Clearview National February 2020 - Issue 219 | Page 6

INDUSTRYNEWS
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Misleading articles
and half truths: not
on our watch…
VEKA UK MD Dave Jones responds to misleading
article in order to protect customers:
» INTEGRITY IS ONE OF VEKA UK’S
core values, and when we see a piece in the
media containing information that could
mislead and damage our customers, posing
as news, it’s important for us to take a
stand. I am, of course, referring to the piece
recently published in the trade press by Anglo
European.
While I’m confident that fabricators and
specifiers will be able to spot the inaccuracies
for themselves, the problem lies in the fact
that there are grey areas of the fenestration
industry that aren’t being sufficiently policed.
We welcome competition, it helps to
keep us on our toes and raise our game,
but we also believe in playing fair and being
transparent. Therefore, we have taken this as an
opportunity to demystify some of the jargon.
EXACTLY WHAT ARE WE TESTING?
BS 6375 gives guidance on how to apply BS
EN 14351.
BS 6375 provides advice on the selection
of performance characteristics for windows
and doors intended for the UK market. It
specifies the exposure categories related
to test pressure levels for air permeability,
watertightness and wind resistance.
This is not a component test and certainly
not an isolated test on the performance of
steel. Part one provides a classification for
the overall product on weathertightness and
general guidance on selection and specification.
To ‘match’ the performance of products
from the systems companies named by Anglo
European, they must achieve the same level
of classification, not simply be tested to the
same standard. That may certainly be the case,
but we would like the opportunity to see the
results and compare.
All VEKA UK products are tested to all
three parts of BS 6375.
6 » F EB 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
WHAT IS THE RELEVANCE
OF GZ140EU?
Anglo European claim that their products
offer two grades of galvanisation. One a
European standard (GZ140EU), which is
completely irrelevant to the UK market and
the British Standard GZ275UK, which must
be achieved to conform to BS 7412 and the
quality standards demanded by VEKA UK.
We have done several tests in the last six
months that show that, at the time of testing,
Anglo European Steel did not meet GZ275UK.
We are happy to share these results on
request.
‘We welcome competition,
it helps to keep us
on our toes and raise
our game, but we also
believe in playing fair
and being transparent’
ALL WINDOWS AND DOORS
ARE NOT CREATED EQUALLY
We invest a great deal of time and money in
our product development and this includes our
recommended reinforcements. Substitute steel
suppliers often cannot supply all geometries
required by all Systems Companies, but by
using a substitute, quality is most certainly
compromised.
If a product uses a component not
recommended by VEKA, we cannot apply our
kitemarks and honour product warranties and
guarantees.
To put it quite simply, it’s not a VEKA
window unless it’s got our steel in it.
Any fabricator choosing a substitute
component must carry out their own testing
and produce their own fabrication manual
and calculations. If there are any changes that
require additional testing, it will fall to the
fabricator to comply with these and absorb the
costs incurred.
This will mean that fabricators, specifiers
and installers will be at a disadvantage and
should a quality problem arise in the future,
this may also damage relationships and
reputations. Something that the fenestration
industry has worked very hard to repair over
the last 30 years.
ASK QUESTIONS
Of course, we want all our customers to
use our steel and benefit from our support
and guarantees, but if they choose to find an
alternative supplier, we encourage them to ask
for proven certification for their own peace
of mind. We also suggest that they ask that
supplier to support them with design loads,
energy calculations and PAS24 as we do for all
VEKA UK customers.
We are also happy to spot check products
for customers to ensure that they are receiving
the quality that they have been promised.
Questions to ask:
• Check the reinforcement complies
with the material requirements given
in BS 7412 which include requirements
for corrosion resistance of mild steel
sections.
• Is the reinforcement the exact same
gauge and geometry as that tested by the
system supplier?
• Does the other substitute supplier
provide a bespoke reinforcement that is
suitable for the chamber of your chosen
profile (not a ‘one size fits all’ solution).
If by reading this you are concerned, or
want to join us in driving change, our door is
always open.