A collaboration between Ross-on-Wye based A J Lowther & Son, EJOT UK and GRP specialists Filon was behind a technicallly challenging roof refurbishment in the industrial heart of the Potteries in Staffordshire.
IAE is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of livestock handling equipment, equestrian stabling, steel fencing and shelters. When the company appointed A J Lowther as preferred contractor to manage the refurbishment project, it was clear that the aggressive atmospheric environment at IAE’s galvanizing plant near Stoke-on-Trent, so typical with this kind of manufacturing, was going to be central to all specification decisions. Images of the Longton factory captured by a specially commissioned drone as the refurbishment project neared completion, show the impact of the environment on surrounding roofs.
Filon’s Citadel profiled sheeting, manufactured specifically for harsh environments was the immediate and clear choice for the roof refurbishment. The hot rolled steel purlins and rails to which the sheets would be secured meant that all 20,000 fastener locations would need to be pre-drilled and a fixing of known resistance to hazardous environments specified.
Lowther’s turned to EJOT’s Applitec team for technical support. Brian Mack is EJOT UK's Technical Business Development Manager:
"The EJOT Corremaks® JZ1 and JA1 range is manufactured from the highest anti-corrosion class stainless steel, 1.4529 (A5), making these highly specialised products the most suitable for aggressively corrosive environments.
"These fasteners are specified for the mechanical fixing of brackets and liner sheets onto steel, aluminium and timber sub-constructions for atmospheres ranging from swimming pools to industrial processing plants. We sent chemical samples from the IAE plant to our EJOT Applitec colleagues in Germany, for confirmation of our own analysis".
With fastener compatibility rubber-stamped, the EJOT team consulted with Filon’s technical department to run a series of tests to confirm that all pullover requirements could be met from the EJOT Corremaks fixings combined with the Citadel sheeting.
Speaking for AJ Lowther, Contract Manager Mike Walker said:
"Our appointment as preferred contractor for the IAE refurbishment was both an accolade and a technical challenge given the harsh atmospheric environment. The expertise on hand at EJOT and Filon was instrumental in arriving at the correct specification and in turn, a very successful installation".
