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Tube Products International March 2013
construct ion, bui lding
& structural tubes
Construction product manufacturers
endure mixed Q4
The Construction Products Association’s
latest State of Trade Survey indicates
that, following a disappointing Q2 and
Q3, heavy side sales fell once again in
Q4 but light side sales rose.
Commenting
on
the
figures,
Construction Products Association
economist Milja Keijonen said, “After
two disappointing quarters, sales of
heavy side products fell once again
due to difficult market conditions in the
construction industry, where output fell
9 per cent in the past year. However,
sales of light side products rose in Q4 as
the difficult domestic market was offset
by strong exports to fast growing Asian
economies.
“Looking to the year ahead, both heavy
and light side manufacturers expect this
to continue. Heavy side manufacturers
anticipate sales to fall in 2013 due
to a subdued domestic market, where
construction output is forecast to
fall by 2.2 per cent. However, light
side manufacturers predict sales will
increase in 2013, once again driven by
export growth.
“2012 was a difficult year for the industry,
certainly for heavy side manufacturers,
and 2013 is also likely to be extremely
challenging. Light side manufacturers
are going to be heavily reliant upon
exports if they are to achieve significant
growth in the next 12 months. Yet,
risks for product manufacturers are
clearly on the downside due to the
prevailing economic conditions and the
effectiveness of government initiatives
to boost construction.”
Other key points include: 13 per cent
of heavy side companies reported a fall
in quarterly sales, while 46 per cent of
light side firms indicated that sales were
higher compared with Q3.
9 per cent of heavy side manufacturers
experienced a decline in sales year-on-
year, on balance, whilst 21 per cent of
light side companies stated that sales
were higher on an annual basis.
72 per cent of heavy side and 79 per
cent of light side firms stated that costs
had risen from a year ago. According
to 6 per cent of heavy side and 13
per cent of light side manufacturers,
employment fell, on balance. However,
improvements in labour market
conditions are anticipated in 2013.
The Construction Products Association
represents the UK’s manufacturers and
suppliers of construction products,
components and fittings. The association
acts as the voice of the construction
products sector, representing the
industry-wide view of its members. The
sector has an annual turnover of £50bn
and accounts for 40 per cent of total
construction output.
Construction Products Association
– UK
Modular spiral staircase from
engineering plastics
Fontanot is an Italian company in the
field of open staircases, which are
designed to become an integral part of
home furnishings. Conceived so as to
combine reliability and design with easy
assembly, Fontanot stairs are available
in kits that can be easily assembled
by the end user without requiring any
special tools or expertise.
Fauciglietti Engineering is an engineer-
ing firm that deals with applied
research, industrial design, and product
development in all its phases, from
material selection to production start-up.
Fontanot used its expertise in the
field of plastics, and collaborated
with Fauciglietti Engineering and Lati
to produce a modular outdoor and
indoor spiral staircase, entirely made of
technopolymers. The Techne staircase,
which is available in 120, 140 and 160cm
diameters, is made of independent
steps, easily connected to each other in
the bearing hub, and is equipped with
different railings.
Development of the steps required
intense planning, calculation and
selection of materials, in which Lati took
part with its own technical assistance
and co-design structure. In order to
comply with the strict sector regulations,
it was necessary to fine-tune the tread
and hub design by introducing not
only duly positioned and dimensioned
reinforcing ribs, but also different
materials contributing their own features
to the stiffness, robustness and weight.
Once the project was defined, the
moulding process was optimised based
on a large geometry, and Lati contributed
to this activity with its experience in the
field of conversion. The step resulting
from this combination of skills consists
of a super-structural core made of PA66
stiffened by a high content of special
glass fibres (hub and ribs area), and a
highly reinforced, dimensionally stable
PP over-moulded tread resistant to UV
and weathering.
Due to its mechanical resistance and
lightness, as well as its aesthetically
pleasing appearance despite the high
reinforcing fibre content, the modular
element of the Techne staircase lends
itself to indoor and outdoor applications
in both domestic and industrial
environments.
Details of this application are available on
Fontanot’s website,
.
com, which also shows the staircases
in their different configurations.
Lati Industria Termoplastici SpA
–
Italy
