Energy-efficient ventilation systems Nuaire

ENERGY-EFFICIENT VENTILATION SYSTEMS

The Nuaire Group is a privately owned UK company that is a European market leader in the design and manufacture of energy-efficient commercial and residential ventilation systems. Philip Yorke talked to Mark Huxtable, the group’s managing director, about its latest innovative products and ongoing investments in environmentally friendly production technology.

The Nuaire Group was founded in 1967 and began by providing cleaning and maintenance services to metal fabricators in the UK before moving into manufacturing full-time in 1971. Thanks to a consistent investment programme and a commitment to developing innovative, energy-efficient ventilation systems, Nuaire has grown to become one of the most successful companies in its field and the only one to offer expertise in all three key ventilation markets, covering commercial, residential and industrial sectors.

Today the company has extensive resources and a major manufacturing plant with warehousing facilities near Cardiff in Wales that extends to more than 250,000 sq ft. These facilities are supported by around 500 employees worldwide and in 2011 the company recorded sales of more than £54 million.

Leading in energy efficiency and performance

Nuaire is committed to the principles of low energy consumption, heat recovery and solar energy thermal innovation. It utilises a combination of cutting-edge design and innovative products in tandem with a world class performance in quality, delivery and dedicated customer services. As a result, Nuaire is continuing to grow its market share in a highly competitive marketplace.

Huxtable said, “As a company we are unique in that we design and manufacture a very broad range of ventilation products from the smallest bathroom extractor fans to huge industrial units developed for metros and underground car parks that measure over two metres across. We differentiate ourselves from our competitors in many other ways, but essentially by being the biggest investors in innovative product development. Furthermore, we are also pretty unique in that we supply our products direct to subcontractors, whereas others prefer to distribute their products through wholesalers and third parties. We also lead the industry in terms of our commitment to protecting the environ-

ment and we continue to win awards for this. In fact we were the first company in the UK in the ventilation business to acquire the coveted ISO 14001 accreditation for our environmental management programmes.”

Huxtable continued, “The trend is definitely towards greater efficiency and energy conservation and the latest government legislation helps us as well as many others to become more environmentally aware and more energy efficient. Currently growth in our sector is patchy with demand in the commercial area remaining fairly flat; however, the new-build housing sector is showing signs of recovery. Around 80 per cent of our products are destined for the domestic market with the other 20 per cent being exported to central Europe and the Middle East. In fact we have an office in Dubai now that covers most of this region and the UAE. We stock over 1000 products at any one time and if a customer places an order with us before 4pm, we guarantee delivery within 24 hours anywhere in the UK, with the exception of the outlying Scottish islands. For the future we will continue to rely on organic growth but if a suitable opportunity arose we would certainly be open to the possibility of making an acquisition or two.” MVHR systems steal the show

With its global reputation for technical innovation, researchers at Nuaire continue to provide the answers to many of the challenges facing building designers in today’s difficult marketplace. The latest development of two high-efficiency and value-for-money heat recovery ventilation systems (MVHRs), took two recent premier trade fairs by storm, as did the company’s innovative renewable energy product range, which is based on Nuaire’s own ‘Positive Input Ventilation’ (PIV) technology. In addition to its new low profile MVHR

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system, Nuaire launched a new compact wall-mounted MVHR system to complement their existing compact wall range.

On show alongside Nuaire’s latest MVHR systems was its new cost-effective MEV solution for new-build projects. The MEVDC2 is the company’s latest offering from its existing range of multi-point extract systems and has been specifically designed to allow quick and cost-effective installation. This space-saving, low-profile unit provides the option of fixing it in any plane, either horizontally or vertically, thus providing quick and efficient installation at either the first or second fix stage.

This latest unit is designed to meet the required Parts F&L of the current Building Regulations and is SAP Q Eligible. This advanced MEVDC2 from Nuaire delivers low SFPs along with high performance, therefore benefiting both the environment and the end user.

Nuaire continues to build on its reputation for achievements in environmental care and the company was the first ventilation company to gain the ‘Carbon Trust Standard’ for reducing CO2 emissions year-on-year. The Carbon Trust Standard is an award for organisations that provide evidence of measuring, managing and reducing their carbon footprint against strict international criteria.

Nuaire’s senior environmental advisor said, “This is a significant step along our environmental journey. In the past four years we have come from a basic environmental awareness to the UK’s most qualified and accredited ventilation company on environmental issues. We are already examining future legislation, product issues and energy efficiency within our factory and embedding all these in our environmental goals for 2013.” n