Wintech selected for £1 billion pipeline of construction projects
Excerpt from article published by Building.co.uk on 21 January 2014, By Thomas Lane;
“Every single one of our consultants and contractors has concerns over cladding, either from the technical point of view, such as the potential for leaks or panels falling off buildings.”
Ray Theakston, Essential Living
In an effort to identify and minimise risk, Essential Living have commissioned Wintech as cladding consultants on all of its projects, some £1billion worth of developments.
It is a modern day challenge for developers to deliver projects cost effectively while ensuring durability and that deadlines are met. Essential Living has been facing this challenge as they plan to build 5,000 apartments for rental in the South East over the next 10 years. Construction Director, Ray Theakston, recognises cladding as a big risk when he assesses products for the best performance, price, style and durability to keep costs down. “We have a £1 billion pipeline of work over the next 10 years with cladding forming 15-20% of that.”
With a shortage of long-standing UK cladding companies, problems arise particularly on high-rise projects. In an effort to prevent these, Theakston has commissioned Wintech Limited as cladding consultants on all of Essential Living’s projects.
Chris Macey, Wintech’s Group Managing Director, believes that a fundamental shake-up of the industry will change the way cladding is procured. “The services and cladding engineers need to be involved at a much earlier point to discuss façade strategies before the project goes in for planning.”
With this approach of early involvement, developers will have the advantage of complying with UK regulations at an affordable price, rather than looking for oversees cladding specialists at a later stage, which is often the case.
Wintech will have a considerable influence in providing façade solutions for Essential Living’s developments. “As soon as an architect comes up with a concept it has to go through Wintech to ensure it works from an engineering point of view,” Says Theakston. “If the architects can’t get it past Wintech, they can’t do it.”
Read the full article at Building Magazine
For information on the services provided by Wintech, call us on 01902 307430 or email enquiries@wintech-group.co.uk