#Steel Processing (Midlands) Ltd is a privately owned steel stockholding and processing business based in Burntwood, Staffordshire. As part of a recent investment to accommodate a new state-of-the-art slitter line, the company has recently built a new 15,000sq ft factory extension and has carried out a major refurbishment of their existing 35,000 sq ft unit.
Steel Processing Operations Director Gareth Jones, said: “The rooflights on the existing building were old and discoloured, so natural light levels in the building were very low, resulting in high energy consumption for the electric lighting. Even with the electric lights on, the quality of the light was not great and made for a slightly oppressive atmosphere.”
The extension and refurbishment project was undertaken by West Midlands-based Hallford Refurbishments – a leading local building envelope specialist, offering refurb solutions for metal and fibre cement roofing and cladding.
Neil Williams of Hallford Refurbishments takes up the story: “In the main building, we replaced the old rooflights, using Filon’s profiled GRP rooflights to match the existing Big 6 profile. We were also upgrading the insulation in the roof, so additional Filon rooflights were placed over those we installed first, to create an insulating cavity.
Filon triple skin site assembled rooflights were also installed in the roof of the new extension, providing a U value of 1.7Wm2/K to meet the required daylight levels.
Recent independent research by Elmhust Energy, demonstrates that improvements to rooflights and lighting controls can bring huge savings in energy and emissions. In one typical example, a large retail DIY store, total carbon emissions could be reduced by 29% and total operating costs could be reduced by 33%.
Gareth Jones of Steel Processing said: “It’s too early for any energy consumption figures yet, but we’re expecting between 30 and 40 percent lower overall energy costs for the main building, with the increased daylight levels making a major contribution, as well as the improved insulation. Also, of course, the addition of our new Georg slitter line virtually doubles our production capacity to well over 100 tonnes per year, so the costs of the refurb and extension will be repaid very quickly.”
Neil Williams of Hallford Refurbishments summed up: “Filon is our supplier of choice for GRP rooflights and sheets. We’ve worked with them for many years. We know and trust their products and always get great support when it’s needed.”
Read more about Filon GRP Rooflights