ISSUE ISSUE 18 18
Filon delivers daylight to LIDL Distribution Centre - p6 PLUS • Latest news from Filon Products p4 • Filon at the RCI Show 2017 p5 • Lightweight GRP over-roofing in action p8 • Filon’s 60th anniversary p10 • GRP innovation at the Design Museum p13 • Filon product range overview p14
Innovative upgrade & refurbishment solutions for profiled fibre cement or metal roofs & cladding
Upgrade your rooflights and reduce your operating costs by up to
33%
Filon FAIR Factory Assembled Insulating Rooflight
Recent independent research by Elmhust Energy*, demonstrates that improvements to rooflights and lighting controls can bring huge savings in energy and emissions. In one typical example, a large retail DIY store, total carbon emissions could be reduced by 29% and total operating costs could be reduced by 33%. These savings equate to a reduction in total operating costs of £5.20/m2 per year, giving a total saving of £20,435 per year. As one of the UK’s leading providers of profiled rooflights and roofing sheets, with huge experience across all kinds of public and private sector buildings, Filon Products is your ideal partner in roof and rooflight upgrades and refurbishment. We also offer: • Fixsafe for safe replacement of rooflights and roof sheets • Lightweight over-roofing for cost-effective roof refurb with minimal disruption.
For details, please call us on 01543 687300 or visit www.filon.co.uk
*See the report at http://www.narm.org.uk/ uploads/pdfs/NARM_NTD10.pdf
Filon Products Ltd, Unit 3 Ring Road, Zone 2, Burntwood Business Park, Burntwood, Staffs WS7 3JQ
CONTENTS
In this issue: 4 News Roundup
• Innovators collaborate on roof safety • Filon sponsorships • Filon at the RCI Show 2017
5 Rooflights
• Filon delivers daylight to a LIDL Distribution Centre in Kent
8 Over-roofing
• A new lease of life for Salisbury industrial units
10 Filon 60th Anniversary
• A look back over 60 years of innovation in GRP building products
13 Innovation
• GRP genius delivers a stunning solution at the Design Museum
Welcome to Issue 18 of Roofscape – the first to be published on our new online platform that makes it accessible to readers across the UK and all over the world. Roofscape is now a well established part of our communication strategy and I think this new format is a real step forward. You may be aware that 2017 is our 60th Anniversary so I’m proud that we are continuing our long tradition of innovation with this ‘new-look’ Roofscape. Tell us what you think! This November we are exhibiting at the RCi Show again – check out our news item on page 5. Hope to see you there!
14 Product range overview
• There’s more to Filon Products than meets the eye.. Mark Wilcox Sales Director
Published by Filon Products Limited Unit 3 Ring Road, Zone 2, Burntwood Business Park, Burntwood, Staffordshire WS7 3QJ, England Telephone: 01543 687300 Fax: 01543 687303 Editor: Mark Wilcox Designed and produced by Bennett & Partners www.bennettandpartners.co.uk
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NEWS ROUNDUP
Innovators collaborate on roof safety
Daylight Delivery Systems Limited, exclusive UK suppliers of the Solatube tubular daylighting system, has adopted the Filon Fixsafe system as its preferred installation solution for buildings with profiled roofs. For these applications, a Filon GRP profiled roof sheet matching the roof profile, is cut to accept the Solatube dome roof glazing element. This is then installed onto the sheet with an insulated roof flashing, to create a weatherproof sub assembly. Improved safety, plus other important benefits Using Filon’s Fixsafe system, the sheet can then be installed into the roof from below, so there is no requirement for operatives to risk their safety by gaining access onto the roof. The whole operation can be carried out from inside the building, using a cherry picker or platform lift. In addition to increased safety, there is an additional benefit of potential reductions in installation time and cost - with no need for external scaffolding, roof staging or safety netting. Solatube tubular daylight systems provide the perfect solution for introducing daylight into buildings where there are suspended ceilings beneath a profiled roof. 99.7% reflective tubes 4
attached to the external dome elements deliver daylight extremely efficiently over long distances, often to locations which may have been deemed impossible to light using natural daylight. With this solution, building occupants can enjoy a better internal environment as well as health & wellbeing benefits of natural light – and of course daylighting means big energy savings over artificially lit buildings. Two innovators – one brilliant solution Filon Sales Director Mark Wilcox said: “We are delighted to be working with Solatube in this way. This partnership allows an integrated approach to daylighting, where our Filon GRP rooflights serve the open areas and Solatube delivers daylight to the offices – all with the very important added benefit of installer safety.” Ian Bell, Managing Director of Daylight Delivery Systems, summed up: “‘Innovation in daylighting’ is our company mission statement, so it’s entirely appropriate to be working with Filon – another well-established innovator in this field”. The collaboration came about following initial contact between the companies resulting from recent articles in DAYLIGHTING Magazine.
NEWS ROUNDUP
Filon Scrums Down with Burntwood Rugby Club Filon has become club sponsor for Burntwood Rugby Club, the Company’s local rugby union side.
Filon is once again exhibiting at the RCI Show at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. This year’s show is on 1st and 2nd November.
Following the unveiling of the new strip which boasts the Filon logo across the back, Burntwood triumphed with a 25-14 victory over local rivals Willenhall. Filon is proud to be associated with this fantastic Grass Roots Rugby Club which was formed in 1972. It encourages
teamwork through rugby with children able to train from 5 years old and play tag rugby from the age of 6.
2017 RIDBA awards sponsored by Filon
Filon Products sponsored the Production & Process category at this year’s RIDBA (Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association) Awards. Filon’s chemical resistant Citadel sheeting was used by category winner A.J. Lowther & Son Ltd, on a project which was also shortlisted for the prize: the refurbishment of a galvanising plant in Stoke-on-Trent.
Filon at RCI Show 2017
Steve Vickers, Filon’s Managing Director, said “We are active members of RIDBA and fully supportive of their role as a champion for excellence in the design and construction of rural and industrial buildings. We are delighted that our highly respected customer A.J. Lowther & Sons won the Production & Process category and we look forward to working with them on new construction challenges in the future.”
Filon is pleased to announce our support of the roofing industry’s only dedicated exhibition. The RCI show is back for a third time on 1st and 2nd November at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. As a supporter from it’s inception, we are proud to be associated with this event and look forward to seeing old friends and making some new ones. Come along and see our patented Fixsafe system in action and learn how to change an industrial roofight without going onto the roof. All other Filon products will be on display including our lightweight over-roofing system which is perfect for providing a new waterproof covering over a failing asbestos roof. Even if you’ve seen the products before, come along for a catchup. We will be happy to see you all and don’t forget to register for your free tickets. Just click on the link below.
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ROOFWORK ROOFLIGHTSHEALTH & SAFETY
Filon delivers daylight to LIDL Distribution Centre Over 2600 linear metres of Filon’s Monarch F GRP barrel vault rooflights were installed during the refurbishment of this major distribution hub in Belvedere, Kent
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GRP ROOFLIGHTS
Staffordshire-based Ascot Property Maintenance Ltd, installed over 2600 linear metres of Filon’s Monarch F 1200mm wide triple skin barrel vault rooflights at this Regional Distribution Centre serving South-East England. The installation was part of a major refurbishment in which Ascot Property Maintenance also replaced over 10,000m2 of the aluminium roof. The rooflights were specified with a CEDR24E outer skin, providing a class B non-fragility rating for an expected period of 25 years. The triple skin construction of these rooflights provides a U value of 1.7 W/m2K – meeting the stringent thermal performance requirements for
ROOFLIGHTS
the building. On one section of the roof the barrel vaults were supplied in opaque grey GRP, with a white internal finish, to maintain the correct conditions for ambient storage of chocolate products. The longest rooflights installed on this huge curved roof are over 118m long: among the longest uninterrupted runs ever supplied by Filon Products.
The longest rooflights installed on this huge curved roof are over 118m long: among the longest uninterrupted runs ever supplied by Filon Products.
Darren Fletcher of Ascot Property Maintenance said: “We have a long and successful relationship with Filon, having installed their rooflights and sheets on all kinds of buildings, including other LIDL distribution centres. Read more about Monarch F rooflights 7
ROOFWORK OVER-ROOFING HEALTH & SAFETY
New lease of life for Salisbury roof Lightweight GRP Over-roofing was the ideal solution for refurbishment of this fibre cement roof in Salisbury. The roof at the Harnham Trading Estate was starting to fail, causing water ingress. The rooflights were also becoming discoloured, reducing light transmission into the building. Industrial Building Solutions of Wimborne, Dorset, installed approximately 500m2 of OP24E over-roofing in asbestos grey to suit the existing Cape Monad asbestos fibre cement roofing sheets, with 25mm thick Profix spacers. These allow a cavity into which insulation material was laid to upgrade the thermal specification of the roof. The old rooflights covering an area of approximately 50m2 were also replaced during the project. 8
This created a big impact on light levels within the building, bringing an improved working environment and reduced energy consumption for the building occupant, New Garage (Harnham) Limited. Andy Green, Director of Industrial Building Solutions, said: “We have used Filon’s over- The thermal specification of the roof roofing system for many projects was upgraded by adding an insulation layer under the over-roofing over the years. It’s simple to install, with minimal disruption, because the old roof doesn’t need to be removed – and because it’s so light, no additional reinforcement is needed. As the existing roof dries out the result is an overall reduction in weight - so it’s a win-win situation” Read more about Filon overroofing
BEFORE: The existing fibre cement roof had started to fail and rooflights were discoloured
Innovative upgrade & refurbishment solutions for profiled fibre cement or metal roofs & cladding
Failing roof? Here’s the lightweight, cost-effective and disruption-free solution.
FILON GRP over-roofing profiles are the durable, lightweight solution for roof refurbishment.They are extremely quick and easy to install, with minimal disruption to building occupants. Manufactured from strong but lightweight GRP, the over-roofing sheets simply overlay the failing roof and are separated from the existing sheets by the Profix spacer. This locates over the original fasteners which remain in place. In the case of fibre cement roofs, the resulting refurbished roof is often lighter than before the over-roofing, because the GRP sheets are lighter than the accumulated water in the fibre cement, so as the roof dries, the weight reduces. This removes the requirement for costly structural strengthening. Also, the sheets can be supplied in the same profile as the existing roof – so no planning permission is required. We also offer: • Fixsafe for safe replacement of rooflights and roof sheets • Insulated rooflights for energy-saving upgrades and refurbishment.
Filon over-roofing has been proven in hundreds of applications around the UK
For details, please call us on 01543 687300 or visit www.filon.co.uk
Filon Products Ltd, Unit 3 Ring Road, Zone 2, Burntwood Business Park, Burntwood, Staffs WS7 3JQ
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ROOFWORK FILON 60TH ANNIVERSARY HEALTH & SAFETY
Filon celebrates 60 years of GRP innovation Filon Products has been manufacturing high quality GRP sheets in the Midlands since 1957. Filon was among the first to recognise the outstanding properies of translucent GRP sheeting as a material for rooflighting and enjoyed rapid growth in the late 1950s and early 1960s following the launch of its profiled GRP rooflights for use in the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors. The company developed profiled translucent GRP sheets to match the roofing profiles which had become widely used for roofing and cladding factories, agricultural buildings and warehouses. These provided durable and cost-effective ways to introduce daylight into these buildings. In the intervening years, GRP has remained the most widely specified glazing material for profiled rooflights – and Filon remains a leader in this field, constantly updating its products and developing new innovations to meet the evolving demands of modern construction methods as referenced in The Building Regulations. Early innovations After the company’s initial successes with its profiled sheet range it explored new uses for GRP, including garage doors; internal linings for buses; 10
specialist products for the North Sea oil industry; hoardings; canal linings; traffic signs and other uses. Even today, while the company’s core business remains in rooflights and roof sheets, Filon continues to supply GRP products for a range of other applications, including its Filon mpGRP sheets for safer road signs. Exploiting the outstanding properties of GRP for rooflighting Excellent light diffusion, high strength and durability are the key factors that make GRP such a suitable material for rooflights. However, this is an over simplification. There are many other factors which need to be
GRP ROOFLIGHTS
taken into account in the design and installation of rooflights and it’s in addressing these factors, that Filon has established its reputation as a true innovator. Accurate profile matching – the Filon way The Filon GRP production process for example, utilises a unique method of laying the fibres and resin to create accurate profile matches. Accurate profile matching means a better sealing interface between the rooflight and surrounding roof sheets. This becomes more critical as sheet thickness increases. It’s for this reason that Filon’s DR and Supasafe double and triple reinforced rooflights have proved so popular. Even with the additional reinforcing layers, the
FILON 60TH ANNIVERSARY
Filon process allows close profile matching, resulting in better sealing and therefore less risk of water ingress.
Jarrow Shipyard in the early 1960s. Rooflights by Filon Products.
No-compromise non-fragility Introduced as early as 1992, Filon’s Supasafe triple-reinforced rooflights remain a market leader in non-fragile rooflights. They have been assessed in accordance with ACR(M)001 ‘Test for Fragility of Roofing Assemblies. Under this classification, they achieve a Class B Non-Fragility rating providing comparable impact resistance and load bearing capabilities to 0.7mm steel sheet. Filon - the roof safety pioneer Filon has worked in close partnership with the ACR, the 11
ROOFWORK FILON 60TH ANNIVERSARY HEALTH & SAFETY
Advisory Committee for Roofsafety, for many years. Following on from its development of Supasafe rooflights, in 2009 the company introduced Fixsafe. This unique safety fixing system allows rooflights and roofsheets to be replaced from underneath – eliminating the need for roofers to access fragile roofs. This innovation is a preferred method of the HSE and is now the preferred fixing method of many leading roofing contractors. Pioneering sustainable solutions Filon is a founder member of NARM, the National Association of Rooflight Manufacturers and as such plays an active role in the association’s long-standing campaign to promote the energy efficiency benefits of daylighting. Filon offers a range of high performance insulated rooflights including its well-known FAIRs (Factory Assembled Insulating Rooflights) which achive U values as low as 0.9 W/m2K.
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Harsh industrial environments With its focus on industrial and agricultural buildings, Filon has developed specialist GRP formulations and coatings to provide extended working life in particularly harsh industrial environments such as chemical refineries and galvanising plants, where the sheets may be exposed to highly corrosive materials. Filon’s Citadel range has been specifically developed for these applications.
Above left: Filon Supasafe GRP rooflights. Above right: Filon Fixsafe in action.
The future is bright... Filon Sales Director Mark Wilcox said: “Manufacturing rooflights is a good place to be right now, with growing global understanding of the benefits of natural daylight – and pressure on businesses to reduce energy consumption. At Filon, we remain 100% committed to our core business of rooflights and roof sheets and we will continue our policy of innovation through investment in R&D and production improvements.”
www.filon.co.uk
GRP ROOFLIGHTS
INNOVATION
GRP genius at the Design Museum
Architectural Designer Clementine Blakemore created this stunning translucent hyperbolic parabaloid canopy for London’s Design Museum Pavilion.
act as shingles attached to the structure, yet flexible enough to accommodate the curves”, said Clementine. “The texture of the GRP also complemented the natural timber, giving an integrated look”, she added.
Filon supplied 264 sheets of 2mm thick natural translucent diffusing GRP sheet, each measuring 850mm x 525mm, for the project.
The structure was created for the opening of the pavilion and has since been dismantled, with all components re-used on other projects, to avoid pressure on landfill.
“It was a challenge finding a material that was rigid enough to
www.filon.co.uk 13
ROOFWORK FILON 60TH ANNIVERSARY HEALTH & SAFETY
Filon: the complete range of innovative GRP bulding products Filon Products has led the development of GRP profiled sheets since the late 1950s taking full advantage of the light weight and extreme durability of GRP to make it the obvious material choice for many building products. Today’s Filon range includes:
Rooflights & roof sheets • Standard, double reinforced and triple reinforced GRP in-plane rooflights and roof sheets
pickling factories; salt stores; coastal & marine buildings. Other profiled GRP sheet products
• Specialist products including • Factory assembled insulating high light transmitting profiled sheets for horticultural rooflights (FAIRs) applications; internal box • Fixsafe system - allows profiled rooflights for suspended rooflights and GRP roof sheets ceilings; DIY translucent sheets to be replaced from below, for domestic applications eliminating the need to access Valley gutters dangerous fragile roofs • GRP barrel vault rooflights GRP refurbishment sheets • Opaque sheets for replacing or overlaying old or damaged fibre cement
• GRP valley troughs for use with natural or man-made slates and clay or concrete tiles – a low cost alternative to traditional lead valleys Diffused signage panels
• Can be manufactured to match • Flat opal tinted GRP sheets most current and obsolete developed for use in back lit steel roof sheet profiles illuminated signs GRP over-roofing Sheets for water treatment plants • Slimline and very lightweight system designed to simply • Specially formulated sheets fit onto existing asbestos for use in water treatment cement roofs providing a quick plants and other associated refurbishment solution processes including oil/water separators and biological GRP sheets for harsh waste processing environments • For complete roof and wall cladding in aggressive and corrosive environments including chemical plants; galvanising plants; composting facilities; fertilizer plants;
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Cladding and wall linings • Specialist white GRP sheets specially developed for hygiene applications
GRP ROOFLIGHTS
FILON 60TH ANNIVERSARY
www.filon.co.uk
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Innovative upgrade & refurbishment solutions for profiled fibre cement or metal CANOPY roofs & cladding POLYCARBONATE SYSTEMS
Fragile roofs are only unsafe if you walk on them.
Replace rooflights and sheets from below with Fixsafe. Figures published by the Health & Safety Executive show that falls through fragile roof materials caused over one quarter of fatal accidents in the construction industry. Fixsafe addresses the problem and is playing a major role in reducing this statistic. Fixsafe allows sheets to be replaced from below, eliminating the need to access fragile roofs and thereby greatly increasing site safety. By removing the requirement for costly safety netting, roof staging or external scaffolding, on-site time is reduced and access equipment costs are minimised. Replacing rooflights from below is an HSE recommended method and complies with Regulation 9 of the Work At Height Regulations 2005. Protect your roofers and yourself and your team by repairing or replacing rooflights and roof sheets with Fixsafe. We also offer: • Insulated rooflights for energy-saving upgrades and refurbishment • Lightweight over-roofing for cost-effective roof refurb with minimal disruption.
For details, please call us on 01543 687300 or visit www.filon.co.uk
Filon Fixsafe allows replacement rooflights or roof sheets to be installed from below, avoiding the need to access fragile roofs
Filon Products Ltd, Unit 3 Ring Road, Zone 2, Burntwood Business Park, Burntwood, Staffs WS7 3JQ