The Door Industry Journal

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Last minute win for Alfa Romeo in the Rally of the Tests


Winners Paul Wignall & Mark Appleton - Alfa_Romeo Giulietta Sprint Image copyright Ph Rastrelli (c)

Paul Wignall and Mark Appleton claimed the first place of the Rally of the Tests in an 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint after taking over the lead in the final section from Jan Ebus and Iain Tullie’s 1964 Porsche 356.

The event, which is organised by the Classic Rally Association (CRA), was the final round of the FIA Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies and the fifth qualifying round of the HERO Cup, in association with EFG International.

The 12th Rally of the Tests saw 81 classic cars set off from Chester on Thursday 31st October on a route that took them across North Wales, Lancashire and Cumbria, to finish in Harrogate, Yorkshire, on Sunday 3rd November – 69 made it across the finish line.

Jeremy Dickson, CRA Event Director, said:

“It was a fantastic and tough event. The new route created by Clerk of the Course Guy Woodcock took competitors through some great roads and test venues.”

“We had bad weather on Friday and Saturday so competitors and marshals had to contend with torrential rain and high winds, but these didn’t demoralise the crews. The rain also made Oulton Park extremely difficult to handle, the circuit was very slippery and drivers struggled to keep the cars on the track.”

This year was the fourth time that Paul Wignall and Mark Appleton have won the event. They didn’t have an easy run though and had to overcome electrical problems in their Alfa on the prologue and first day. However, they managed to recover and come first across the finish line at the Old Swan Hotel, in Harrogate, in front of a cheering crowd.

Image copyright Ph Rastrelli (c)

Jan Ebus and Iain Tullie in their Porsche 356 led for much of the event but a few uncharacteristic mistakes in the final sections allowed the Alfa Romeo to take the lead. A slight consolation for Iain was that he received the trophy for the best “timekeeping” performance and was also confirmed as the top co-driver in the FIA Trophy for Regularity Rallies.

Ryan Pickering and Andy Ballantyne completed the podium in their 1962 Triumph TR4. Ryan also received the trophy for setting the fastest times on the Driving Tests, which are the sections of the event that take place off the public highway.

Patrick Burke, joint managing director of the Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (HERO), said:

“The test at the military Swynnerton Training Camp in North Staffordshire was extremely well received and is becoming a ‘testers’ favourite venue. It is not usually open to the public but we were allowed in for 20 minutes of action.”

“It was also great to see local residents out in the streets and at the publicised spectator points, waving and cheering for the cars as they passed.”

Next year the 13th running of the Rally of the Tests will run from Buxton to Bristol and have two nights at Llandrindod Wells.

The next event and last qualifying round of the much coveted 2013 HERO Cup, in association with EFG International, is Le Jog, the toughest event of its kind in Europe. Le Jog will see drivers battling it out against UK’s fierce weather conditions on an epic 1,500 mile route between Land’s End and John O'Groats from December 7th to 10th.

Motors TV

The Rally of the Tests can be seen on Motors TV, Europe's only television channel exclusively dedicated to motorsport, on Friday 27th December at 22:05hrs.
In the UK, Motors TV can be seen on Sky (channel 413), Virgin Media (channel 545) and on Wight Cable (channel 38) in the Isle of Wight.

About H.E.R.O
The Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (H.E.R.O.) is a classic car club recognised by the Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association (the MSA - the official governing body for motor sport in the UK, affiliated to the FIA) and, through its membership of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, is affiliated to FIVA - the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens. A classic car endurance rallying club that dates over eighteen years, HERO has organized more than 90 events (trials and tours) especially for classic cars. HERO also offers a wide range of services such as the Arrive & Drive classic/rally car hire program, corporate and bespoke event planning and organisation, storage and transport logistic, a Premier Membership that offers discounts throughout its network of Partners; making it a truly integrated one stop shop platform.
For more information please visit: www.heroevents.eu

About CRA
The Classic Rally Association (CRA) is a classic car club recognized by the Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association (the MSA) - the official governing body for motor sport in the UK, affiliated to the FIA and, through its membership of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, is affiliated to FIVA - the Fédération Internationale des Véhiculs Anciens.
The CRA can trace its roots back to the Coronation Rally, which Jeremy Dickson co- established in 1983. This was the first club level historic event and five years later came the Pirelli Classic Marathon – widely recognised as being the starting point of international classic rally events.
The CRA has now run in excess of 70 events, the vast majority of which have been run in mainland Europe.
For more information please visit: www.craevents.eu

2013 HERO Cup in association with EFG International
The Rally of the Tests is the fifth qualifying round of the much coveted 2013 HERO Cup, in association with EFG International. The club's annual championship sees crews participating in a sufficient number of events organised by HERO and the CRA along 2013, competing to win a week on board the 95 ft. S/Y Orianda cruising in the Mediterranean (www.orianda1937.com).

The events counting towards this year’s cup include the CRA’s Poppy Regularity Rally, Classic Marathon and Rally of the Tests as well as HERO’s London-Lisboa Classic Reliability rally, Throckmorton Challenge, and the Le Jog (Land’s End to John O’ Groats) reliability trial and tour.

For more information please visit: www.heroevents.eu

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Saturday, 9 November 2013

Keep Homes Secure in Worst Burglary Month with Mul-T-Lock

Front Door Security

Mul-T-Lock is working closely with its dealers across the UK and Ireland to focus on home security following Government statistics revealing November as being the worst month of the year for break-ins.

Police data obtained by a freedom of information request reveals that one in ten domestic burglaries take place in November and that a break-in takes place every two minutes during the month.

Analysis of police data reveals that ground floor and basement flats have the highest risk of burglary and are 48 per cent more likely to be burgled than other types of property.

Official figures reveal the busiest hour for burglars to operate is between midnight and 1am with 7 per cent being committed during this time. During the day, 31 per cent of burglaries take place between 11am and 5pm whilst homes are unnocupied.

Says Steve Ross, Managing Director of Mul-T-Lock:

“The winter period has always seen an increase in crime with the reduced daylight hours and dark nights covering burglar activity, but these new figures provide a real opportunity to show an extra duty of care and deliver the necessary help and advice to ensure homes are safe and secure.

‘We are working to support our network of dealers across the UK and Ireland to ensure they have the necessary support services and products to review security for homeowners. Even simple measures like upgrading the locking cylinders installed can make a huge difference both to security levels and to homeowner reassurance, and further reduce the chances of falling victim to this horrible crime.”

House Security

Mul-T-Lock offers a complete range of home security solutions, including the patented Break Secure XP cylinder that was the first to achieve BSi TS007 3* accreditation as a cylinder only solution to provide the ultimate protection from cylinder manipulation attack.

All Mul-T-Lock products can also be keyed alike to offer the added benefit of providing homeowners with the opportunity to operate all locks, including outbuildings from one patent protected key. Any extra copies can only be created with homeowner’s permission, for complete peace of mind.

To find out more about Mul-T-Lock’s home security solutions, please visit http://www.mul-t-lock.co.uk.

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Friday, 8 November 2013

ASSA ABLOY acquires Amarr in the USA

Carriage House Style Garage Door

ASSA ABLOY has signed an agreement to acquire Amarr, the third major player in the North American sectional door market, with a very strong and attractive market position.

Johan Molin, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY commented:

”Amarr is another important building block for the ASSA ABLOY Group in building global leadership within Entrance Automation. I welcome Amarr and its employees to the Group, constituting the basis for further expansion on the North American market. Since 2008 we have rapidly expanded the Entrance Systems Division from SEK 3 billion to more than SEK 14 billion.”

Juan Vargues, Executive Vice President of ASSA ABLOY and Head of Division Entrance Systems added:

”Amarr’s size, product offering and market position give a strong footprint within sectional doors in North America. With Amarr onboard we are well positioned to apply the same rapid expansion of North America, like we have done in Europe during the last few years.”

Model 2700 Steel Sectional

The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with operations in USA, Canada and Mexico. The company has 1,200 employees.

Sales for 2014 are expected to reach USD 330 M (SEK 2,100 M). The acquisition will be accretive to EPS (earnings per share) from start.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close during Q4 2013.

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Thursday, 7 November 2013

DHF Garage Door width Campaign gains positive encouragement from Honest John

Photo: Style-your-garage.com

The campaign started earlier this year (see below) by the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) to encourage developers to install wider garage doors has gained some positive encouragement from Telegraph Motoring's well know columnist, Honest John yesterday.

Read the article on The Telegraph website

Our original article published on 13th June.

When it comes to garage doors, housebuyers feel the squeeze

Up to three quarters of recently built homes with garages have garage doors that are too small to truly accommodate today’s larger cars, a recent survey has shown.

Now developers of new homes are being urged by the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) to review their current developments and increase the width of the garage doors.

The DHF, which represents manufacturers and installers of garage doors, says that developers still design and build new homes with 2134 mm (7 ft) wide doors, which has been the standard width for the past 40 years.

But cars have been getting wider, and many cars on the market today are simply too wide to fit through the garage. Garage doors need to be at least 2286 mm (7 ft 6 ins), according to the DHF.

The federation carried out an informal survey amongst its garage door members which revealed that around 75 per cent of new homes with integral garages built in recent times have garage doors that are too narrow. And the DHF worries that developers are continuing to specify garage doors that are too narrow.

The DHF carried out the survey following recent complaints from a family in Huddersfield who only discovered their Volvo S40 would not fit in the garage of their brand new £200,000 home after they moved in.

They complained to the developer who told them they should have measured the garage before buying the house. The family subsequently used the internet to research widths of typical family cars and found that eight of the fifteen they compared would not fit. These included some of the most popular cars on the market, including the Ford Focus and the Honda Civic.

Said Bob Perry, executive chairman of the DHF:

“Housebuyers are increasingly looking to buy new homes with integral garages and it’s a reasonable expectation that an average sized car will fit into the garage. The problem is, developers started using the standard 7ft wide doors in the days of the Ford Anglia and have continued to do so ever since. But over the years the width of cars has steadily increased to accommodate safety features such as door airbags and larger door-mounted wing mirrors.

“Garage door manufacturers produce doors in a variety of widths that can accommodate all sizes of cars, even the latest 4x4s and SUVs. We would strongly urge developers to take this into account when designing and building new homes to avoid these justified complaints from disgruntled purchasers. Developers must realise that when it comes to garage doors, size really does matter.”

It is believed that developers try to maximise living space in new homes at the expense of the integral garage size. The problem was confounded in the last decade when local councils encouraged smaller garages in homes to reduce car usage. Following a campaign by garage door manufacturers, one local authority in 2009 admitted its policy had failed and relaxed its restrictive guidelines on garage size. But despite the relaxation, developers are continuing to use narrow garage doors and the DHF campaign continues.

www.dhfonline.org.uk

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Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Yale Door and Window Solutions Brings in Securistyle to Strengthen Market Position

Yale Door and Window Solutions, Paddock and Securistyle are now a unified business.

The new unified business will offer system companies, fabricators and installers a comprehensive choice of door and window hardware, backed by technical excellence and UK locations.

Yale Door and Window Solution’s head office and door products centre of excellence will remain at Portobello works in Willenhall, West Midlands and Securistyle will continue to operate from its facilities in Cheltenham, which will remain the centre of excellence for window products.

Yale Door and Window Solutions’ Managing Director, Kevin Hill said:

“We are seeing signs of recovery in the building and home improvement economy which will bring fresh opportunities to the window and door market. This is going to place a premium on innovation, creating the future products that excite customers both technically and in an ability to deliver first class service across the board.”

“This is the right time to bring the businesses together under one clear, unified management team, giving all customers the benefit of the combined skills and the wider resources of the larger organisation.”

“Securistyle will continue to pioneer our developments in window hardware, especially in the critical area of specification and technical knowledge. Lockmaster multi-point locks and other Yale door products will flourish from our base in the heart of the traditional lock making West Midlands.”

“In addition, we have access to the group’s global technical and innovation centres, where some of the most sophisticated locking technologies for the future are being created.”

“We also have the advantage of the most famous brand name in locks and the Yale brand will attract quality conscious consumers, as the home improvement market recovers. Already, we are seeing more and more retail orientated fabricators and installers harnessing the power of the Yale brand to help drive their own business forward.”

“Together, the combined businesses give us strength in depth, with the resources and skills to provide customers with the high level of support they need as the market evolves over the next few years.”

For more information, please visit www.yaledws.co.uk

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Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Ingersoll Rand Announces Feedback Data Partnership

Leading global provider of security and safety solutions Ingersoll Rand has announced a new partnership with Feedback Data to further enhance the trade distribution of Ingersoll Rand’s time and attendance biometric hand reader, HandPunch.

Feedback Data is a well-established UK based manufacturer and distributor of time and attendance terminals and software utilities in workforce management for companies operating in complex environments such as hospitals, food manufacturing, and high-end retail. The specification of the HandPunch supports Feedback Data’s existing time and attendance portfolio and will be distributed throughout its extensive trade partner network.

The HandPunch uses geometry biometric technology to improve the accuracy of time and attendance and eliminates the possibility of “buddy punching”, the practice of employees clocking in other colleagues who are not at work. Rather than identify users by means of palm prints or fingerprints, the HandPunch registers the size and shape of an employee’s hand and stores it in the system as a unique string of numbers.

Paul Taylor, UK Sales Leader EAC of Ingersoll Rand, said:

“We are very pleased to be working with such an established time and attendance manufacturer as Feedback Data. As companies look to better manage labour costs and improve operational efficiencies, automating time and attendance management is a key area for direct cost savings. Through our partnership with Feedback Data, we will be able to share our biometric solutions with a wider audience and pro-actively develop the time and attendance marketplace.”

Mark Bird, Managing Director of Feedback Data, said:

“We pride ourselves on being able to provide the latest in time and attendance technology. By working closely with Ingersoll Rand, we will be offering a system which provides benefits over other biometric systems through the use of hand geometry and, if deployed properly, can deliver a payback of less than nine months.”

For more information on Ingersoll Rand please visit www.ingersollrand.co.uk.

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Monday, 4 November 2013

Health Estates Benefit From Laidlaw’s Anti-Ligature Range

Laidlaw has enhanced its Orbis Anti-Ligature range, suitable for a whole host of settings - not least of which health estates where such a fitting is preferred over alternatives.

New products to feature in the enhanced range include the Knurled Knob set, which is designed to improve grip on the knob, and the new surface fixed pull handle, designed for added safety in situations were a non projecting handle is required.

Sympathetically designed to ensure aesthetics are not compromised over function, the Orbis Anti-Ligature range comprises doorknob sets, door pulls, levers and escutcheons, hinges, pivot sets and mortice lockcases. Manufactured from durable stainless steel grade 316 or aluminium, the range is available in a satin stainless steel or silk anodised aluminium finish, making it possible to achieve a uniform aesthetic.

For those looking for a solution comprising all parts required, the Orbis Anti-Ligature doorknob set is designed for use on standard mortice lockcases with centres of 72mm or above.

The nature of an anti-ligature product means it is not possible to form a secure connection as it will always slip off the system, making it the fitting of choice in health care estates where it may be necessary to reduce the risk of implements being used to inflict harm to an individual or others. Research indicates that removing or reducing easy access to lethal methods of self-harm is an effective way of reducing the risk of suicide. As such, the report of the National Confidential Enquiry into Suicide (2) suggests it is necessary to remove or cover all likely ligature points in patient wards to prevent such an event occurring.

From an added safety perspective, many of the anti-ligature items have been fire tested on timber doors for up to two hours and steel doors for up to four hours to ensure their suitability for use.

For more information on Laidlaw and its range of solutions visit www.laidlaw.net

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Sunday, 3 November 2013

Select Vehicles From The Late John Coombs Collection For Sale At Bonhams London Auction On December 1st

A sports car, Formula 3 and Formula 2 driver in the 1950s he helped Jackie Stewart’s early career and convinced Jaguar to create the ‘Lightweight’ E-Type racer.

On December 1 Bonhams will sell two of charismatic British racing team patron John Coombs’ personal favourite sports cars - a 1938 BMW 328 (estimate £400,000 - 500,000); and a 1952 Frazer Nash Targa Florio (estimate £250,000 - 300,000).

Born the son of a pioneering British automotive coachbuilder based at St Catherine’s south of Guildford in Surrey, John Coombs built the family firm into the best known and most respected Jaguar dealership in the country. He built a considerable reputation for himself as a fearless and capable racing driver during the 1950s, competing most notably in 500cc motorcycle-engined Formula 3 cars before graduating to Lotus sports-racing machines. He was always noted for the immaculate preparation and development invested in his cars, and when he retired from driving to concentrate upon building his motor business he retained his close involvement with the racing world by running cars for some of the greatest racing drivers of the era. His John Coombs racing team thrived in saloon, GT and Formula 2 racing through the 1960s and early ’70s, and many years later returned to competition at Historic level.

Such world-famous Formula 1 drivers as Sir Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Dan Gurney and Graham Hill all raced for top honours in Coombs’ Jaguar and Ferrari saloon and GT cars. A one-off drive in the famous Coombs ‘Lighweight’ Jaguar E-Type propelled young Jackie Stewart towards Formula 1 - Sir Jackie commenting how: “That formed the beginning of a very close relationship that we maintained ever since.”

In 1968 when Ken Tyrrell moved into Formula 1 it was Coombs who took over his near-neighbour and friendly rival’s Formula 2 niche. This operation continued to provide cars for such illustrious Formula 1 star drivers as Jackie Stewart, Piers Courage, Jack Brabham and Francois Cevert to drive for it. And it was Coombs who suggested his Formula 2 driver Patrick Depailler to Tyrrell for Formula 1 – ultimately to win the Monaco Grand Prix for the Ockham-based team.

John Coombs was the owner of Coombs of Guildford, a Jaguar dealership. As Jaguar’s leading dealer and race entrant he had tremendous influence upon the manufacturer having the respect and full attention both of Chairman Sir William Lyons and the company’s celebrated Competitions Manager, Lofty England. It was this relationship that led – after a threat to run a Ferrari instead – to the development of the 170mph ‘Lightweight’ E-Type Jaguar.

In 1981 John Coombs married and retired to Monaco, selling his business in 1989.

Two other cars from his estate will also be sold by Bonhams, a 1980s Mini Cooper (estimate £3,000 – 5,000) that he used as a runabout during his retirement in Monaco, and a 1960s Jaguar MkII 3.8 Saloon (estimate £5,000 – 8,000) that was bought as a candidate to revive the famous 'Coombs MKII'.

James Knight, Group Motoring Director at Bonhams commented, “Over the past 30 years, I came to count John a friend as well as a client. It is a privilege for us all at Bonhams to handle his motor cars. The BMW 328 is in stunning condition and the Frazer Nash comes with wonderful provenance having been purchased new by Briggs Cunningham and raced at Sebring.”

www.bonhams.com.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013

SAY YES to No Heat Losses and Enough Space in a Garage

The UK door market is constantly changing. While up-and-over doors still dominate; people, which replace old doors, increasingly care much more about better insulation and better door usability. This is what Alutech find clients are saying and it is resulting in rising demand for sectional doors.

How Alutech sectional doors can meet Clients’ requirements and expectations?

Insulation Qualities:
Insulation is all about having a thick door leaf and good sealing on the perimeter. Alutech manufacture their

45mm sandwich panel with a high density foam core (46-47kg per cubic meter).

The density of the foam not only minimises thermal transmittance, it also makes these well designed panels extremely robust. Good sealing is provided by double EPDM rubber on the whole door perimeter which adds to the insulation qualities of the installed door.

Door Usability:
Usability of a door can be demonstrated by a range of sectional door features and benefits. Sectional doors can maximize the clear headroom height of an opening; fitting behind the opening utilizes the full opening width and their vertical operation enables parking of a car right in front of a door.

The situation is different for up-and-over doors which can hang down when in the open position limiting use by larger cars and also when you consider that most of these doors are fitted between structural openings, the full opening width is usually less than ideal.

Additional Options:
In addition to basic features and options, Alutech sectional doors can be supplied with full view glazing panels made of aluminum to make a garage light. Wicket doors with low thresholds and aesthetic narrow profiles can minimize sectional door open and close cycles, thus increasing door performance.

SAY YES to a warm and sunny garage with Alutech sectional doors!

You may view a selection of sectional doors for warm and sunny garages at JD UK’s Batley, West Yorkshire showroom. JD UK is the Official Distributor of Alutech sectional doors to the UK market.

For any assistance, please call on 01924 472924 or visit www.jdukltd.co.uk .

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Friday, 1 November 2013

Fire Door Installer Register completes the fire door safety supply chain

A new register of qualified fire door installers is to be built as part of the legacy of last month’s highly successful, cross-industry Fire Door Safety Week campaign by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme and Fire Door Inspector Scheme.

Iain McIlwee, chief executive of the BWF, says:

“Our intention with the Fire Door Installer Register is to close any gaps in the supply chain, so that we can ensure every building owner, estates or facilities manager can access third-party certificated fire doors and doorsets, and have them installed by properly qualified professionals.”

The Fire Door Installer Register – at www.firedoorinstallers.co.uk – is a new industry-led initiative backed by the UK’s leading fire door experts, associations and organisations. It aims to bring greater recognition to professional fire door installers and to help building owners who need installation services to find qualified and certified people they can trust.

Any installation company with certification from BM TRADA Certification, FIRAS or IFC is eligible to join the register for free, by recording their certification details at www.firedoorinstallers.co.uk. The register will then be promoted to building owners from early next year.

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