18 | JANUARY 2020
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
MISLEADING ARTICLES AND HALF
TRUTHS: NOT ON VEKA’S 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 in-
formation 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 Euro-
pean.
While I’m confident that fabri-
cators and specifiers will be able
to spot the inaccuracies for them-
selves, 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 charac-
teristics 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 weather-
tightness and general guidance on
selection and specification.
To ‘match’ the performance of
products from the systems com-
panies 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 test-
ed to all three parts of BS 6375.
To put it quite
‘ simply,
it’s not
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 Stand-
ard GZ275UK, which must be
achieved to conform to BS 7412
and the quality standards de-
manded 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.
All windows and doors
are not created equally
We invest a great deal of time
and money in our product de-
velopment and this includes our
recommended reinforcements.
Substitute steel suppliers often
cannot supply all geometries
required by all Systems Compa-
nies, but by using a substitute,
quality is most certainly compro-
mised.
a VEKA window
unless it’s got
our steel in it
’
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 sub-
stitute 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 fabri-
cator 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 require-
ments for corrosion resist-
ance of mild steel sections.
• Is the reinforcement the ex-
act 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 cho-
sen profile (not a ‘one size
fits all’ solution).
Time for change
At VEKA UK we see this as an
opportunity for systems compa-
nies, fabricators, testing houses
and governing bodies to work
together to ensure that that the
quality of products is sufficiently
regulated and we are proud to
stand united with Liniar on this
issue.
The imminent changes to the
building regulations driven in
part by the Grenfell disaster
will include new standards for
product performance and build
quality but in the interim period
and for the integrity, safety and
future of our industry we must
act now to ensure all suppliers to
the fenestration industry provide
a veracious account and accurate
information.
If by reading this you are
concerned, or want to join us
in driving change, our door is
always open.