6 | OCTOBER 2020
News
Read online at www . proinstaller . co . uk
HISTORIC PROJECT SPECIALIST MERCURY GLAZING SUPPLIES RENEWS MEMBERSHIP WITH SBD
Specialist trade fabricator , Mercury Glazing Supplies , has renewed its membership with Secured by Design ( SBD ), the official police security initiative .
The Gloucester-based fabricator was established in 2002 and supplies a full range of aluminium and PVC-u window and door products to the trade , retail , newbuild and commercial markets . It is one of the UK ’ s biggest manufacturers of Spectus PVC-U vertical sliders and is a Spectus Approved Window Contractor too .
Mercury specialises in high-end projects with historical interest and has manufactured and supplied windows and doors within conservation areas and for sympathetic architectural projects . This expertise requires
marrying modern day , high-performance door and window product technology with a building ’ s traditional architecture and surroundings .
As an example , the company manufactured and supplied 54 vertical sliding windows , including 14 arched windows , as part of a prestigious refurbishment at the substantial Italianate designed Foxhill House , Chester , which dates back to the 1860s and marked 50 years as a Diocesan Retreat and Conference Centre last year .
The company has also supplied 250 vertical sliding windows for a major refurbishment at Brighton ’ s historic Varndean College . This also involved the installation of complex arches . The work was required to be carried out during term time and was achieved without hindering students ’ studies and activities .
In another high-profile project , Mercury manufactured and supplied 204 windows for Felixstowe ’ s Cliff House , which dates back to 1906 and is situated within a conservation area . The building was being converted from an iconic cliffside hotel into 24 , one and two-bedroom luxury apartments . Steve Cross , Director at Mercury Glazing Supplies , said : “ As an established fabricator , we have many years ’ experience working with customers across all market sectors and pride ourselves on building long-term , sustainable partnerships . Our windows and doors combine the benefits of high-performance , modern materials and technology with superb aesthetics and are perfect for both period properties and contemporary homes alike .”
Mercury ’ s PVC-U Vertical Sliding Sash Window has been accredited by SBD for meeting its Police Preferred Specification , which recognises that the product is sufficiently robust to deter and resist opportunist burglars . The product has been certified to PAS 24:2016 standards .
Doug Skins , Development Officer at SBD , said : “ We are thrilled that Mercury Glazing Supplies has renewed with SBD . Their PVC-U vertical sliders are a value-added part of any portfolio .”
For details of Mercury Glazing Supplies ’ SBD accredited product visit : https :// www . securedbydesign . com / membercompanies / sbd-members ? view = companydetail & account = 001 1i00000Jpvy4AAB
LATEST INVESTMENT INTRODUCES REFINEMENT TO AN OTHERWISE VIOLENT AND NOISY PROCESS
VEKA Recycling Ltd is entering the third phase of the development plan for its new , state-of-the-art Wellingborough UK Headquarters , during which sophisticated refinement processes will be introduced towards the goal of making the UK operation completely self-sufficient . This latest chapter in the construction and installation process will be completed during August with the installation of the world ’ s finest equipment of its type , part of an additional investment of more than £ 2 million . When fully completed later in 2020 , the plant will be the most advanced of its type in Europe .
VEKA Recycling ’ s Managing Director Simon Scholes says that this latest investment is a
crucial stage in the operation of the site : “ From the initial stages that involve the overtly violent and noisy shredding of the still intact frames and profiles that are bulk lifted on to the conveyors at the beginning of the process , these latest additions introduce refinement that results in the end product becoming more discernible as the materials that are our primary purpose . Our commitment to producing only the finest PVC-U compounds for re-manufacture into new window frames and other high-quality products , without reliance upon our sister plants , is brought a stage closer with the completion of this latest phase .”
In a series of integrated processes that reduce post-consumer and virgin offcut PVC-U frames and profiles into high
quality polymer compounds and other reusable materials , the latest equipment to be installed separates , refines , cleans and washes the various component materials . Of the machinery installed in this latest phase , the standout equipment is the Spaleck Recycling Screens that quite literally vibrate and sieve the crushed frames ; and Magnapower high performance Eddy Current Separators . The separators sort ferrous and non-ferrous metals from the shredded UPVC window frames to produce cleaner , metal-free PVC plastics for re-processing and metals including steel and aluminium , that are resold .
Since occupying the site in January 2018 , the groundup construction project has continued with only minimal
delays caused by the pandemic closures . After seamlessly transferring operations from the company ’ s former location in Kent , the Wellingborough site has continued to receive tonnes of PVC-U post-consumer and virgin offcut frames for initial shredding , with further stages progressively introduced to bring more of the complex processes in-house .
The Wellingborough plant will be the third such facility to be built by VEKA Umwelttechnik GmbH , the specialist recycling subsidiary of the VEKA AG Group , of which VEKA Recycling Ltd is a wholly owned division . The combined capacity of the three VEKA plants will exceed 100,000 tonnes of PVC-U windows a year .
www . veka-recycling . co . uk