On the safe side

North East Panels has put its fire door through extensive independent testing to ensure it achieves FD30 certification.

Using Halo profile from Veka UK Group for the outerframe, the Tyne and Wear-based team had redesigned its fire door with new reinforcements and a different range of hardware before sending the updated system to Barcelona to undergo stringent testing.

MD Jimmy Wood said: “Following the Grenfell disaster, the whole industry had a shake up (and rightly so) meaning that the rules were tightened and standards raised. This applied to manufacturers, to fabricators and to installers. Everyone must now meet even stricter regulations.

“It’s not about the reputation of the industry, but the absolute safety of the public. We’ve always been committed to quality and we strive not only to meet, but to exceed expectations.”

All UK slots for testing were booked up for the foreseeable future, so the company arranged independent testing with Applus+ in Barcelona, one of the primary European laboratories working in fire-safety testing and certification.