Page 76 - Glass-Technology International no. 4/2018

COMPANY DEVELOPMENT

business and the realisation tion of Promat UK’s new reaching and looks at every
PRODUCTION SPACE of our goal to establish an factory was conceived aspect of our business in
DOUBLED industrial hub in the North around delivering the high- detail to ensure we’re do-
The two-year Heywood West of England, where est quality products to ing things in the best way
development programme, there is a great talent pool in customers and end-user possible.
which has doubled Promat manufacturing and excellent peace of mind. This re- “Tragic recent events in
UK’s production space and supporting networks.” quired the right investment London have put the per-
increased staff numbers by in processes, training and formance of products that
20%, has seen the compa- PUTTING FIRE GLASS management to ensure the are designed to save lives
ny relocate its HQ from its TO THE TEST company would be one of under the spotlight like
original home in Bracknell, The new Heywood site the first companies of its never before. It is vitally
and integrate its made-to- also houses Promat UK’s kind to successfully move important for specifiers,
order workshop and special- test facility, which ensures up to the latest ‘2015’ edi- contractors and installers
ist solutions operations that fire resistant glass products tions of the globally rec- to eliminate risk, particu-
were previously located at can be tested for total per- ognised ISO 9001 qual- larly with products like fire-
Bromborough on the Wir- formance reliability. More ity management and ISO resistant glass, and here
ral. The new factory serves than 500 tests have been 14001 environmental man- ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
clients in all industry sectors completed since the test fa- agement system standards. help make a difference.
across the UK, with four cility was established, car- This dual standard up- “These standards go
new purpose-built CNC ried out independently by grade gives customers the hand-in-hand, giving our
machines ensuring that be- Exova Warringtonfire, to assurance that products customers peace of mind
spoke products are precision give customers additional are manufactured to a knowing that independent
manufactured to the highest peace of mind. consistently high standard experts have been through
quality standards. Ian Cowley adds: “Our test in processes designed to the way we manufacture
The new factory is also de- facility is an essential part of minimise environmental and supply products with
signed with sustainability at the process when it comes impact and with excellent a fine-tooth comb. In com-
its core, with a comprehen- to providing assurance that supply reliability. These bination with our specific
sive extraction system en- our products will deliver the ISO standards are awarded product approvals, such as
suring that production dust passive fire protection that to companies only when those provided by CERTI-
is collected to be re-used in they promise. The growing independent assessors are FIRE, this means we give
other fire protection prod- demand for our SYSTEM- satisfied that its manage- our customers a ‘belt and
®
ucts. The plant is also evolv- GLAS complete fire rated ment, its operations and all
ing to be a zero landfill waste glazing system, for example, processes meet their strict
operation by 2020. points to an increased un- criteria.
Ian Cowley, General Man- derstanding in the market Achieving these new stand-
ager at Promat UK says: that fire resistant products ards is another important
“The completion of our must be backed with the differentiator for Promat
relocation programme and right test data from credible UK as it works to raise
creation of this superb new authorities. That’s why we standards and eliminate
facility cements our place believe it is vital to have offer risk in the design and spec-
at the forefront of the UK our customers a dedicated ification of fire, thermal
fire protection market. We test facility as part of what and acoustic insulation.
are delighted that so many we do.” Ian Cowley adds: “We’re
of our team have relocat- delighted to become one
ed with us to ensure we LEADING of the first manufacturers
maintain the highest level THE MARKET WITH of fire, thermal and acous-
of technical expertise and NEW QUALITY AND tic insulation to reach the
consistency in points of ENVIRONMENTAL 2015 ISO standards. The
contact for clients. STANDARDS work that goes into achiev-
“It’s an exciting time for the The design and configura- ing these standards is far-

74 Glass-Technology International 4/2018