JANUARY 2019 | 39
Business
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
Toughener investment quadruples Lumi capacity for Apeer
Apeer has announced its second
major investment in as many months,
unveiling a new £750,000 toughening line
to stay ahead of ‘exponential’ growth of
its radical Lumi and Lumi2 windows and
doors.
Demand for the Lumi range has trebled
in the last year alone and the introduction
of the retrofit-friendly Lumi2 system has
boosted that growth even further, says the
company. The commissioning of the bigger
second line covers that and more by quadru-
pling output but also responds to architects’
demands for ever larger expanses of glass.
The new Northglass AG-series Forced
Convection furnace from Lambert GT Ser-
vices can not only handle glass up to 5m
X 2.8m – almost four times the area of the
existing line – but is also highly energy-ef-
ficient and gives an improved surface finish
to the glass with less ‘roller wave’.
The latest investment comes less than
three months after the company installed
a second high-tech paint line at its County
Antrim production unit to stay ahead of
Spectus windows help transform iconic
hotel into luxury seafront apartments
Specialist Spectus fabrica-
tor Mercury Glazing has manufac-
tured and supplied 204 windows
for the sympathetic landmark
refurbishment of Cliff House, an
iconic former hotel in Felixstowe,
into 24 one and two-bedroom
luxury seaside apartments.
Working with main contrac-
tor and developer Dragon Wood
Homes, the twelve-month project
involved Mercury undertaking the
manufacture and supply of 204
bespoke windows, which included
a mixture of arched top vertical
sliders, bowed vertical sliders,
circular windows and standard
vertical sliders. The windows were
manufactured from Spectus’ ver-
tical sliding and Elite 70 window
systems and were produced in
white woodgrain foil finish on
both sides.
Originally constructed in 1906
as a prestigious 100 room cliffside
hotel, Cliff House sits in a conser-
vation area. It meant the restora-
tion needed to be as sympathetic
demand for its acclaimed composite door
ranges. The line also increases efficiency by
enabling different colours inside and out to
be completed in a single pass.
Lumi has continued to grow at a pace
since it burst onto the market at the Grand
Designs exhibition in 2015. The Lumi
system is the latest range of products from
Apeer, which also includes its Traditional,
Contemporary and the ultra-contemporary
Modo composite door collections.
www.apeer.co.uk
JOHN WEIR –TRIBUTE TO
A TECHNICAL PIONEER
Staff, members and former
as possible and maintain its
original features, including its sash
windows.
Paul Whyman of Dragon Wood
Homes said: “The age of the build-
ing and differing window styles
meant we needed to work with
a fabrication partner who could
deliver bespoke energy-efficient
windows that also achieved the
right balance from a conservation
point of view.”
www.spectus.co.uk
colleagues of the Glass and
Glazing Federation (GGF) were
saddened to hear of the passing
of former employee, John Weir on
Saturday 17 November.
As the Federation’s first Standards
Committee Secretary, John was a
stalwart who developed the GGF’s
Technical Department and helped
develop many of the early standards
in the industry. In the late 80s, John
was instrumental in helping the UK
to Harmonise Standards within the
European Union.
From the GGF’s earliest days
in 1977, John was involved in the
GGF’s technical set up. His wife
Rosemary was the GGF Membership
Secretary and he was Technical Sec-
retary. Rosemary was involved in the
negotiations which brought the four
Glazing Associations (Glass Bend-
ers, Safety Glass, Insulating Glass
and Flat Glass) together to form the
Glass and Glazing Federation.
Not only did John drive forward
industry standards, but he also
helped develop the Federation to
ensure that it became the credible
face for all matters technical. In
doing so, he enabled technical
and legislative discussions at local,
national and international Govern-
mental level.
John had been ill for some time
and in a nursing home in Hailsh-
am since March 2017.
John Weir was 79 years old and
was married to Rosemary for 36
years.
http://www.ggf.org.uk
PROFILE 22’S OPTIMA HELPS HOUSING ASSOCIATION
DELIVER COMMUNITY REGENERATION PROJECT
Profile 22’s Optima windows
were chosen for the construction
of 18 houses, 38 flats and two re-
tail units as part of a regeneration
scheme in Maidstone, Kent.
Housing association Golding
Homes has invested £50m in a
three phase regeneration pro-
ject to transform and improve
the former Park Wood estate in
Maidstone. The scheme involved
providing over 200 new homes,
mainly family houses, as well as
new community facilities includ-
ing new shops, and a much wider
package of investment to improve
the local area.
Education, housing and health-
care contractor Rydon secured the
£9.3m contract to deliver the third
and final phase of the project,
which involved building 18 hous-
es, 38 flats and two retail units.
When it came to the windows
and doors on the project, Rydon
turned to longstanding supplier
Feature Architectural Fabrica-
tions, based in Eastbourne, East
Sussex.
Optima from Profile 22 is rapid-
ly becoming the most widely spec-
ified commercial system thanks to
its compelling list of benefits that
help specifiers meet even the most
demanding of requirements.
www.profile22.co.uk