Product Spotlight

New pipe clips save on installation time

nvented by an installer and now launched on the market by alon, the new oist lip offers a quick and easy way to fit pipes to new build and e isting oists. e speak to the man behind the design, Ashley umbold, about how he first thought of the idea and the product’s main features and benefits.

Many good product ideas have resulted from efforts to find a solution to a specific problem, and that’s e actly how alon’s new range of oist lips first started to take shape. Ashley umbold had taken over his father’s plumbing heating business with his twin brother in 2005 and the company was generating a lot of work with large developers such as ovis, Barratt and Redrow Homes. As ever, speed of delivery and reducing time on site is crucial to any pro ect profitability and it seemed that the fi ing of pipes in some of the new build properties was proving to be more problematic than anticipated.

“When the new engineering oists started to be widely used by the developers in large housing estates, my engineers were saying that the existing pipe clips were really awkward to use, because they would have to screw in from above, between the two oists, e plains Ashley. went away to try and find something on the market, a saddle clip or something that would fi into the side and allow the pipes to go over the top, but no matter where searched there was nothing to achieve that. So that gave me the inspiration to come up with my own design.

FACT SHEET

 The EZ Joist Clips are currently available for use with 15mm and 22mm pipes and sold in packs of 10 and 20 units  Made from polypropylene, the clips feature a hinge with a snap t to rovide a a e and ecure 360° pipe retention  The clips can be positioned and ed ile t e i e i in situ and can also be connected together to ensure equal pipe spacing  The clips are manufactured to ISO quality standards and have been tested for safe use with plumbing, gas and air conditioning pipe and will easily hold copper or plastic pipe

“There was nothing on the market at the time apart from pipe clips that needed to be attached to the same surface as the pipes passing over. o was buying the chaps really short hammers to try and whack the nail clips on those oists, but it was very awkward and still taking them a long time to complete the work. adly, the pressure of the 200 banking crisis and recession took its toll on the business and, despite scaling the company back, Ashley and his brother decided to put the company into voluntary liquidation some four years later. The good news for the wider industry, though, is that closure of the business gave him more time to make some progress with a new clip design.

“With the help of a design company, came up with the idea of having a product that features a 0 degree saddle at the back, which means the clip can sit on the edge of a oist, allowing the installer to drive a nail or screw into its side, rather than attaching it to the top, says Ashley. o the fi ing goes on one surface, the vertical part of the joist and the pipe passes over the hori ontal.

Up and running

t took some time, but with nothing else like it on the market, Ashley was able to obtain U and European patents. The next step was to set about approaching potential manufacturers. With 30 years experience of producing fi ings and finishings, entbased manufacturer alon proved to be natural partners, but does he have any regrets about not going it alone?

think the tooling and production costs would have been prohibitive and, to be honest, probably would have been out of my depth, he concedes. t would have been difficult to get large stockists to take me seriously. Also, after the experience of running the plumbing company, didn’t really want to have other peoples’ livelihoods in my hands again.

With some unforseen delays and the impact of the ovid pandemic, getting the clips manufactured and out to market has not been without its frustrations, but with a positive reaction from stockists and installers – plus future range extensions in the pipeline it seems that Ashley’s determination to bring his design ideas to fruition is not going to go unrewarded. phamnews.co.uk