We are delighted to announce that we have reached the finals of the Building Awards 2017 in the Specialist Contractor of the Year category.
The Building Awards are the industry’s longest running and most prestigious recognition of excellence, celebrating the best of the UK’s construction sector.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Tuesday 7th November.
For a full list of finalists click here.
Britplas have recently completed the installation of their award-winning Safevent window to two new mental health facilities in Adelaide, South Australia.
One of only two major trauma centres in South Australia, Flinders Medical Centre has to deal with a wide range of issues and a broad patient demographic. Britplas were commissioned to provide aluminium internal sliding Safevent windows – chosen for their ease of use and versatility across a variety of situations, with integrated blinds to protect from the Australian sun. The overall project value was £100k, and involved the fit out of a brand new 30 bed older persons mental health unit.
Flinders Medical Centre is the second international job that Britplas and Cheeseman Architects, based in Adelaide, have worked on together.
Also based in Adelaide but in Glenside, The Veterans Mental Health Precinct represents $15million investment from South Australia Health to deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related cases.
Britplas provided aluminium external sliding Safevents with integral blinds and flush locks to the new purpose-built facility, and installation was overseen by a Britplas Site Manager, Steven Gittens.
The new facility incorporates the existing Intermediate Care Centre (ICC) building and comprises 24 bedrooms, a gymnasium, research spaces and gardens.
The two facilities are the latest in a series of international projects undertaken by Britplas, as the Safevent window continues to prove itself a global market leader in mental health fenestration.
The latest collaboration between Britplas and Barnwood Construction has now started on site, with the steel framework now in place at Plot 12, Oxford Science Park, in readiness for the installation of a Schüco FW 50+ curtain walling system.
Recently named the Schrödinger Building, Plot 12 is a 61,500 sq ft, £13 million state of the art office and laboratory building due for completion early next year.
Britplas Site Manager Kevin Wilkinson is now preparing for the first glazed units to be lifted in to place over the next few weeks. The project is the third secured by Britplas for main contractor Barnwood Construction following the successful design and installation of two building façades on the nearby Milton Park development last year.
Our Pre-Construction Manager Ben Woodward commented “We are delighted to have secured a third project working with Barnwood Construction. The ongoing collaboration is testament to the high standards achieved by our design and construction teams on the recent Milton Park projects, and we look forward to helping to create another great building which will be an exciting addition to our portfolio.”
Building on from the success of Britplas’ work at Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford, Laing O’Rourke has retained Britplas on site to install the façade and glazing on the new Block 4 of the same development.
The £1.1m contract consists of the manufacture and installation of Schüco FW50+, FW50+ SG and FW60+ SG systems, with Britplas also required to provide multiple doorset varieties including frameless, circle slide and swing operation varieties.
Working closely with main contractor Laing O’Rourke and architect Dixon Jones, Britplas has come up with a system adapted to suit this project’s specific requirements, having started on site in February with the program running through to August 2017.
The £440 million redevelopment of Oxford’s Westgate Shopping Centre will have more than 100 shops, 25 restaurants and cafes, a cinema and 61 flats and covers over 800,000 sq ft. The new centre is due to open in October 2017 after a two year redevelopment programme.
Britplas have recently secured a £1.2million package for the installation of the façade at the new Square Kilometre Array (SKA) building at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. Our design department has already started working closely with The University of Manchester and main contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, to ensure the solution is fit for purpose as part of this world class research facility.
The high-spec Aluprof systems consists of MB70 doors and windows set within 1200m2 of SR 50N curtain walling system, producing a slim line external profile for the £16.5million project. The external façade is completed with 1000m2 of Trimo Qbiss cladding.
The SKA is the world’s largest multi-purpose radio telescope, based in both South Africa and Australia, with over one hundred thousand dishes and antennae being controlled from Jodrell Bank. About the project, Professor Stephen Watts, Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Manchester stated “Our astronomers and engineers are playing a significant role in this revolutionary new telescope, and obtaining planning permission for the new building is a key milestone – we very much look forward to seeing the development move forward over the next year.”
As a growing business and one that is committed to encouraging young people into the construction industry, Britplas has for some years been a firm proponent of apprenticeships. This has been continued recently with the appointment of five new apprentices to our fabrication team, with four more due to start before the end of the year.
All of the new starters are local to Britplas’ Warrington head office and factory. The company offers structured training, and over 56% of manufacturing staff have passed an NVQ or are currently enrolled on one, in addition to regular Health & Safety refresher courses.
This approach coupled with managerial support and a tailored personal development plan, supports a clear line of progression from apprentice to more senior roles within the factory and the business. The solid platform compliments a broadened knowledge of all areas of manufacturing curtain walling, aluminium doors and specialist fenestration.
Britplas offers apprenticeships to different age groups, both 17 to 21 and 22 to 30. This allows for people currently employed in other industries to start a career in construction at an age not normally associated with apprenticeship schemes. All are recruited without manufacturing skills.
Britplas are delighted to announce our appointment to a further project for Barnwood Construction – Plot 12 Oxford Science Park, a new 500 person office block located in the heart of the Oxford Science district. Britplas have worked with Barnwood Construction on the successful completion of façade packages to two similar facilities previously – Thamesview and EZ1 at Milton Park in Oxfordshire for developer MEPC. Plot 12 features a striking design by Bogle Architects and aims to alleviate the lack of Grade A office space in the Oxford area, forming a cornerstone of the science park’s wider expansion plans.
The £2.1 million external envelope package awarded to Britplas includes the design, supply and installation of:
In total the building covers 61,500 sq ft of space over four storeys, which Britplas are set to seal from late June 2017 with an expected completion date of the end of October this year.
Working closely with Kier Major Projects and Techrete, the first precast and glazed concrete panel was secured into place on Project Capella today, a new 18,000m2 biomedical research building which is under construction for the university.
The Schüco FW60+ curtain walling sections are manufactured and installed offsite to allow for minimal disruption on site and give the fastest possible weather tightening of the building. The end result will comprise a full façade spanning 2,750m2 all manufactured and installed by Britplas. The completion of composite cladding, curtain walling and concrete sections is on target to be delivered on time for June 2017.
Kier are a longstanding Britplas client, having worked together previously on projects such as St Bernards Hospital, numerous mental health projects, Marlborough School, Cedars Manor, Preistmead and Aylward primary schools. The working relationship stretches back over 10 years in the mental health, education and commercial sectors.
Project Capella reflects the University of Cambridge’s commitment to medical research, with the £79m state of the art facility designed to house a number of small pioneering companies currently scattered across the city. Britplas are proud to have been appointed to deliver the façade package on this prestigious and significant project.
In line with our ISO environmental accreditation and our ongoing commitment to the reduction of waste from our manufacturing processes, Britplas has installed 2 brand new, 306 series balers at our Warrington factory.
The balers will be used for both cardboard and polythene and will allow for improved monitoring of recycling levels, however each baler has the capacity to also process textiles, paper and general waste.
In addition to the recycling benefits, the new plant means fewer skips and more efficient removal of waste, with fewer journeys required to transport compacted material. The half-ton balers are key to Britplas’ wider sustainability program, with other recent initiatives including the installation of new power points for electric cars and the replacement of most of the Britplas fleet with more fuel efficient vehicles and a drive to reduce paper waste in the office
Reflective of Britplas’ commitment to improved environmental performance and operational efficiency, the new balers are an important part of our factory investment plan for 2016.
Last year Britplas invested in a 3d printer, purchased to reduce costs and time lines associated with developing new parts or new design ideas. Prototypes can now be turned around in hours rather than weeks at a greatly reduced cost, helping address sometimes troublesome design issues and so ensuring the right solution is offered.
Through printing and sending cross sections of bespoke curtain walling solutions, the sales team was able to visually demonstrate new ideas and designs to both contractors and architects, achieving the best possible result for all. This method was used to solve a number of small but critical design issues on a large project which Britplas successfully tendered for this summer.
The printer works by digitally slicing up a CAD model into a series of layers, each layer is then fed to a heated extruder at 230 degrees, liquefying a plastic polymer before rapidly solidifying to form the desired shape.
Ben Woodward, Britplas Pre-Installations Manager commented ‘We are always looking to help clients and their design teams when looking at unusual or challenging façade design issues and the new printer has definitely made a significant difference in testing ideas and confirming via practical demonstration that certain concepts are viable’.
18 Kingsland Grange
Woolston
Warrington
Cheshire
WA1 4RW
T: +44 (0) 1925 824 317
E: sales@britplas.com
