EJOT Colorfast fasteners have been used in the creation of the metal building envelope for a new 60,000 sq. ft ‘build to suit’ parcel hub near Wolverhampton, which is designed to be amongst the UK’s most sustainable buildings of its kind.
Developed by Trebor Developments and Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund (SCREF), the new state-of-the-art facility at Revolution Park will be a regional base for leading European parcel delivery company DPD, who have agreed a 25-year lease. The 10.5 acre distribution facility is the latest addition to this highly successful business park with a design featuring two distinctive pods – one being a single storey unit housing staff facilities, and the other a two-storey office block.
Designed by UMC Architects and constructed by main contractor A&H Construction, the new ‘superhub’ for DPD sets the standard for industrial and commercial buildings in the net zero carbon economy. Built to the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard and achieving an EPC A+ rating, the facility has its own on-site renewable energy technology, EV charging points, high performance glazing, sustainable lighting, reduced water flow rates and biodiversity initiatives.
Installed by Halesowen-based UK Industrial Roof & Cladding, the building envelope is also designed with carbon savings in mind to an extremely well insulated standard, and it is here where 93,000 EJOT Colorfast over-moulded fasteners made an important contribution. The architect specified the TATA Steel Trisobuild built-up system for the roof and walls, with additional walls using Trimpanel Micro Rib, to meet the envelope’s target performance goals which had to be consistent with the requirements of the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.
Using a mix of EJOT Colorfast CF15 and CF19 JT3-3-5.5 X 25 self-drilling fasteners in conjunction with the TATA Steel system meant that a high level of thermal insulation could be assured for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the design of Colorfast’s head and washer ensures that a consistent seal can be provided above the sheet to achieve a level of airtightness that may not be possible with other types of colour-matched fasteners, and it also minimises the risk of water ingress.
Secondly, the materials used in the manufacture of Colorfast mean the level of heat transfer from outside to in and vice versa is limited. This is particularly the case for stainless steel fasteners of the type used here at Revolution Park, which conduct heat much less than their coated carbon steel equivalents. In addition, the nylon over-moulded head acts as an additional thermal insulator as well as enhancing the building aesthetics.
The final sustainable dimension to Colorfast is product longevity. Stainless steel Colorfast fasteners are highly resistant to corrosion which means they are approved for use in building envelope designs that qualify for a 25-year TATA Platinum Plus Warranty, as this project did. This is a guarantee derived from a tailored specification designed to offer long-term durability and building performance, with the result being lower cost of ownership through the life of the building.
Stuart Owen of UK Industrial Roof & Cladding said, “The choice of fasteners is critically important to the performance of the building envelope as TATA recognises in its warranty scheme. But Colorfast is really advantageous from an installer’s perspective too, given the excellent technical support that is readily available from the EJOT UK team and the fastener’s ease of use, which all contributes to delivering a first-class result.”
TATA awards a guarantee only when approved roofing and cladding components have been used with its building envelope products and systems, and it requires that the specification be enforced throughout the installation process via on-site checks. EJOT Colorfast fasteners are approved by TATA for use on projects which qualify for this guarantee having successfully demonstrated their performance in a test environment, as they have done for global assessment and certification body FM Approvals.
As an FM Approved product, Colorfast provides additional assurance to specifiers because it has been tested when incorporated into a system, rather than in isolation, and EJOT has also had to satisfy FM Approvals assessors that its quality processes throughout production are robust and stringently applied.
EJOT UK’s regional sales engineer Nathan Handley added, “The Revolution Park development is an excellent example of how developers are responding to meet demanding sustainability targets, which includes both RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge and the LETI (Low Energy Transformation Initiative) Climate Emergency Guide building performance targets to work towards a net positive operation.
“Colorfast can play an important role in helping architects and contractors meet these targets given how the fastener enables the creation of a building envelope with assured long term durability, which can be substantiated with over 30 years of real-life test data, coupled with excellent levels of thermal insulation.”
In addition to the long term functional benefits, Colorfast’s lasting colour also ensures that aesthetics are optimised throughout the building envelope’s design life. EJOT UK has developed market-leading over-moulding technology which ensures the fastener’s head is resistant to the effects of the weather and its colour is UV-stable to stay consistent with the panels it is attaching, regardless of which of the 400 or so colours are specified.
Find out more about EJOT Colorfast at www.ejot.co.uk/Colorfast_DPD_Case_Study.
