilly winter months. The special wool weave is really soft but also highly moistureabsorbent and breathable. It provides pure natural wool comfort to keep you warm in really cold conditions. What’s more, it resists odour naturally and can be worn for long periods without washing. With a zip-up neck line collar and polyamide-reinforced elbows and lower arms for enhanced durability, this really is a top quality, highly practical garment for keeping warm and looking smart at work. Part of Snickers ‘Second Layer’ Top Wear range, the 2905 ½ Zip Wool Sweater is available in 3 different colours, in XS-XXXL sizes and made from all natural wool with 100% Polyamide 190 g/ m2 reinforcements. ‘highly practical’ www.snickersworkwear.co.uk Creating an innovative external façade »»A joint development between Bystronic glass and the Fraunhofer ISE has seen 70 TPedge photovoltaic modules adorn the external façade of Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) laboratory in Freiburg (Germany). The TPedge modules are the result of a long lasting project that has been running for several years with the objective of finding a less expensive, faster and simpler PV module production. Instead of taking the necessary 12 minutes to produce a PV module when adopting the standard process, a TPedge module can be produced less than one minute. “A modified 30 » F EB 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M TPS® insulating glass line along with a robot can accurately position the adhesive points with exceptional precision in terms of millimeters. This enables all insulating glass manufacturers to now be able to produce TPedge modules, and therefore expand their market“, explained Tobias Neff, Solar Product Manager at Bystronic glass. “TPS® insulating glass has been tried and tested on a global scale, which gives tremendous advantages, as it has proven itself resistant in a variety of temperatures and diverse weather conditions”, said Max Mittag, a scientist at the Fraunhofer ISE. “The installed TPS® edge seals have proven themselves millions of time over, rendering the TPedge modules climateindependent, which consequently means that they can be tailored to the requirements of all of markets.” The TPedge modules were not only subjected to ageing tests, but also to some mechanical tests, such as a climate chamber test, a distributed load test and a hail test, passing all of them with flying colours. The results of the long-term tests are expected by mid-2016.