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SFS intec shares specification expertise in ‘Must-Read’ NBS Specifier Report

Roofing and cladding fastener manufacturer SFS intec has been exclusively invited to share its specification market knowledge, analysis and experience in a new report published by NBS.

The ‘What Specifiers Want’ report, based on the NBS Specification Survey, provides expert guidance for construction product manufacturers supplying into the UK specification market. It serves as a way for construction professionals to inform the industry about their changing needs when it comes to specification writing, with the findings also helping NBS to improve the tools and resources it provides and adapt to the changing industry as BIM establishes itself.

SFS intec, who have worked closely with architects and building envelope contractors for three decades, were the only product manufacturer to be invited to share their perspectives in this report, alongside eminent construction industry professionals and thought-leaders. It reflects the company’s strength and depth in the specification market, with its market-leading support for building designers. This includes a UK-based Specification Team focused on supporting specifiers with writing NBS clauses and the provision of BIM data to support a more robust specification that will make it more difficult to substitute products and reduce the risk of poor envelope performance.

David Wigglesworth, Managing Director of SFS intec’s UK business, who wrote an article for the report, says: “We’re delighted to have been invited to share our insights in this latest NBS report which will be enormously beneficial to anyone working in the specification market. The key findings of the survey resonate with our ethos and the way our support is structured, designed to help deliver better quality buildings and maximise client satisfaction. This is particularly so given the high proportion of specifiers who value good relationships with manufacturers and having detailed information easily accessible online.”

Expert technical support has been at the core of SFS intec’s success in serving the building envelope market for more than 30 years with a wide range of fasteners for pitched roof, façade and flat roof construction. Operating from its UK HQ in Leeds, the company is part of the Swiss-based SFS Group which has annual sales in excess of £1.1bn and a history dating back to the 1950s serving customers in the construction, automotive, electronics, industrial and medical products markets.

Find out more about SFS intec at www.sfsintec.co.uk and download the NBS ‘What Specifiers Want’ at https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/what-specifiers-want-2017.
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SFS intec’s Powder Coated Fasteners Deliver on Aesthetics and Performance in Prestigious Retail Project

Powder coated high performance fasteners from SFS intec have played a key role in enabling leading roofing and cladding contractor Roofdec to create a striking new building envelope for a major extension to the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds.

The prestigious £13.7m project completed by Morgan Sindall for client Land Securities expands the popular shopping centre with an additional 65,000 sq ft. This space incorporates an 11 screen Cineworld cinema with IMAX technology, numerous restaurants and an extension of both the existing Primark and Debenhams stores.

Meeting the colour consistency and long-term performance brief across the various elements of the contemporary façade, Roofdec turned to SFS intec for 40 variations of fasteners, many of which were powder coated in-house to match the different forms and colours of the rainscreen exterior. This included ensuring that fastener heads complemented the building’s unique curved facias which were formed of purpose-made anodised panels in various colours.

Jon Barnes Senior, Managing Director of Roofdec, says, “For all of our prestigious jobs, we choose SFS intec’s fasteners for their excellent quality, ease of installation and value for money.  SFS intec provide excellent technical support throughout the design and construction phases of a project and with their production facilities being located in Leeds with in-house powder-coating, the logistics to get the right coloured product on-site were a breeze.

“With their unbeatable warranty, we’re confident that we will have no teething problems on site and the sustainability of the building is secure for a longer warranty period.  Once the project is finished, we can move on to our next project with total confidence in our work.”

SFS intec powder-coats fasteners, available to meet any RAL colour and in bespoke finishes, at its UK HQ and production plant in Leeds. This ensures it can provide complete consistency in fastener design, manufacture and colour-matching for total peace of mind – all within industry-leading lead times.

The company’s sales and technical teams are available to advise on how best to colour-match fasteners with panels. Currently, SFS intec’s most popular requests for powder coated heads reflect the trends in contemporary architecture, and include Goosewing Grey, Poppy Red, Light Metallic Silver, Solvent Blue, Hamlet and Sargasso Blue.

David Osborne, National Sales Manager at SFS intec says: “With architects continuously pushing the boundaries of façade design, and OEMs leading the charge with constant innovation in panel design and construction, maintaining the visual appeal of the building envelope is vital, particularly for clients in the fiercely competitive retail market.

“Our powder coated fasteners, which provide a high-quality finish for our A2 (grade 304) or A4 (grade 316) stainless steel fasteners, is the ideal way to ensure a façade retains its integrity over a long service life, without suffering significant visual defects that will inevitably impact on the visual appeal of the structure.

Powder coating is an advanced alternative to using moulded nylon heads. Finely ground particles of pigment and resin are sprayed on to the metal fastener head using an electrostatic spray process, causing the charged particles to permanently bond to the metal surface. The powder is then heated and fused into a smooth coating in a curing oven at up to 200 °C, melting the powder onto the metal, to deliver excellent weather resistance and colour stability in even the most exposed locations.

Customers can access detailed information about all the fastening solutions available from SFS intec through its 2017 Roofing and Cladding Catalogue which is accessible via the new website www.sfsintec.co.uk. Customers can also benefit from UK-wide sales and technical teams, both dedicated to providing market-leading customer service, along with extensive resources and training facilities to ensure the best possible result in the finished building envelope.

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SFS intec extends support with structured BIM data for fasteners

Architects and designers working on BIM projects can now benefit from information on fastening solutions for the building envelope with ease, thanks to the ready-to-use structured data on the most widely used roofing and cladding fasteners now available from SFS intec.

The structured product data published exclusively by SFS intec, the world’s leading fastener manufacturer, is available to download at www.sfsintec.co.uk and is the first stage of the company’s initiative to provide a comprehensive library of product information to support BIM Level 2. It represents another dimension to SFS intec’s market-leading support for specifiers and contractors which already includes easy to reach, UK-based Technical and Specification Teams offering on-demand expertise to help achieve the highest performing building envelopes.

Andy Stolworthy, Product and Market Development Manager at SFS intec, says “We believe that through standardising data, clients and project teams will be able to compare and select products based on value and life cycle benefits rather than just price. This should allow for better quality products to be selected, so that life cycle costings reduce. It is obviously a far more sustainable approach to construction and something that resonates with our values at SFS in terms of delivering higher quality buildings.

“The fastener plays a fundamental role in the roof or façade system, but with current working practices and BIM software technology we believe at this time that a 3D BIM object would not be as widely beneficial as structured data. This presents product information in plain language with simple questions and answers allowing integration into a greater system element, be that data or 3D geometry. That’s why we are leading the way, by developing data for our products that can be used now.”

In addition to CAD drawings, ETA and Technical Value sheets, SFS intec has defined its own structured product data template, initially for self-drilling fasteners, with five Structured Data Sheets available for fasteners SL2, SX3, SX5, SXC5 and SXC14. These data sheets provide information content that defines the product, its properties and functional characteristics. The Data Sheets are available in PDF format for free download from www.sfsintec.co.uk, with Excel files also available by request from gb_technical@sfsintec.biz.

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