Pro Installer January 2019 - Issue 70 | Page 38

38 | JANUARY 2019 Business Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk Rapierstar duo scales new heights to help beat cancer Managing director of Ra- pierstar, David Furness, and his financial and operations director colleague, Scott Rogers, have completed a demanding two- day trek up Mount Toubkal in Morocco to raise vitally needed funds for Cancer Research UK. Driven by the sad loss to cancer earlier this year of their good friend and Rapierstar com- pany accountant Jonathan Cur- wen, David and Scott trekked in unseasonably deep snow and blizzard conditions to a height of 4,000m close to the peak of Mount Toubkal, north Africa’s highest peak. They are 80% of the way towards their fundrais- ing target which will provide support for Cancer Research UK and are still welcoming donations via www.justgiving. com/rapierstar - funds that they hope will help in the ongoing fight against cancer and prevent future suffering. The duo started their fund- raising trek from their Imlil village starting point with a six hour ascent to ‘the refuge’ at 3,200m. They woke early the next day at 5:30am to trek to the summit in the dark, with only head torches to illuminate a treacherous route in knee- deep snow that was ultimate- ly curtailed due to the harsh weather. Westend Windows sign up with Spectus ISO success for booming Newview Homes Systems New fabricator, Westend Windows Newview, one of the (Aberdeen) Ltd has recently signed with leading systems supplier Spectus Systems and now manufactures its popular Elite 70 window and door suite. Having previously bought in their window and door products, Westend Windows made the decision to begin fabricating earlier this year and felt Spectus was the right systems partner to take their business forward. Managing Director of Westend Windows, Colin Stewart said: “We chose Spectus as our systems provider as we felt they have the best products, people, marketing and service on the market. Their Elite 70 system can be used across a full range of window, door and conservatory applications– includ- ing casement and tilt & turn windows, resi- dential, French and bi-folding doors. With a choice of bevelled and ovolo beads, plus a large range of ancillary products we have a compelling product range to offer both our trade and retail customers.” Fellow Westend Windows’ Director, Derek Mackenzie says: “The market in Aberdeen is quite buoyant at the moment so we feel confident we can take our business to the next level.” South’s fastest-growing installa- tion businesses, is celebrating after working towards and being awarded two prestigious UKAS accreditations. Rigorously tested by the British Assessment Bureau (a UKAS-registered assess- ment company), Newview’s products were found to meet the stringent requirements of www.spectus.co.uk ISO9001:2015 for Quality Man- agement and ISO14001:2015 for Environmental Management. We met the requirements of both standards without a single non-conformity,” comments Managing Director Michele Wiet- scher. “This is the result of twelve months of hard work, scrutinising every element of our operation.” Based in Worthing, West Sussex, Newview is a family firm that, over the last decade, has quickly risen to become of the largest glazing and home improvement providers in the South-East of England, special- ising in high-volume quality refurbs and new-build, as well www.justgiving.com/rapierstar www.rapierstar.com as, more recently, fire door in- stallations and inspection. The firm is an increasingly in-demand provider of com- mercial glazing solutions, with its highest-profile work to date being its contribution to the on- going Noise Insulation Scheme targeting homes around Heath- row Airport, as well as London City Airport and Network Rail. www.newview-homes.co.uk Three in a row for Epwin Window Systems Epwin Window Systems has won the Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the G18 Awards. The company won the prestigious award for being one of the first companies to achieve the VinylPlus® Product Label certification and their ongo- ing commitment to sustainability across the business. The VinylPlus® Product Label is a label- ling scheme that makes it easy for custom- ers and markets to identify the most sustain- able and high-performance PVC products. The label has been developed to ensure a company’s overall policy and performance, as well as the component materials used for its products, are aligned with sustaina- bility criteria. Epwin Window Systems has achieved VinylPlus Product Label certifi- cation on its three leading profile brands – Profile 22’s Optima, Swish Window and Doors Systems’ 24/7 and Spectus’ Elite. The systems house was one of the first business- es to apply for the VinylPlus label and one of the first to achieve certification. The award was announced at the indus- try’s prestigious ceremony held at the Lon- don Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London. www.epwin.co.uk Government bans combustible materials on high-rise homes The government is banning combustible materi- als on new high-rise homes and giving support to local authorities to carry out emergency work to remove and replace unsafe alumin- ium composite material (ACM) cladding. Regulations were been laid in Parliament late last year which will give legal effect to the combustible materials ban announced in the summer. The ban means combustible materi- als will not be permitted on the external walls of new buildings over 18 metres containing flats, as well as new hospitals, residential care premises, dormitories in boarding schools and stu- dent accommodation over 18 metres. Schools over 18 metres which are built as part of the government’s centrally delivered build programmes will also not use combus- tible materials, in line with the terms of the ban, in the external wall. The Communities Secre- tary is also acting to speed up the replacement of unsafe ACM cladding, like the type used on Grenfell Tower. Local authorities will get the government’s full backing, including finan- cial support if necessary, to enable them to carry out emergency work on affected private residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding. They will recover the costs from building owners. This will allow buildings to be made permanently safe without delay. The government is already fully funding the replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on social sector buildings above 18 metres.