Electrical Contracting News (ECN) June 2017 | Page 12

COVER
STORY
QUICK AND EASY
Flex Connectors introduces Quickwire – a time saving alternative to the traditional junction box.
T
he Quickwire junction
box is the latest product
from the designer of the
fl ex7 lighting connection
and control system. The
innovative new product
offers dramatic time
savings compared to
traditional junction boxes.
The pre-wired and maintenance free
junction box has been designed to help
electricians save signifi cant installation time
on site – all four connections can be wired in
seven seconds. Simply strip your wire, then
push it into the push-fi t connectors for quick
and easy, screwless termination.
The Quickwire junction box is pre-wired
with clearly labelled entry points for error
free wiring. As it’s maintenance free there
is no need to provide access points, and its
compact design means it will fi t through a
32mm diameter hole in the ceiling.
There are two products in the range
so far:
• Use a single Quickwire Switch & Load for
a lighting circuit with a single luminaire
– connect your power, load and switch
by pushing your cable into the clearly
labelled cable inlets. The remaining
power inlet can then be used to feed
another lighting circuit.
• A Quickwire Splitter can be used to
increase the number of ‘load’ outputs
on a Quickwire Switch & Load. Simply
connect the load inlet of a Switch & Load
to one of the four load inlets on a Splitter.
First came the Pipeslice –
if you’re a plumber, you’ll
have used one!
Whilst installing a new central heating
system in his fi rst home Steve came
up with the idea for one of his most
successful inventions. Finding it extremely
hard to cut the pipes in the limited space
available with a standard pipe cutter, he
developed an idea for a compact, self-
adjusting tool that could easily be used in
confi ned spaces, and thus the Pipeslice
was born!
After some time developing and refi ning
he sold the patent to Kopex. The product
went on to win a Corgi award for technical
innovation. These days they’re an essential
tool in any plumber’s toolkit.
Both products use the same
revolutionary push-fi t design, for incredibly
quick and easy connection.
The designer
Steve Garton, managing director and
inventor of Quickwire, has a history of
designing innovative products. Inspiration
can strike anywhere – he can often be found
scribbling design ideas on napkins or till
receipts, and his desk is buried beneath piles
of design sketches. In fact his obsession with
design and indeed perfection may well have
played some part in mass deforestation!
12 | June 2017
The Quickwire
junction box is pre-
wired with clearly
labelled entry points
for error free wiring.
Flex Connectors – leaders in
lighting connection and control
Flex Connectors was born in 1998. Part of
the team that designed the Klik lighting
connection system, Steve and a couple
of his colleagues believed that they could
design something even better, and so they
did – the fl ex7 lighting connection system.
It was the fi rst 7-pole range on the market
and offered a completely modular, plug-
together solution. Initially just a lighting
connection range they soon added
lighting controls to their offering.
As the years have progressed,
so has their product range.
Today Flex Connectors is a
leader in the lighting connection
and control market.
Steve has headed up the design team
for the past 18 years, somehow managing
to fi t in new product ideas and development
alongside his duties as managing director
of the company. Fortunately for Flex,
product design is his one true love, and he
spends all of his spare time tinkering.
And then came Quickwire…
Finding himself with a little time on his
hands (sitting beside the pool on what was
meant to be a holiday) Steve began to think
about the amount of time it takes to wire
a traditional ceiling rose or junction box
(as you do in such circumstances). As he
considered the amount of time taken up
on the job he decided that there must be
a better way of doing it. And so it began…
three years and approximately two forests
later (we told you he was a perfectionist)
Quickwire is fi nally ready for launch.
For further information about Quickwire
visit: www.quickwire.co.uk
The innovative
new product offers
dramatic time
savings compared
to traditional
junction boxes.