Clearview National February 2020 - Issue 219 | Page 14

SEVENTHINGS...
Do you know UKCW?
With products from various system suppliers such as
Senior Aluminium Systems Ltd, Technal Ltd Shuco UK,
Metal Technology Ltd, Alutech Ltd and Smart Systems
Ltd, UK Curtain Walling Ltd’s portfolio is vast ranging
from curtain walling, to commercial thermal and non-
thermal doors, folding and sliding doors to a multitude
of window systems, aluminium framework and glazing
solutions, the possibilities for projects are endless.
» HERE ARE SEVEN THINGS YOU
didn’t know about UKCW (and you’ll wonder
how they’ve fit it all into three years…)
FIRST DRAUGHT
At 16 years old, Duncan
Hague began as an apprentice
QS Estimator. In 2018 he became
owner and MD of UK Curtain
Walling with his wife Samantha.
Although having worked for some great
employers in the past Duncan was always keen
to build on his own brand, having always “done
it for everyone else and never himself”.
In less than 20 years, Duncan’s combined
skill set and willingness to take on new roles
and challenges had seen him stake a claim
to many different stages of the supply chain
- from draughtsman to surveyor, contract
management to MD - gaining valuable insight
into the industry from all sides, and he was still
only half way into his career in fenestration.
Throughout the 1990s and up until his move
to UK Curtain Walling Ltd at the start of 2017,
Duncan’s main focus became aluminium with
positions at Heywood Williams Architectural
Ltd, Crittall Warmlife Ltd, Heywood Patent
Glazing Ltd, Dyson Aluminium Ltd, Euro
Aluminium Ltd, Inter City Glazing Systems Ltd,
and finally Midas Aluminium Ltd.
14 » F EB 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
WE HAVE LIFT OFF
OH, THE PLACES WE’LL GO…
As a brand, UK Curtain Walling Ltd
had been around since 2006, when it was
purchased by Glazing Refurbishment, but
wasn’t widely known or acknowledged. In
December 2016 however, the decision was
made to move the company from Cambridge
to the north, and they needed someone to
head it up. Duncan (who had been at Midas
Aluminium for 12 years), was the perfect fit.
As such, UK Curtain Walling Ltd began its
new life in Huddersfield, albeit in a caravan
for the first few days, followed by an ‘upgrade’
20ft x 10ft storage container for around
seven months. A modest base was all that
was required however, as the company didn’t
need space for manufacturing, instead buying
materials direct from various systems suppliers
then ‘buying time’ from fabricators to get the
frames put together for bespoke projects and
enlisting from a team of around 40 ‘subbies’
according to the size and location of the job.
The only way was up for the business from
this point on, manufacturing and installing
curtain walling on high profile jobs such as
bridges for Manor Park Station and King’s
Cross in London, Red Hill Station Foot Bridge
London and three-floor internal atrium at
Herron Tower, near the London Gherkin and
Moorgate Hotel Central London.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
One area that UK Curtain Walling became
very famous for very fast was its railway
station renovations, such as Derby Station
refurbishment; new platform, curtain walling
installation with patent glazed roof, and
platform level frameless glazing; Tottenham
Hale Station, London; new corridor concourse,
Coulsdon South Station Foot Bridge, London,
and Amersham Underground Station, with
more in the pipeline. UKCW has also
undertaken commercial curtain walling
projects at Energi and Smyths at Preston,
Denton; various industrial units, Barrow Brook
Retail Park, Riverside Leeds Mill Complex,
Planet Ice Elland Road, Leeds, the new
Rawtenstall Bus Station, and the team is due to
commence a new car showroom in Plymouth,
so distance is no object.