Supa range expands

Mila’s Supa stainless steel door hardware range has expanded with the launch of a new Supa Safety handle, which meets the accessibility requirements of Building Regs Approved Doc M and the Lifetime Homes Initiative.

The Supa Safety handle has an extended lever which is easier to grip than the standard Supa lever – even with a closed fist – and it sits 45mm from the face of the door in line with BS8300 referenced in the regs.

Like the rest of Mila’s Supa range, the new handle is also available in polished or brushed stainless and polished PVD gold finish, making it is easy to achieve the visual contrast between the hardware and the door, which is an integral part of Doc M.

Managing director, Richard Gyde, explained: “We’ve long had Doc M compliant handles in our ProLinea zinc hardware range, but increasingly customers now just want every option in stainless steel.

“The numbers speak for themselves. Almost 50% of all the door hardware we sell is in stainless steel and we’ve seen sales almost treble since 2019. Demand is such that we’re filling in any perceived gaps in our range as quickly as we can, so that all our customers can make the switch regardless of the type, style or application of the finished door.”

Mila offers a 25-year guarantee on both the finish and mechanical operation of its Supa range.

Mila commissioned its own independent analysis in 2022 to prove that the carbon footprint of stainless-steel hardware is lower than zinc diecast; the resulting report revealed that the annual carbon emissions for a Mila stainless steel door handle are only 17% that of the zinc die cast equivalent.

Richard added: “Because of the proven benefits when it comes to both durability and sustainability, we’d like to see stainless steel become the default option for all doors in 2023. As well as expanding the range, we’re also continuing to work hard to bring costs down so that the price difference between our Supa and zinc diecast ranges eventually becomes negligible for most of our customers.”