Seize the day
Elliott Dawson, commercial manager for FDS at Distinction Doors, discusses the fully compliant FD30 composite fire door system.
The outlook for the UK fire door industry is promising. The market expects significant growth in the coming years as landlords, building owners, developers and Registered Providers react and respond to the Building Safety Act.
Results from a web search for fire doors UK includes the UK’s most popular tender search website, Bidstats. A click reveals 299 notices relating to fire door tenders have been posted on the site this year. Sample contracts range from three-months to long-term frameworks supplying councils and not-for-profit housing providers, amongst others. Values also differ from circa £50k to more than £1.2m.
Huge potential
The larger contracts often include the supply and install of windows, doors, as well as fire doors. These appeal to larger fabricators with in-house installation teams or those with approved installer networks.
Yet there are opportunities for small-to-medium sized fabricators and installers too as Elliott Dawson, commercial manager for FDS at Distinction Doors explains: “The implementation of the Building Safety Act is creating many opportunities and the potential for fire door replacements is huge.
“Add to this the demand for traceability, high-quality installations and maintenance support, and the possibilities are certainly encouraging and have the potential to create new business opportunities for many fabricators and installers.”
Trusted fire door solution
Distinction Doors says it was quick to act with ‘positive and proactive changes’ following the Grenfell tragedy and used the time to develop FDS, its fully compliant FD30 composite fire door system.
The stakeholders understood that robust test data and independent, third-party certification would be a minimum requirement are said to have gone ‘above and beyond’ to produce the best composite fire door system on the market.
Several years later and with FDS now a proven and trusted fire door system, Distinction adds that it is perfectly positioned to help fabricators and in turn, their installation partners secure these contracts.
“Our FDS doors are already providing safety and security to thousands of occupants across the country,” continues Elliott. “They also afford peace of mind as residents know they will protect lives and properties in the event of a fire.
“Each FDS fire door has been fabricated, supplied and installed by one of our approved FDS manufacturing partners. Each one has undergone rigorous testing and audit processes before being awarded the respected Q-Mark against the BM Trada STD 170 scheme, which is over and above the mandatory requirements of Building Regulations.
“This approach gives confidence to the entire supply chain – reassurance that other fabricators and installers can tap into. They can work with our approved manufacturing partners to buy-in a fully fabricated fire doorset, safe in the knowledge that they are investing in the most robust composite fire door system available today.”
Manufacturing excellence
Distinction Doors provides its manufacturing partners with an approved and certified FDS fire door kit. Each doorset must then be manufactured using the stringent guidelines to ensure compliance – this includes elements such the letterplate, viewer, auto-throw lock, and overhead door closers which were included in the original tests, for consistency.
The FDS FD30 fire door system is independently tested to EN1634-1: 2014, achieving an average of 45 minutes performance integrity over 44 individual test specimens, subject to 22 bi-directional fire tests.
It also delivers on ambient smoke control (EN1634-3:2004), security (PAS24:2016), weather (BS 6375), sound insulation (Approved Document E) and thermal performance (Approved Document L).
It is Secured by Design accredited and triple Q-marked for fire resistance, smoke control, and enhanced security under the BM Trada Q-Mark Fire Door Manufacturer certification scheme.
Most recently, the FDS GRP composite FD30 fire doorset gained UKCA mark status and is fully compliant for external use.
“This last point adds considerable value to our fire door proposition,” continues Elliott. “Decision-makers are seeking suppliers who can deliver exceptional products and service, efficiently. We are all operating in challenging times and customers must balance quality and performance with good value.
“By providing an internal and external fire doorset we offer the complete package, something which is particularly attractive to specifiers, procurement, maintenance and contract teams right now.”
