Farming Monthly National November 2016 | Page 34

| Fencing Protect your investment 2Life® – the science Install secure fencing with a natural look. eading timber products manufacturer, M&M Timber is offering a natural long life fencing solution for solar farms with the addition of SolarGuard posts to their comprehensive timber range. The posts have been designed to cater for the growing need for quality, durable fencing for solar installations with naturally sit within a rural environment. The installation of solar energy is a huge capital investment and costly to repair – so methods to protect, strengthen and secure solar farm perimeters is fundamentally important. Often spread over very large areas of open land and located miles from any public areas, installations can be vulnerable to theft and vandalism, as well as to damage caused by incursions of wildlife such as deer. M&M Timber’s bespoke SolarGuard posts can help to deter trespassers and minimise the risk of damage. In addition the natural wood enables the fencing to ascetically complement the rural environment. L Unique design for maximum security Each SolarGuard post features a scientifically designed incising process for increased protection a virtual 'zone of confidence' - at the critical area where the post is at most risk of decay. The incisions allow deeper penetration of the Tanalith E wood preservative to provide more effective and consistent defence. ArcelorMittal Sheffield manufacture all of their agricultural fencing products from 2Life® wire - but what is 2Life®? Three times the life-span of conventional fencing timbers M&M Timber offer a full 15 year warranty on SolarGuard posts and for extreme locations a 30 year in-service lifetime warranty is available. The 4 way pointed posts deliver ultimate stability, with each post tagged for traceability and their bulky specification helps to deter theft. With three times the life-span of conventional fencing timbers, the natural looking machined round SolarGuard posts offer real economy in terms of renewable fencing labour costs and materials. For further information visit www.mmtimber.co.uk Life® is a coated wire with long life technology that gives a guaranteed longer lifespan compared to heavily galvanised wire to BS EN10244-2 Class A. 2Life® is coated with an alloy of zinc and aluminium instead of the zinc only coating of traditional heavily galvanised products. 2 For more demanding environmental conditions (e.g coastal), ArcelorMittal Sheffield also offer fencing products made from their 4Life® wire. Zinc provides an active, sacrificial and traditional anticorrosive coating while aluminium provides passive protection by slowing down the sacrificial reaction of the zinc coating and increasing the effective lifespan of the coating. Under laboratory controlled Kersternich test conditions, after 20 cycles in an sulphuric atmosphere, heavily galvanised wire loses 96% of its original coating thickness with only 10g remaining compared to only 23% loss for 2Life® wire and 100g of coating still remaining. This is the 34 | Farming Monthly | November 2016 proof that 2Life will last at least two times longer than heavily galvanised wire to BS EN10244-2 Class A. In addition to the corrosion benefits, 2Life® also offers a long lasting smooth finish, perfect adhesion of the coating with no peeling or cracking, excellent concentricity and extended product life time. Add the 2Life coating to the other features on offer from the ArcelorMittal Sheffield fencing product, and you have an excellent quality, value for money range on offer. The centreless core provides a snag free, easy to unroll product with no waste as the whole of the roll can be used. The deep crimps provide a self draining feature that draws rain water along the wire away from the hinges and joints extending the life of them. The crimps also provides elasticity to reduce climatic stresses on fixings and joints. For more demanding environmental conditions (e.g coastal), ArcelorMittal Sheffield also offer fencing products made from their 4Life® wire. This follows the same principle as 2Life® with a zinc and aluminium coating but is applied with a greater coating weight to last at least four times as long as heavily galvanised wire to BS EN10244-2 Class A. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk