How to score multiple benefits from one upgrade

The Tangerines aka Blackpool FC have extracted optimum benefit from a comparatively small upgrade.

The League 1 Club’s stadium, built in 2010, has already needed to refurbish the exposed areas of the façade due to the extreme climatic conditions faced as a result of its proximity to the sea. The club management called up the premier player in the sector- Gilberts Blackpool- to replace the now rusty plant screening and ventilation louvres.

Now, two banks of Gilberts’ WGK75 kit-form louvres each 10m x 3m either side of the Stadium merchandise shop, and a further 4m x 4m screen by the north stand, have been fitted. To optimise protection, the aluminium louvres have been powder coated marine grade- in tangerine.

“Our nickname is The Tangerines. As I wanted to create a talking point, it seemed logical to choose such a bright colour for the louvres, especially as Gilberts as a company has been actively encouraging the use of colour to brighten our built landscape,” observed Glynn Makin, Blackpool FC stadium manager. “I knew from Gilberts’ reputation that the company would be on target for quality and price too, which was an added benefit.”

Adds Ian Rogers, Gilberts Sales Director, “You don’t get environments in England much more extreme than the North Sea/ Lancashire coast. We had to be sure that whatever we supplied would perform, balancing performance with value for money. WGK scored on all counts.”

Gilberts’ WGK75 features a unique clip-on blade that enables quick yet precise fitting on site. Once installed, it provides a good 50% free ventilation area whilst protecting from weather ingress.

The WGK75 is part of Gilberts’ louvre product range, developed over the years to provide a comprehensive package to keep pace with the evolution of building design and structural interfaces. It includes standard, high performance, site assembled and acoustic louvres, available in a range of ratings for weight, ventilation, weather, insects and even bird ingress. Even fixings can often be tailored to individual site preferences.

Innovatively, with its in-house design expertise, Gilberts has the capability to create bespoke configurations which can be both CFD modelled, and tested within its own laboratory to give customers complete ‘fit for purpose’ peace of mind.

Gilberts also offers a comprehensive range of PPC,PVF and PVF2 coatings across its louvres, available in any RAL colour, applied to louvres of almost any size.

Founded over half a century ago, and still family-owned, Gilberts is the UK’s leading independent air movement engineer. It is unique in its ability to design, manufacture and test all products- including bespoke fabrications- in-house, to the extent it even designs and manufactures its own tools at its 95,000 sq ft head office and production facility.

gilbertsblackpool.com