Raising the bar on quality
Nova Group partnered with Rapierstar to strengthen the quality and performance of its PVCU windows and doors, and introduce an assured fire rated door solution.
The Altrincham-based company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, provides PVCU and aluminium products to retail trade installers, the commercial sector, and social housing clients, including conservatories and secondary window systems.
As a provider of both frames and sealed units, Nova Group has full control over supply which means it can apply strict quality control and put continuous improvement at the heart of its strategy.
Nova Group’s 95,000ft2 facility produces around 1,500 windows and doors every week for customers across the UK, many of whom are involved in newbuild and trade window supply. This factory recently benefited from major investment in new machinery including a third machining centre with a new Avantek Supercut 5 CNC, new corner cleaners, bead saws and in-line welders, and a further £500,000 of new machines and transport vehicles have been ordered for delivery in 2021.
One of the latest additions to Nova Group’s portfolio is a 30-minute fire-rated composite door range, dual-certified for fire resistance and PAS24 enhanced security, which uses the Winkhaus FireFrame. This advanced door frame system was tested to ensure it retains its integrity for at least 30 minutes in the event of a fire while accommodating the Winkhaus AV2 multi-point locking system, with the option of upgrading to automatic multi-point locking through the blueMatic AV2-E.
Rapierstar’s StarPVCU fasteners are used throughout the FireFrame fire and security door set, including screws for attaching lock keeps, thresholds and toplights, and its StarFix frame fixings are supplied for installation along with fitting guidance.
The success of this fire door collaboration inspired Nova Group to explore how it could use different types of fasteners across its PVCU window and door assemblies to enhance the quality and performance of the finished products. After a fastener health check was undertaken to audit how fasteners were being used throughout the factory, Rapierstar proposed a series of recommendations.
Simon Felstein, managing director at Nova Group, said partnering with Rapierstar gave the company “the opportunity to make some positive changes that will give additional quality assurance to our broad customer base”.
