30 | NOVEMBER 2019
Products
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
ERA’S PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
COLLABORATION WITH SOLIDOR
ERA, the security expert, is continually investing in product development. Much of this is of course market-led,
and from time to time fabricators and installers request very specific product development collaboration in
order to future-proof their business and to be able to differentiate themselves effectively from their competitors.
Additionally, ERA came up with an en-
hanced door hinge featuring a cover held in
place by means of a clip. Solidor had been
sourcing a hinge whose cover had been
screwed into position, and the new product
now offers the company the improved aes-
thetics of clean lines and colour-matching
with other hardware used. The third part
of the project involved the development
of a new heritage style Pull in all of ERA’s
Fab&Fix colours.
A key part of the collaboration between
ERA and Solidor involved the use of 3D
printing in order to enable all concerned to
see exactly how products would look right
from the early design stage. The 3D models
produced were painted so that both teams
could see clearly the effect that the colours
A great example of this type of col-
laborative product development is a project
recently completed by ERA for Solidor, the
manufacturer and supplier of composite
doors. Fitted and installed by a nation-
wide network of approved installers, the
extensive Solidor range of doors is widely
admired for its stunning design and unpar-
alleled security. So when Solidor asked ERA
to come up with some new hardware it was
clearly vital that both form and function
would be equally important.
ERA developed two new colours for
Solidor in the course of the project: Herit-
age Black and Pewter. The new colours are
intended for three door handles, two door
knockers, a letter plate and a door knob.
used in the production process would have.
Once the 3D models had been approved
ERA then developed the requisite tools and
tool samples to facilitate production.
Pierre Mifsud, Solidor’s Technical Director
said:
“We have been very pleased with the ser-
vice we have received from ERA in this prod-
uct development project. It was fascinating
to visit the company’s UKAS-accredited test
lab in order to ensure that the products were
going to perform correctly, which was espe-
cially important in the case of the new hinge.
It was great that ERA’s 3D printing was able
to show us how much product consistency
we were going to be able to secure.“
www.eraeverywhere.com
SIDE BY SIDE:
THE CHOICE
IS CLEAR
Ultraframe installer,
Lifestyle Windows of Derby,
has revealed that when
side-by-side with competitor
systems, homeowners can
clearly see the benefits of
the Ultraroof tiled roof and
choose it due to its stunning
aesthetics and unmatched
technical credentials.
This news didn’t come
as a surprise to the team at
Ultraframe as earlier this
year, Ultraroof was declared
the preferred tiled roofing
system of 8 out of 10 home-
owners during independent
research. (Independent
market research study
conducted during February
2019 amongst 64 UK home-
owners)
Chris Vincent, Director
at Lifestyle Windows, said:
“We added a competitor
tiled roof to our show site
last year to show customers
the real difference. That
may sound extreme as an
Ultraframe installer, but the
average homeowner really
has a hard time telling one
roof from another unless
she can look directly at
them both, even with cross
section samples. The com-
petitor roof looks poorly
finished next to the Ultra-
roof but that’s the point - it
was a brilliant move. We
have a high footfall through
our show site and people
are always drawn to Ultra-
roof after looking at both
systems together as they can
see the difference in quality
and aesthetics.”
The reasons why Ultra-
roof appeals to consumers
are clear. Homeowners ex-
pect a solid tiled roof to feel
less like a conservatory and
more like an extension, and
unlike other tiled roofing
systems, which are based
on conservatory technolo-
gy, Ultraroof has a 380mm
wide box beam which is so
strong that it never needs
a tie bar – ever. This fully
insulated box beam pro-
vides an incredible amount
of insulation around the
eaves beam and also creates
an internal pelmet to give a
spacious vaulted feel. Ultra-
roof also features full-length
glazing panels – not just
smaller Velux-type windows.
These full-length panels not
only look stunning from
inside and out, but they also
ensure that the interior is
flooded with natural light to
ensure a feeling of space.
Ultraframe Design & De-
velopment Director, Andrew
Thomson, added: “Of course,
one of the main reasons that
homeowners choose a tiled
roof is to benefit from the
outstanding thermal per-
formance that this kind of
roof can offer, and Ultraroof
boasts unrivalled thermals,
with a U-Value of just 0.13
possible. It is also the strong-
est tiled roof on the market,
with unsupported spans of
up to 4m possible, ideal for
ever-popular bi-fold doors.”
ultraframetrade.co.uk