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Woolly Thinking

Arkoni Team At Work

Woolly Thinking

A shocking array of festive knitwear was on show at Arkoni to celebrate national Christmas Jumper Day.

Here's a taste of the woolly creations sported by Arkoni's team!

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Rick's Prize Putt Bags Trophy

Arkoni Team At Work

Rick's Prize Putt Bags Trophy

Arkoni Site Supervisor Rick Holden has got his hands on an impressive piece of silverware after triumphing in a matchplay competition at the Headley Golf Club in Thornton, Bradford.

Rick, who has been with Arkoni for a decade after starting out as a site fixer, clinched victory with a putt for par on the 36th hole in the final after negotiating his way through six gruelling rounds of matchplay golf throughout the summer.

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Arkoni Invests in New Technology

Project and Business News

Arkoni Invests in New Technology

Arkoni has recently invested heavily in new CNC technology that is helping to deliver increased capacity and the ability to process up to 4 metre long pressed metalwork.

A Morgan Rishworth Press Break and Guillotine, supplied by Bison Machine Tools and costing over £100,000 in total, have been installed at the company’s workshops in Brighouse.

Arkoni MD Mark Prentice commented: “This represents a major investment in the future of the business and increases the size of the pressed metalwork that we are able to manufacture in-house in response to demand from our customers.” 

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Congratulations to Brooky of Team Arkoni!

Race Team Arkoni News

Congratulations to Brooky of Team Arkoni!


The Team Arkoni Brooky Brief: An Eventful Weekend at Donington!

Race Team Arkoni News

The Team Arkoni Brooky Brief: An Eventful Weekend at Donington!

My mechanic Paul and I worked really hard on my lines throughout the test day on Friday...

Most of my fellow competitors have considerably more race experience than me me so it was important that I knew exactly where I needed to be on the circuit if I was to ride my own race. We analysed where I was going wrong, where I was strong and at the end of the test day I had a good idea of how to put a fast lap together. It's vital to have a plan at a technical track like Donington Park.

I was relaxed for qualifying and, despite struggling with traffic, I notched my fastest lap with 1.34.7 on lap 5. I was 3rd stocker in the strongest field I've seen all year and was delighted!

I was a bit nervous for Race 1. I usually qualify poorly so having an advantage into turn 1 is not that familiar despite getting a good start and making a place to 2nd in stock into turn 1. I gave up one position to BSB regular Josh Day at turn 4 which wasn't a problem as it bridged a slowly increasing gap to the front. Unfortunately on my first flying lap I had only used 4 gears along the pit straight and ended up in 1st gear in a 90mph corner. Not ideal! The problem with your first race lap on new tyres is that things change. In this case I just hung onto a gear longer than I should have which, in hindsight, seemed daft but at the time felt right given the speeds. You live and learn!

Fortunately I managed to control the slide and chucked a gear at the bike but I had lost another position to another BSB regular in John Ingram as a result. I tried to regain composure but, as I tensed up, I carried too much brake into turn 8 and had a big front end slide further knocking my confidence and spoiling the gap I had gained back to the second wave. What followed was basically a cut and dry case of me seeing red mist and completely losing the plot as I pushed way too hard. I finished in 8th place and was very disappointed as I had wasted a brilliant start.

I felt relaxed before race 2 on the Saturday and got off to a great start, ending up 2nd stock into turn 1. I then proceeded to drop a couple of places over lap 1 and was 4th over the line on the first flying lap. No first gear incident this time! I held my position for the first few laps but had to avoid Shane Pearson overtaking me while attempting to out brake me into Melbourne hairpin. That cost me some vital time but fortunately neither him nor his bike hit me. What followed on the next few laps was some of the closest racing I've been involved in all year with Stephen Parsons, Adam Shelton and Adam Reavill. I managed to get the better of them all except Parsons over the course of the race and finished 5th. I was slightly miffed though as 4th place was just a bike length away!

I felt as though id dusted off the cobwebs for race 3 and was really looking forward to it! The sun was really low in the sky with fog delaying the proceedings. It created an eerie feeling around the circuit. I was 2nd stocker into turn 1 after another good start and held off Josh Day for a lap and John Ingram for half of the race distance which is an achievement in itself! I pushed as hard as I could for the rest of the race and didn't use my pit board once as the shadows behind me at Craner Curves and Coppice told me everything I needed to know! I was 3rd stock and on for a podium but unfortunately after a small mistake on the penultimate lap, lost my position to former BSB and Spanish Superbikes rider Craig Neve. I wasn't too annoyed as Craig is a great lad and very fair and clean racer.

Events at Donington have left me 7th in Thundersport GP1 on 185 points and fourth out of 26 in the overall Superstock 1000 standings on 256 points.

I'm really looking forward to the final round of the year in mid October. I just don't know where this year has gone but I'll be glad to end it at Cadwell Park, my favourite track in the country.

For more details visit www.brooky73.co.uk

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Arkoni on Film

Project and Business News

Arkoni on Film

The Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership has produced an excellent short video case study all about the rise and rise of Arkoni.

Arkoni MD Mark Prentice comments on how the LEP has contributed significantly towards an increase in manufacturing capacity and how apprenticeships are playing a big role in the company’s future.

The film can be viewed here http://www.the-lep.com/case-studies/arkoni/

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The Brooky Brief: Nightmare on Anglesey!

Race Team Arkoni News

The Brooky Brief: Nightmare on Anglesey!

Team Arkoni's Dave Brook gives his verdict on the latest race meeting in Anglesey...

What an absolute nightmare meeting! I've had a pretty solid season so far with the exception of Cadwell earlier in the year bad but Anglesey isn't far behind!

The meeting was a struggle, I had a huge crash at Cadwell the week before with BSB which left me with damage to my Intercostal Muscle (this is the muscle between the ribs which allows them to move and flex). In a word (or two), very painful! Heavy breathing is not really an option, I cracked a rib earlier in the season and that's painful but this is on another level! I essentially had a week to recover which wasn't enough but with help from Kay at KLS Active Lifestyle offering sports injury help I was much improved!

Saturday was the test day. I was in a lot of pain and only managed 3 short test session as change of direction was very painful, I made a change to the gearing which helped the lap times but obviously there wasn't much time for finer adjustments. Phil, my mechanic, and I were in two minds whether to race being honest. I was inevitably going to be off the pace and I didn't want to injure myself further for the sake of average results. 

Sunday morning came and thankfully the stretching of riding the bike on the test day and another day’s rest had eased the ribs. I managed to get a lap in early in the session which put me 6th in stock but quite honestly it wasn't good enough      having shown the form I had at Rockingham but it's the best I could do given the circumstances. I had had good results from worse positions though so I had to remain positive for Race 1. 

Race 1 was here and the weather was perfect, I got a good start and made up 2 positions into turn 2 and then made a lunge into turn 4. I just had to make up for the poor qualifying now that my body was stretched up. But it didn't work, I asked too much of the tyre and ran wide and when I got on the gas on the mucky part of the track I crashed! Schoolboy error. 

Phil got the bike fixed for Race 2 only needing minor repairs as it was a low speed spill and thankfully the crash hadn't   agitated my injury too much but I had my work cut out, not helped by being pushed wide into turn 1 which didn't allow me to capitalise after a poor qualifying. I brought it home in a safe but average 5th. At least I had more track time and something to work on for Race 3. 

Race 3 came and I got a slightly better start and settled in to a rhythm early on which I built on over the first 5 laps. Unfortunately the gearbox let go exiting turn 1. That was the icing on the cake it seems! I was 3rd at the time with a 2.5s gap to 4th and 2nd within eye shot. Despite a disappointing trip to Wales, I’m feeling positive for Donington Park on 26th September!

For more details visit www.brooky73.co.uk

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The Brooky Brief: Good Day(s) at the Office!

Race Team Arkoni News

The Brooky Brief: Good Day(s) at the Office!

Rockingham is like Marmite. Most racers either love or hate it whereas I have no strong views either way.  It is, however, horrendously slippy and the walls are very close in places which test people’s nerves! I will also mention that Adam Shelton fell victim to a tyre wall and broke his leg which will see him miss one to two rounds having been leading the Superstock so my best wishes go out to him. 

Testing was a wash out. We got one dry session first thing on Friday and that was the only one we were going to get before qualifying so setup was more of an educated guess than tried and tested. The rest of the day it rained, and rained and then rained some more and didn't let up until the early hours of the Saturday morning but it did allow me to find a good wet setting with the bike and I felt confident whatever the weather was going to throw at us. 

Qualifying went well. I was 3rd stock although I had no real idea of this until I came in after the session as you can’t see pit boards from anywhere on the circuit and the pit wall is so far from the track. You're doing 150 mph on the straights and it all a bit hectic. Just half a second off pole was near enough for me as I felt I could do the business over race distance. 

Race 1 was really good! I got away off the line perfectly and was second into turn one behind Adam Shelton. We both notched a stonking lap one crossing the line 1.4 seconds quicker than the next best rider, recently retired BSB rider and top 6 BSB Superstock 1000 rider Joe Burns. I plugged away but couldn't hang on to Adam who has been running the SC1 qualifying tyres all year. They just offer the edge grip I don’t have on the harder SC2 but the reason I don’t run them is they're illegal at BSB so I don’t want to give myself grip that I can’t have when I step up to the national class. I clung on as long as I could but Joe Burns eventually passed me and I finished 2.5 seconds behind him when the race was red flagged due to Adam's crash at turn 2.  In a nut shell, Adam’s crash aside, very pleased!

For race 2 the weather was a bloody nightmare. Simple weather makes for simple decisions. Wet is wet tyres and dry is dry tyres but the rain was due to land at 11.00 and we were out at 11.00! It started spitting just as we got to Parc Ferme. The organisers decided to postpone the start for 10 minutes so we could change to wets after declaring it a wet race. I decided to stick with the dry tyres but just wished the weather would hold out! We got to the grid and the spitting had eased off but rain was imminent. I wasn't the only one to stick with dry tyres as most of the front 3 rows were on the drys so it was game on. I pushed as hard as I dare for 4 laps. I got a great start and was 1st in Stock with a good 1.5 second lead over 2nd Stock but the front went with no warning. No regrets though, there was just nothing I could do and I had to just run with what I had.

Race 3 happened in absolutely torrential rain, which incidentally is better than dryish because at least it makes tyre choice easy. I did however have a problem. The bike’s forks were bent from the crash in race 2 and I had no spares, so we just had to do our best to line them up and compromise as best we could. A poor start lead to a pretty uneventful race finishing 3rd Stock.

The bike’s front end was really wooden and I had no feel at all but I was happy with a 3rd with a bent bike!

All in all a good few days at the office and a few pots to take home by way of a memory.

For more details visit www.brooky73.co.uk and arkoni.co.uk

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Record Contract for Arkoni in Reading

Project and Business News

Record Contract for Arkoni in Reading


Rhiannon's Snake Stand Slithers into Place

Project and Business News

Rhiannon's Snake Stand Slithers into Place

Visitors to Clifton Green Primary School in York will be greeted with a brand new landmark following the installation of a snake cycle stand designed by 10-year-old pupil Rhiannon Smith.

Rhiannon won a Yorkshire-wide schools competition last year, organised by Leeds-based QAD Architects and Brighouse-based metalworking specialists Arkoni, to celebrate the Tour de France's Grand Depart in the region.

Rhiannon explained: "I love animals and thought that a snake would be a good idea for a bike stand. I was very happy when I found out I'd won and can't believe that the snake has now been brought to life outside of my school!"

Manufactured from galvanised mild steel, the green and black snake stretches for 7.5 metres with a capacity for 10 bicycles in total.

Paul Wainwright of QAD Architects explained: "Initially we wanted to celebrate the Grand Depart coming to Yorkshire and this year's inaugural Tour de Yorkshire but we also wanted to encourage the designers of the future by organising a competition that drew on the practical and imaginative design skills of pupils.

"Rhiannon's design was chosen from over 100 entries from across Yorkshire and we set the wheels in motion with Arkoni to manufacture and install the new stand at her school.

"The end result is a very eye catching feature that helps to define the school's main entrance as well as being a practical bike stand that encourages cycling," added Paul.

Arkoni set a team of apprentices on the challenge of designing up Rhiannon's drawing and manufacturing it into shape at their workshops.

One of those chosen was 17-year-old James Horner, currently in his first year of a four year Skilled Fabricator and Welder apprenticeship programme with Arkoni.

"I was confused at first when I found out about the project. It's a real change from what I normally do preparing fire-rated glazing and I didn't think I could do it but the support of fellow apprentices Elliot Knight and Elliott Ashmore has proved very helpful.

"Like Rhiannon, we're delighted with the outcome," added James.

Fellow Mechanical Engineering apprentice Elliot Knight, 22 and approaching the end of his draughtsman apprenticeship, was similarly energised by the challenge.

"To a degree, Rhiannon's drawing was open to interpretation so we looked online at similar creative bike stands for inspiration. We then set to work designing the snake in liaison with QAD and Rhiannon and, soon after, it was forged into shape by Elliott and James.

"It's been a lovely project to have been involved with and a big learning curve, in the shape of a snake, for all of us!" added Elliot.

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New Face at Arkoni

Arkoni Team At Work

New Face at Arkoni

Arkoni has recently appointed Bob McMann to the position of General Manager.

Bob, 55, hails from Huddersfield and will have responsibility for reviewing and improving the operational side of the rapidly growing business with the aim of increasing profitability and departmental efficiency.

Arkoni founder and MD Mark Prentice commented: "We're delighted to welcome Bob on board! With 35 years of experience within the glazing and construction façade sectors, he'll bring a wealth of knowledge to our operations."

Bob commented: "The fast growth of Arkoni in recent years has created issues that need to be addressed such as the increase in product lines and the requirement to provide the correct training and resourcing for our workforce."

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Brooky's Mixed Fortunes at Cadwell Park

Race Team Arkoni News

Brooky's Mixed Fortunes at Cadwell Park

Bradford racer Dave Brook of Team Arkoni notched yet another podium finish with third place in Saturday's Superstock race at Cadwell Park last weekend although mechanical failure ruled him out of the Sunday races.

Dave explained: "The weekend was full of emotion. Having got a really good wet setting in the Friday test day I felt as though I was ready to take anything the weather decided to throw at me. In the first afternoon session however I fell victim, as did two others, to some oil on the circuit at Hall Bends and it had me off and over the bars so quickly. I genuinely didn't know I had crashed until I was looking at the bike from up in the air! 

"It was a slow crash as it was my out lap and I had only got to the 2nd corner! The problem with the slow crashes is that you usually go straight up and straight down. Speed is your friend sometimes in a crash as you glance the ground rather than hitting it like a ton of bricks! I cracked a rib and destroyed a helmet and we had to quickly fix the bike in order to get one last shakedown session on the Friday before we went straight into qualifying on Saturday morning.

"Phil, my trusted mechanic, did a great job of getting the bike sorted and I got out for the last session and confirmed all was OK with the bike.

"The rain had gone by Saturday morning and I qualified third in Superstock.

I was satisfied with that as the rib was giving me some grief during fast direction change corners. I got a bit of a poor start in the first race which prevented me from hanging on to the pole man which was Sam Hornsey. I rode a solid race and brought it home where I started in 3rd. The laps were very consistent too which is always good.

"I had made some changes to the bike between the race and qualifying which had some positive effects and some negatives. I had another couple of changes to make for the first race on Sunday but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. My oil cooler had failed and we couldn't get the parts track side. I was really disappointed but what can you do besides run a spare bike?

"That's racing!" concluded "Brooky" whose next race meeting is at Oulton Park in a months time.

For more details visit www.brooky73.co.uk and arkoni.co.uk.

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Awarding Evening for Arkoni!

Project and Business News

Awarding Evening for Arkoni!

Arkoni picked up the Building Industry award at the recent 2015 Brighouse Echo Business Awards sponsored by the Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

Well done to everyone at Arkoni! This award is for all of you!  

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Snetterton Podium Finish for 'Brooky'

Race Team Arkoni News

Snetterton Podium Finish for 'Brooky'

Bradford racer Dave Brook of Team Arkoni continued his surge up the Thundersport GP1 and Superstock 1000 motorcycling rankings with solid performances and a podium finish in rounds 5 and 6 at Snetterton in Norfolk last weekend.

Dave exclaimed: "I was pleased overall. I got my PB in the last lap of the last race which was only 0.7 off the lap record and I got my first Superstock 1000 pole position in qualifying.

"The rain over the weekend helped to develop a good wet setting for the bike and I kept it upright despite some very mixed conditions on the Sunday. The drying track meant I absolutely destroyed a set of wets in the first race and a 5th was the best I could do as I dropped back from 2nd in class. This also moved me down the grid on mega laps for the Monday so meant I had more to do off the line.

"I have to give special mention to my mechanic Phil Beckworth who worked like a trojan as ever over the weekend. He's an absolutely vital part of Team Arkoni.

"Race 2 went well. I lost a couple of places into turn 2 but managed to get them both back over race distance and eventually finished 3rd in Superstock which was a solid result.

"Race 3 was good fun. I had to really dig deep to make up for running onto the grass at the chicane on to Bentley Straight to avoid hitting a back marker. I was only a couple of tenths to 3rd across the line but a podium just wasn't meant to be that race," added Dave who eventually finished sixth to move up to 4th in the GP1 rankings. He remains in second place in the Superstock 1000 rankings.

Next up for 'Brooky' is Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire at the end of May.

"I'm looking forward to the next round at Cadwell Park as it is my favourite circuit on the calendar so hopefully that can bring some good results too!" he added.

For more details visit www.brooky73.co.uk

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Royal Visit for Sheffield Cathedral

Project and Business News

Royal Visit for Sheffield Cathedral

The Queen recently visited the refurbished Sheffield Cathedral to hand out commemorative Maundy coins for the 60th time.

The visit served to highlight the work carried out by Arkoni on the new cathedral including stainless steel fins that form a decorative part of the new entrance façade and 11 large-scale, thermally broken stainless steel satin polished window and door sets which enclose the new reception and shop.

The Queen arrived by car with the Duke of Edinburgh for the ancient ceremony where she handed out two purses to each of the 89 men and 89 women who made up this year's recipients.

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Arkoni Surpasses Forecasts Yet Again

Project and Business News

Arkoni Surpasses Forecasts Yet Again

Arkoni is on track to surpass forecasts yet again with a predicted 23% growth in turnover to in excess of £6.5 million for 2014-15.

It is the third consecutive year of significant growth. The figures for

2013-14 revealed an increase from £4 million to £5.25 million following on from a similar 2012-13 rise in turnover of 30%

Arkoni MD Mark Prentice, who founded the business in 1991, commented:

“There’s a lot more confidence out there in the construction sector and we, as a company, are benefiting from some colossal commercial projects that are getting underway right across the UK.

A majority of the projects we are supplying are based down south however the rapid upturn in major developments is undoubtedly a nationwide trend.

Demand is now hitting pre-2008 levels. Given so many firms like ourselves have gone by the wayside over the past seven years, we find ourselves operating at full capacity to cope with demand.

We’ve increased our workforce and introduced efficient and robust management systems.

We’ve also enhanced our manufacturing capability with the construction a new 1600 square foot workshop incorporating automated technology thanks to partial funding from the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership’s

(LEP) Business Growth Programme.

Much of the growth has been based on rapidly growing demand for fire-rated glazing systems. Over the past twelve months we have installed glazing systems in new schools, shopping centres, office complexes, leisure centres, cathedrals and many other locations across the UK.

“In effect we are looking at a doubling of the business turnover in just three years. Long may it continue,” concluded Mark.

Arkoni currently employs 60 full time staff representing a 15% increase on last year. Further appointments are expected over the course of 2015.

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The Focus is on Kascarade!

Kascarade

The Focus is on Kascarade!

The focus will be firmly on fast rising Arkoni backed Bradford Indie outfit Kascarade after the band was asked to trial a new cinematic lens for its forthcoming video release by a Hong Kong firm.

Kascarade's media manager Ian Hudson commented: "We are one of only ten testers around the world to get the chance to trial the new 2x Anamorphot lens that is expected to go on sale later this year.

"We are putting the final plans together for our latest filming and hope it makes as much of an impact as the Rise Again video shot entirely on Ilkley Moor with Happy Mondays singer Julie E Gordon.

"The new lens, manufactured by SLR Magic, is sure to add another dimension to the creative process with its long widescreen effect and we'll be providing the firm with feedback after the shoot," added Ian.

Founded in 2010, Kascarade has struck up a unique partnership with Brighouse-based Arkoni, a metalworking firm that has provided funding for the development of their very own studio in Bradford.

Kascarade's next gig is at the 360 Club in Leeds on Saturday 21st March with new drummer Carl Bower set for his first outing with the band. Lead singer Maf Milnes is  anticipating a great evening at the popular venue. 

"We are all looking forward to the gig as the 360 Club is undoubtedly one of the best venues in the region. It's a great platform for our style of music that is very much influenced by the rock and pop genres from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s," explained Maf.

For more details visit www.kascarade.com

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Team Arkoni's Brooky Turns a Corner

Race Team Arkoni News

Team Arkoni's Brooky Turns a Corner

Bradford racer David Brook of Team Arkoni is looking forward to another great Thundersport GB motor racing season after getting off to an impressive start with two podium finishes at Brands Hatch last weekend (8/9 March).

"Brands Hatch proved that I'm fit enough to do consistent laps over the race distance which can only help bring me the results I need. I spent many hours over the winter months on the turbo trainer in the workshop after work which has definitely helped me up my general fitness.

"This weekend's results also gives me a huge amount of confidence as I bid to challenge for race wins. I took a knife to a gun fight last year, it seems, running a totally stock road engine.

The "Superstock" rules allow certain internal changes that help improve the power and torque but that was out of my budget last year. The winter break allowed me to make those changes and has levelled the playing field.

To be right on the money straight away shows how much it was holding me back last year! People kept complementing me over the weekend saying how fast the bike looked but in reality I was having to ride the wheels off the thing last year just to keep up. Now that same commitment brings much better results!

We had good pace in testing and qualified 3rd in stock behind BSB rider Craig Neve and reigning Superstock 600 champion Adam Shelton. I felt satisfied with that but knew I could improve.

In race 1 I brought it home in 5th, I wasn't ruthless enough with the back markers I came across and I paid the price losing 2 seconds in one lap and one second per lap in the two that followed which lost me two positions.

We made some changes overnight and were second fastest in warm up so I knew we were onto something. I managed to get off the grid and break away with the front wave finishing 3rd and almost a second quicker than Saturday.

Race 3 saw me gain an equally a good start despite the poor grid position and after the first flying lap I was leading the Stock 1000, I continued to do so for most of the race until I came unlucky with a back marker going much slower than me in one of the turns and a momentary closing in the throttle lead to Craig Neve passing me never to be seen again.

Overall it was an awesome weekend with two podiums and the closest I've ever got to a race win in the GP1. I'm all revved up for Donington in April!" added David.

Brighouse-based Arkoni Metalwork, who sponsor 'Brooky', are once again supporting the Bradford rider's endeavours.

MD Mark Prentice commernted: "Brooky had a fantastic first season in 2014 and, on the strength of Brands Hatch, it looks like 2015 will be even better.

"Everyone at Arkoni is right behind him and we'll be present at all of his races throughout the season," added Mark.  

For more details visit www.brooky73.co.uk

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A Scenic Approach to Fire-Rated Glazing

Project and Business News

A Scenic Approach to Fire-Rated Glazing

The stunning glazing in situ on seven floors around four scenic lift shafts at the recently renovated 7 & 8 St James's Square project in Central London are more than just aesthetic detail.

It's also a practical solution that delivers protection from fire with up to

60 minutes integrity and insulation (EI60) at the prestigious venue in the capital that has been converted into luxury accommodation.

Arkoni Metalwork, suppliers of fire-rated, security and steel glazing systems, are behind the work for a project that was named as a finalist in the IFSEC 2014 Passive Fire Protection Product of the Year category. 

Arkoni Director Martin Quarmby took up the story: "The St James's project was an innovative and technically challenging one that consisted of seven floors of 60/60 butt jointed, fire rated integrity and insulating lift shaft glazing to four banks of scenic lifts. The glazing also forms an anti-fall barrier.

"The fire rated glazing was designed using a combination of Schuco Jansen's new C4 steel glazing sections and Vetrotech Saint-Gobain's Contraflam Structure 60 butt jointed glass.

"Because the glazing had not been installed in the required configuration for the lift shafts, Arkoni worked closely with Warrington Fire's Andy Kearns, who independently assessed the whole project prior to work commencing," added Martin.

Within the floor levels Arkoni also incorporated steel goalpost structures which support the Otis lift shaft door systems. Due to the full height, single span glazing being up to 3500mm high on the first floor, Arkoni had to seek the services of Galliford Try's tower crane operator to lift the fourteen tons of glass on to the roof of the building.

Martin went on: "It had to be manually distributed to the relevant floor levels prior to installation and, due to the constraints on each floor level, the glass had to be physically lifted into place by a team of eight men.

"The whole project has been a great success and an interesting learning curve. During the installation, no panes of glass were broken which was an achievement alone as the special glass was on a 10 week lead time," added Martin.

Danny Murphy, Design Manager at contractors Galliford Try, commented: "This was a difficult challenge as we had to ensure compliance on very large fire-rated glazed screens which were co-ordinated with glazed lift shaft door sets.

The screens also had minimum framing and low iron glass to enhance the marble clad lift shafts, which are the main visual feature.

Arkoni worked closely with ourselves, Eric Parry Architects, Ramboll fire engineers, Pryce and & Myers structural engineers and the client to design, manufacture and install in line with the project programme.

The result is an installation that, all parties agree, is of the highest quality," added Danny.

Both aesthetically stunning and highly practical, the new scenic lift shafts provide a glimpse of the very latest and safest glazing technology.

It's a viewpoint that residents and visitors to the building are sure to appreciate.

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