direct 2.2005 eng.2.1 - lindab ab...and commercial real estate. the lindab group has over 4,000...

lindabdirect

lindabdirect

the magazine from Lindab focusing on the indoor climate and construction systems of today and tomorrow www.lindab.com

1MB 2/2005

Largest acquisition to date

Diffusers for Winter Olympics in Turin from Lindab Comfort

Astron system on several floors for French Sadimo

Warehouse club for Costco in 8 weeks flat

Convincing test box provokes cries of Eureka

Theme: Building Systems

Lindab acquires Astron Buildings

32 32

Porkala lighthousePorkala lighthouse, which stands on the tiny rock of Kallbåd some six and a half nautical miles from the nearest land, is responsible for ensuring the safety of the ships navigating the crowded approaches to the port of Helsinki. Ever since it was built in 1920 it has stood out among Finnish lighthouses with its grandiose design and characteristic red colour.

Until 1956, Porkala was manned and even though the weather was perhaps not always exactly a job benefit, the lighthouse was equipped with its own sauna, which the lighthouse master and his crew kept themselves clean in.

The lighthouse has since been automated, but its contribution to safeguarding navigation through these waters is still just as important, and therefore it has undergone major renovation including providing the roof with entirely new Lindab Aluzinc standing seams. “Navigare necesse est”, or as they say in Finnish “Merenkulku on välttämätöntä”.

Pho

to: H

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lindabdirectlindabdirect



the magazine from Lindab focusing on the indoor climate and construction systems of today and tomorrow

Lindab is an international group of companies that develops, produces and markets sheet metal products and system solutions in its Ventilation and Profile business areas.

The Ventilation business area targets the ventilation industry with everything from ventilation components to complete indoor climate solutions.

The Profile business area provides the construction industry with an extensive range of building components and complete building systems in steel for dwellings and commercial real estate.

The Lindab group has over 4,000 employees in 26 countries and had a turnover of SEK 5,477 million in 2004. Its head office is situated in Grevie outside the town of Båstad on the beautiful Bjäre peninsula in western Sweden.

© 2005 Lindab AB

Lindab AB

SE-269 82 Båstad

Sweden

Tel +46 (0)431 850 00

Fax +46 (0)431 850 10

web www.lindab.com

Responsible publisher:

Lars Dahlström

Production: Repetera AB

32 32

contentsGroup news

Ventilation news

Profile news

Lindab acquires Astron Building Systems

Diffusers for Winter Olympics from Lindab

Sadimo – Astron solution on several floors

Annestad – comfortable lightweight apartments

The history of Lindab’s ventilation system

Warehouse club for Costco in 8 weeks flat

Profitable Eureka moments with Lindab’s test box

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9

10

13

14

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2/2005







54 54

Quality remains in focus Today, companies are facing ever increasing com-

petition from both near and far, and Lindab is definitely

no exception; on the contrary we are constantly facing

new challenges, both with regard to distribution and

products. The current globalisation and specialisation

is certainly resulting in healthy price competition, but as

always, one has to avoid comparing apples and pears.

Our answer to this situation

and our strategy for continuing

to be an alternative source of the

best solutions for the customer

and the market is based on stick-

ing firmly to one of our corner-

stones, i.e. dedication to quality:

quality through cost-effective

products, quality through a well

adapted product assortment and

quality through high levels of service. Therefore, we

constantly focus on discovering customer needs to

find the right mix between price and performance that

customers demand, but we also work steadily and con-

stantly on efficiency enhancement.

For example, at the moment we are introducing a

new and improved logistics system, which will improve

the group’s capital management, but which above all

will enable us to maintain our stores at optimum levels,

ensuring the availability of our products is always at its

best irrespective of whether a customer visits a store

outside Stockholm, in Northampton or in Budapest. It

reflects the quality that we constantly pursue.

Recently, Lindab made its greatest company ac-

quisition ever when it purchased Astron, the market

leading manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings

in Europe. This deal also reflects our focus on quality,

as Astron is no less than the industry benchmark. The

company has the very best solutions with regard to

product systems, supply capacity and service level

alike. Mass produced steel building systems most de-

finitely have a bright future ahead of them. In the USA,

40% of steel-based buildings may be attributed to this

area, whilst the figure in Europe is 6% but constantly

rising. From this perspective too I view our acquisition

of Astron and our entire commitment

within Building Systems as aggres-

sive and future-oriented.

In this number of Lindab Direct

you can read about two interesting

steel building contracts, one from

Lindab Butler for Costco in England

and one from our subsidiary Astron

for the property company Sadimo in

France. Both these examples show

how our commitment to quality is de facto providing

customers with quicker and simpler processes, impro-

ved overview and planning of entire projects and, not

least, allows capital to be tied up for shorter periods

– tangible expressions of how Lindab quality functions

in practice.

If we turn our eyes to the world around for a mo-

ment, we will see steel prices continuing high with

uncertainty surrounding future developments. Overall

developments in the market show a more positive trend

for the Nordic countries, both positive and negative

trends in western Europe, whilst Germany continues to

make poor progress. Growth in the CEE shows signs

of being more restrained compared to previous years.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt we regard the CEE

as a region of powerful growth and we are continuing

our long-term commitment to spreading the Lindab

brand and our quality to these countries and succes-

sively spreading our presence eastwards, including to

Russia and the Ukraine. The Business Area Profile has

long been in the vanguard Lindab business in this area,

but now the Business Area Ventilation is increasing

its activities as demand for our quality systems within

ventilation grows. In western Europe we are making

selective efforts where we judge the circumstances to

be ripe; for example, at the moment in England we are

concentrating on Profile products with great success.

We believe our sheet steel roof drainage systems to be

an attractive alternative to the plastic systems sold by

the English market leader Marley.

We view the acquisition of Astron as a natural step

in our commitment to the Building Systems product

area, which is now a powerful complement to the Build-

ing Component business area. Within the Ventilation

business area duct systems were indisputably the core

products with an already strong and strongly market-

oriented structure. Also where our technical products

within Ventilation are concerned we are continuing the

work towards a more distinct product structure and a

more product-oriented organisation, and are gathering

technical products under one and the same organisa-

tion at Farum in Denmark. The aim of these activities

is, of course, to provide our customers with even better

quality in all areas – better products, a better product

range and better service. Our commitment to quality is

unflagging.

Kjell Åkesson,President and CEO

New BUMs for BA VentilationThe heading New BUMs for BA Ventilation is not as bad as it sounds. BUM is quite simply

the name of our business managers at country level – Business Unit Managers. As we have two busi-ness areas of which BA (Business Area) Ventilation is one, most of our countries thus have two BUMs. We are now welcoming three new business unit managers to Ventilation.

Luca Bovolenta BUM BA Ventilation Italien Recently arrived from a position as Com-mercial Director at RDB, one of Italy’s leading companies within concrete-based building systems.

BOVIS-accreditation

Bovis Lend Lease is one of the world’s leading companies in project management, cons-truction and contracting in the construction servi-ces industry. Bovis Lend Lease has recently been able to award Lindab Butler its Environmental, Health & Safety and Contractor Accreditation for the next 5 years, which is an important prerequi-site for commissions involving Lindab Butler’s so-lutions. “This is, of course, not just good news for us,” says Hans Berger, Lindab Butler. “It is at least equally important for all of ‘our’ Lindab Butler Builders who are working the European market for which Bovis’ accredita-tion applies.”

Michal PiechuraBUM BA Ventilation Poland Recently arrived from a position as sales manager at Optiroc Ltd, which sells chemi-cal products for the building industry.

András Mikó BUM BA Ventilation Hungary Recently arrived from a position as sales manager for automation products in ABB.




group news

54 54

Lindab’s new logistics project focuses on improved coordination

Intelligent logistics means fewer back orders and better service

Decentralisation is a term with a long tradition at Lindab. Decentralisation with positive overtones must, of course, be preserved and live on, but there are also other contexts where less decentralisation and greater coordination would be-nefit both Lindab and its customers. Take customer contacts and support for example – without decen-tralisation they would not be particularly effective. But turning one’s eyes on material supply, stock management and logistics, close coordination and improved management systems provide obvious benefits for all concerned.

“Naturally every customer who visits a Lindab branch or places an order wants us to stock preci-sely his order;” explains Johan Bökman, logistics manager at Lindab. “I think most people would understand that it is not possible to always have all products in stock at every branch, but through im-proved intelligence concerning local ordering pat-

terns, right down to branch level, we can achieve stock levels at each branch which are better adap-ted to customers. This is one of the important ob-jectives with the new logistics system which we are now gradually introducing into Lindab.”

One classic supply chain behavioural pattern is that a small rise in order volume at the point of sale results in a certain upward readjustment of order volumes. Central stores sees increasing orders and adds on a little extra to be on the safe side. Later when the production unit sees the increased order

volume, the manufacturing volume is also readjusted upwards, not unsurprisingly, there too. The steel department orders a little more sheet steel, etc. “As can be seen, this behaviour creates not entirely desirable rings in the water, often resulting in overly large stocks, or stocks that are too low,” Johan Bökman goes on to ex-plain. “It is above all a question of informa-tion, but with the new system and tech-niques which are capable of handling the huge quantities of information that a com-pany like Lindab has to deal with, there is a solution in sight, one which results in improved stock and production levels for each individual link in the chain.”

Enhancing the efficiency of the whole of logistics management helps optimise the amount of capital tied up, adapting

it to the market, and improves resource utilisation, thus facilitating greater focus on customer servi-ces and support and having to concentrate less on order planning and stock management. “Lindab as a company has an overview of the entire chain from steel supplies to central and local production units, on to central stores and finally out to the individual

branch or distribution point,” Johan Bökman conti-nues. “This system linking together all these points enables us to achieve greater inhouse transparency through the entire chain, in turn enabling all key per-sonnel to see what is happening with sales, stock levels and production volumes. From the point of view of the customer the result should be a large percentage of orders always being in stock.”

The system automatically retrieves information on sales and stock levels once every 24 hours. Ba-sed on the information, the production units’ decisi-on-making basis with regard to production planning is considerably improved. The system also “sees” where each individual product is, with the result that deliveries can be easily filled from neighbouring branches and thus filling holes in customers’ orders more quickly. “On the whole this new system is intended to give our customers fewer back orders and improved customer support, which we hope everyone will find a positive innovation. Put in a nutshell the idea involves coordination for efficiency and decentralisation for better service and even better relations,” Johan Bökman concludes.

Lindab’s new logistics system is now being tested in Norway and through its integrated processing of information, its com-prehensive forecast and statistics functions is resulting both in stock levels better adapted to customer demands for each indi-vidual branch and more time for customer service and support.

Branch

Central Stores

Production Unit A

Production Unit B

Integration

Transparency • ForecastReplenishment of Stocks

Top rank for Lindab’s Swedish Suggestions SchemeSIFV – The Swedish Suggestions Scheme Institute – is

an umbrella organisation for all companies working actively with ideas production and innovative suggestions. Each year it charts the “Wealth of Ideas” among its members and thus also major parts of the Swedish business world by measuring the number of suggested improvements each company has succeeded in generating through its employees. “The Lindab company has been placed highly many times previously in these annual rankings”, says Kenneth Lennartson at Lindab, “our company was well to the fore in 2004 too.” Both Lindab Ventilation and Lindab Steel in Grevie together with Lindab Nord in Boliden took three of the top ten pla-ces.”

Lindab Ventilation in Grevie was highest with its fourth place and 420 suggestions per 100 employees, compared to an industry average which is usually a little above the 60 mark per 100 employees. “These figures are extremely pleasing, and above all perhaps should be viewed as a measure of our employees’ dedication, which benefits both companies and ideas people,” says Kenneth Lennartsson.




76 76

Astron Building Systems

Between 10 and 15 buildings are delivered daily from Astron’s production facilities in Luxembourg

and the Czech Republic. But then, they are clearly Europe’s largest manufacturer of pre-engineered

steel building systems and a player that has created a reputation of providing the highest quality

and fast efficient deliveries. Steel building systems are not, of course, a novelty for Lindab, especi-

ally since acquiring Butler Europe 3 years ago. The next step in this venture is now under way via

Lindab’s recent acquisition of Astron, which means taking the step up into the premier league and

into first place in this product area.

hen an investor faces the erection of a new commercial or industrial

building today, be it a larger distribu-tion warehouse, an office complex, a production facility or a building that combines these functions, he faces more options than ever before. The tradi-tionally erected and constructed-on-site building is, of course, one option; but the requirement for shorter construction time, lower capital tie-up and more efficient planning has led to the addition of new alternatives atop the traditional ones.

Pre-engineered, packaged building systems are currently strongly on the march in Europe and the US, and correspond to an increasing share of the volume of commercial and industrial projects. Lindab’s acquisition of Astron Buildings SA,

clearly Europe’s leading company in the area, should be seen in this light.

Natural step“We see the acquisition of Astron as a very natu-ral step,” explains Peter Andsberg, manager of Business Area Profile at Lindab. “Even back in the 1990s, we could see large, future possibilities in combining our various building components into complete packages for large-span buildings. A closer collaboration with former Butler Europe and the large growth in the steel building-system sector, primarily in the CEE markets at the end of the 1990s, led to our decision to acquire Butler Europe in 2002.”

A sound, profitable development in this pro-duct area and a firm resolution to reach a leading market position meant further acquisitions stood on the agenda. When Astron’s prior owner, Parker Hannifin (USA), showed interest in selling, it was a perfect fit for Lindab, and the transaction was completed on 1 September. “We currently have two clear and relatively equal legs to stand on in Business Area Profile: building components and steel building systems,” continues Peter Andsberg. “It strengthens both the business area as well as the group, because these two, along with Business Area Ventilation, give Lindab a broader founda-tion. Acquiring Astron also increases Lindab’s geo-graphic presence in important growth markets in a single stroke. Happily, because Building Systems/Lindab Butler and Astron are strong in different markets, we also get to avoid internal competition.

“We have acquired the ‘crown jewel’ in the pre-engineered steel building system sector today, and have added a very profitable, well-managed and offensively oriented company under compe-

tent leadership of Astron’s MD David Brodetsky and his team. We are extremely satisfied to be able to carry through this strategically important trans-action in a way that was good for all parties con-cerned,” concludes Peter Andsberg.

40 years of experience“We are actually celebrating our 40th annivers-ary this October,” explains Astron’s MD, David Brodetsky. “Being able to look back at so many years of business success and approximately 30,000 delivered buildings is decidedly positive. Even though Parker Hannifin has been a perfectly satis-factory owner in all ways, the celebration isn’t any less for having an owner in our own branch for the first time.”

Astron’s history began in the beginning of the 1960s, when the US hydraulic company, Commercial, needed to quickly establish a produc-tion facility in Luxembourg. “Since none of the local construction companies could meet the requi-red short delivery time, the decision was made to import a pre-engineered building system from the US,” David Brodetsky continues. “Shipping the structure across the Atlantic and erecting it was done in record time, and not only did they get their factory in time, but it created interest in a new business possibility in a Europe that was hungry for new industrial buildings.” An agree-ment was signed with STRAN Steel Buildings,

W

Picture from Astron in Diekirch.On the third picture to the left is a gathering of the company’s leading officials. From the left, Charles

Weinquin, Norbert Holtzem, Bernard van Riel, Jean Louis Lecomte, René Oly, David Brodetsky, Pedro

Martinez and Venant Krier.

Some data

• Sales EUR 115 million

• Number of employees: 650

• Europe’s leading trade name in steel building systems

• Founded in 1965

• 30,000 steel buildings sold and delivered to date

• CEE, France and Germany are primary markets

On 4 October, Astron celebrated its fortieth anniversary in the presence of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg,

several ministers, ambassadors, representatives from Lindab and, not least, 350 employees.

Nine of these had been faithful Astron employees for 35 years or more and received recognition of this from the hands of the Grand Duke, Lindab President Kjell Åkesson, Luxembourg’s Minister of Economics Jeannot Krecké and

Astron’s MD, David Brodetsky.

76 76 7

1965-2005Kjell ÅkessonPresident of Lindab

Jeannot KreckéMinister of Economics

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

David BrodetskyMD Astron

Kjell Åkesson offers his congratulations on 40 successful years

Nine loyal Astron employees have just received their gifts

The guests of honour arrive for the fortieth anniversary




98 98

and complete construction packages began to be sold. In 1977 manufacturing began in Europe using metric dimensions for buildings with the Astron trademark.

Like Lindab Butler, Astron also works via a network of local builder/dealers (distributors and building contractors) who account for the majority of the marketing of Astron’s building solutions. “Working up the market with our own resources would require an unrealistically large sales staff,” explains David Brodetsky.

Cyprion gives strength Beginning in Luxembourg, the market area grew successively during the 1980s to include Denmark, France and Germany, where they set up their own sales offices. “Another important occur-rence during the 80s was the development of our Cyprion price-setting and design programme,” he continues. “It allows our dealers the possibility of calculating the costs of a suitable Astron solution themselves in a fully automated manner by stating the building’s size, height, width, façade, roof construction etc. The point is to be able to quickly provide a correct and virtually complete offer to the final customer.” In addition, Cyprion is an important sales tool for the builder/dealer by being able to show the customer both 2D and 3D sketches of the building in question.

During the 90s, a successful expansion was begun within the CEE with Poland, the former East Germany and the former Czechoslovakia as important elements. In the Czech Republic, an additional production facility was establish-

ed, which, alongside the Luxembourg factory, is responsible for all of the company’s own manufac-turing. The early 2000s also saw the establishment of sales offices in Russia, Romania and Croatia, among others.

The CEE now accounts for 50% of Astron’s business, while France and Germany account for about two-thirds of the other half.

All possibilitiesAstron’s offering includes all types of industrial and commercial premises with the main emphasis on one-storey buildings. “We also have a division that works with multi-storey buildings, but so far, this has corresponded to a smaller – but-growing – part of the business,” adds David Brodetsky. “Warehouses, factories, public and municipal buildings, as well as schools and various types of sports facilities all comprise typical deliveries. For

example, a few years ago we erected a winter training hall for the not entirely unknown football team, Dynamo Kiev.”

The architectonic possibilities, especially for multi-storey buildings, are unlimited in principle. “We adapt ourselves entirely to the

customer’s desires and needs concerning not only the layout but even the choice of facade, interiors, etc”, continues David. “The most decisive compe-titive factor from the customer’s point of view is to be able to combine great freedom of choice with a well-documented, fast and efficient process, from planning and tender through to a building ready for occupancy.” Finally, it should be stated that the Astron trade name stands for security, quality and reliability. There are a further two things that help

make Astron attractive for our dealers; access to the Cyprion sales and tendering system and the fact that we are a complete one-stop-shop as a supplier that can provide the complete building system consisting of the primary and secondary structures, as well as roofs and walls.”

Stronger togetherAstron is a very well-known trade name in the entire construction industry throughout Europe. “Continued strengthening of our trade name is naturally essential, and that Lindab is standing behind us is something that we shall exploit in the best possible way to further strengthen both Astron and Lindab,” adds David Brodetsky. “Together, we’ll be a stronger and more compe-titive unit on the European market for pre-engi-neered steel building systems, something which can benefit our customers through greater pos-sibilities, more effective material maintenance and increased resources.”

The combination of Lindab Butler and Astron now makes Lindab Building System an interesting player on the total market for pre-engineered and packaged building systems. “Steel building sys-tems still corresponds to about 6% of the overall European market, but we see very large opportu-nities on our steel solutions to grow strongly,” con-cludes David Brodetsky, who in addition to being the MD, will also be leading the Building Systems division. “An increased network of dealerships spread across Europe will be decisive in reaching this goal. Thus, working to find new dealers as well as strengthening and improving relations with our existing dealers is a top priority.”

ISwedish Dream House

hat does the Swedish family’s

dream house really look like.

Perhaps the answer can be found

in the Inspiration House which was

shown for the first time at the Hem

& Villa (House and Home) Fair in Gothenburg in

September. The Inspiration House is a joint project

organised by Hem & Villa, Testbedstudio Architects

and L-konsult, which in collaboration with 50 players

from the world of building and interior design created

the dream house for a family of four, based on their

wishes and needs.

“We believe that the Inspiration House through

its simplicity and openness between inner and outer

space will stand out from the fair’s usually somewhat

chaotic surroundings,” say architects Fredrik

Magnusson, Jonas Olsson and Katarina Rundgren

from Testbedstudio, who were responsible for the

plans, colour and interior decoration of the house.

The circular house has a surface area of 270 m2 and is

Wsurrounded by a large wooden deck

which here and there erases the bor-

ders between the outer and inner.

Lindab is one of the compa-

nies involved in collaboration, and

among other things supplied the roof

drainage system for the Inspiration

House. “We found participation in the

project to be an extremely positive

experience;” says Bengt Andersson

at Lindab, “and we take every good

opportunity we have to display our

products and raise our profile. The

Inspiration House gave us a really

positive feeling, since it integrates a

wealth of new and congenial ideas

into house construction. Rounded

solutions are not exactly strangers to

us at Lindab.”




98 98

Lindab Comfort fittings to Turin 2006 Olympics arenas

t all starts again on 10 February 2006. That’s when the 20th Winter Olympics will take place in Turin, Italy, and 84 gold medals will

be up for grabs among the almost 2,500 elite ath-letes who will be competing during the Games 17 days. As usual the Games are being preceded by huge preparations, and a number of indoor and outdoor facilities have been upgraded to Olympic levels. One of them is Palavela, a very well-known building in southeastern Turin, which was erected in 1961 in connection with an expo that was part of Italy’s unification centennial.

Palavela, which is a huge building with a sail-like roof (vela means sail in Italian), will host the Olympic skating competitions in figure skating and short track racing. The well-known architect, Gae Aulenti, has chosen to only keep the sail-like roof on the new building that soon will welcome some 9,000 spectators. “The general contractor for the renovation and modernisation of Palavela and many other Olympic buildings is Maire Engineering, a global consulting and construction company with origins in the Fiat Group from the 1930s,” explains Roberto Zattoni, Lindab Italy.

Custom fittingsLindab has delivered not only the entire duct work system and standard fittings to Palavela, but also over 4,000 meters of specially built displacement air vents integrated into the arena’s seating. In addition, Lindab has delivered ducts to a number of other arenas. The installation contractor has been Keltermica Cordera from Turin.

“The choice of Lindab as the supplier was, quite simply, due to our high demands for secure deli-very and ongoing customer support,” explains engineer Nicola De Fazio, responsible for ventila-tion installations at Maire Engineering. “We have previously had very good experience with Lindab in these respects. It was also very significant with respect to just this project that Lindab could find a solution that not only fulfilled the specifications, but could also satisfy the architect, Gae Aulentis’, intentions.”

University approvalThere were high demands on the specially-built diffusers, which along with the other fittings, would give the arena a comfortable indoor environment able to handle a total air volume of 320,000 m3/h. “We decided to consult with Professor Filippi and his team at the University of Turin, professor Perini and the engineer Corgnati, to evaluate the solution and the test results that Lindab Comfort presented,” Mr, De Fazio, continues. “We were not surprised when Professor Filippi’s team approved the solution.”

“To design and build a well-functioning ven-tilation system in an old building for an ice arena that will house such a significant event as Olympic competitions, and to do it in a manner that both the University of Turin, the architect and the orga-nizers are more than satisfied with, is a feather in the hat, not only for Marie Engineering, but natu-rally even for Lindab and its employees,” conclu-des Mr. De Fazio.

I

The custom displacement fittings that Lindab Comfort develo-ped and produced for the project in Palavela now sit discreetly along each row of seats in the arena.

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1110 1110

the company from his father. “The original idea was to develop a business park with both offices and industrial undertakings. As our own knowled-

ge of building and construction was limited, we made contact with a suitable general contrac-tor. In 2001, C.I.R. had already supplied us with a less complex Astron building – now leased to a distribution company – and thus it seemed only natural to get in touch with them again relative to the continued devel-opment of the buildings on the 8-hectare site.”

Patrick Loche, MD of C.I.R. tells us that after visiting the existing premises at Sadimo it quickly became apparent that these were not suitable for conversion to offices. “Instead, we suggested a solution involv-ing new buildings based on Astron’s multi-storey system and accompanied Sadimo

on a visit to Astron’s main facilities in Diekirch, Luxembourg, where we were able to present both an architectonically interesting solution and demonstrate the resources and options Astron can offer.”

Astron multi-storeyReims is also an important junction in the French motorway network and moreover will be situated

alongside one of the stretches which the French high speed train, the TGV, passes. “In this rapidly expanding region we saw exciting opportunities for modern, attractive and centrally located office premises appealing to a large number of tenants,” says Bruno Villa, MD of Sadimo, who took over

he French city of Reims, situated about 150 kilometres north east of Paris, is not just the centre of production of the gold-

en and sparkly Champagne, but has also played an historically impor-tant role throughout the centuries, and great figures as widely diverse as Attila the Hun, the freedom fighter Jean d´Arc, Lous Bleriot, the pioneer aviator, and general Dwight D. Eisenhower, to name but a few, have influenced its deve-lopment and place in world history. The city, which is in the happy posi-tion of having all of four buildings listed on the UNESCO world heri-tage list, is located in an extremely lively and active region, with com-prehensive economic activity.

When Emilio Villa and some American investors decided to take over an old candy industry in Reims, France in order to start the manufacture of steel exterior doors for private homes, a large area of land was included in the deal. This opened interes-ting perspectives for new investments and Emilio Villa contacted the C.I.R company, one of Astron’s partners builder/dealers of many years in France to discuss the development of office premises for lease to companies in the region.

Astron solution in several storeys

T

The two identical office blocks which C.I.R. built using Astron’s multi-storey system have resulted in architecturally extremely attractive buildings.


The acquisition of Astron has given Lindab access to new, interesting product systems.

Multi-storey construction is one of the product areas to which Astron is committed.

Examples of this type of assignment were the two office blocks supplied to a develop-

ment company in Reims in 2003 and 2004.

1110 1110

“C.I.R. and Astron gave us attractive and appealing

office premises that suited the more demanding type

tenant we were aiming at.”

Patrick Loche, C.I.R. and Daniel Vigneront, develop-ment responsible at Sadimo for the zone “Farman Pompelle” where the two buildings are located.




1312 1312

Today two identical office blocks each of 1,360 m2 on three storeys have been built and leased to reputable companies such as Goodrich, Sanef, Ciat and Ecclor. “C.I.R. and Astron gave us attractive and appealing office premises that suited the more demanding type tenant we were aiming at,” Bruno Villa continues.

No delays“Moreover, the actual construction process on both blocks made rapid progress and within six months the tenants were installed. Today, both we and our tenants are extremely pleased with the architecture created by C.I.R’s architects, Bernard Nicolas. Astron’s delivery-reliable and assured technology within the area of steel construction combined with the construction planning and cont-racting expertise possessed by C.I.R. resulted in a good total solution. Quick reliable delivery and a good product-cost ratio instead of the delays and constant increases of the traditional building pro-cess were exactly what we wanted.”

An additional office block is now being planned, but already now C.I.R. has a fourth project consis-ting of an industrial project, also with the Astron brand.

Good partner“We have worked with Astron for more than ten years and delivered almost 60 different Astron buildings during that time,” says Patrick Loche at C.I.R. “An extremely good product range with both standard structures and fully customized buildings together with the multi-storey solutions which we used for Sadimo’s office project in 2003 and 2004 provide optimum opportunities for find-ing a good solution to every assignment. Astron’s Cyprion software enables us to give our customers both offers and 3D visual descriptions of projects extremely quickly. We can even take our customers on a virtual tour of the building they are contemp-lating.”

Other benefits emphasised by Patrick Loche are the security and reliability of delivery incor-

porated in the Astron brand, and the fact that the entire building can be delivered by one and the same supplier. All this has contributed to us being able to build up a long-term and profitable rela-tionship for both partners,” Patrick Loche says in conclusion. “This is an important cornerstone of our own competitiveness within the market.”

Astron InodekThe two office blocks erected in Reims are based on Astron’s Inodek system for multi-storey build-ings. “The Inodek system makes it possible to construct several storeys in the building with a minimum of load-bearing pillars,” explains Albert Jacob at Astron France and sales manager for the Sadimo project. “This also allows one great free-dom in placing interior walls, enables simple plumb-ing and heating, electrical and IT installations, and simpler and more economical fire protection. The result is a large measure of flexibility combined with a reduction in the net weight of the load-bear-ing structure.”

The innovative Inodek system integrates asymmetrical steel girders in a concrete based floor structure consisting of concrete elements and longitudinal cavities. This integration contributes to reducing the net weight of the whole system and provides opportunities for an extremely wide range of different façade materials. Quite simply, the Inodek system gives the architect great free-dom to design buildings where function, design and facilities go hand in hand.

Astron Inodeck multi-story system

• Asymmetrical steel girders integrated with concrete girder elements

• Low net weight and rapid mounting

• Minimal need for load-bearing pillars

• Freedom in the choice of façade and interior wall location

The Inodek system gives architects a great deal of freedom in deciding spatial layout and interior wall location, an extremely important aspect in modern and flexible office premises.

The picture shows the load-bearing Inodek system with pillars, girders and eight-metre concrete elements. The erection includ-ing roof mounting of the 22-metre long and 20-metre broad building was performed in less than four weeks.




1312 1312

nly a little while after moving into their new three-room flat in Annestad both Anders Svensson

and Ingela Fransson completely agree. “Who wouldn’t want to live here, who wouldn’t want to live in Bunkeflostrand.” Right there, just outside the centre of Malmö, close to transport, the countryside and the sea – the lively Öresund Straits – right on the doorstep is the new suburb of Annestad, which will have 1,500 flats once completed. “It sounds enormous,” says Anders. “But as each block here will have its own character in the form of shops, small restaurants, hairdressers, doctors’ surgeries and other services along with both small and large play areas, I don’t doubt they will feel like small individual communities.”

Annestad is unique in that it consists of both rented flats and individually owned flats. However, perhaps the most unusual thing is that the whole area is being built using entirely new methods of home construction. “All the blocks consist of mass produced modules based on light construction technology which are produced at

our facilities in Arlöv and then assembled onsite to form finished blocks,” says Ulf Åberg, CEO of Open House. “With this new way of ‘building’ flats we are actually trying to improve housing and at a more reasonable price.”

Anders Svensson is employed as a installation engineer at Open House, and has been able to observe cons-truction work at close hand. “I have seen the modules assembled, I have seen the buildings painted and the

other craftsmen working, and I have seen a quality concept throughout the

process. When later I went out to take a look at the area this was an important factor, I felt. Ingela and I talked over the matter, applied for a flat and here we are – a comfortable, well situated 70 m2 three-room flat in a beautiful residential area and absolutely wonderful surroundings.” Ingela who grew up in a detached house had her doubts. “We chose a ground floor flat and now have outside areas on both sides where 6-year old Oliver, our son, has a play area just ten yards from our ter-race door. It feels cosy and secure even though

I’m not used to living in a flat, but I feel really at home,” she says.

Previously, Anders lived in a rented flat built of light concrete. “I could hear everything the neighbours were up to; here sound insulation is in an entirely different class. Here we have better standards, a washing machine and tumble dryer in the flat, wall-mounted toilet, pleasant kitchen and a quality of construction that feels really good. Friends who have visited us here have been amazed by all the smart details and the archi-tecture out here in Annestad. Our neighbours know I work for Open House, so of course I had been expecting them to speak their mind about things, but it seems they are all as pleased as I am, so most of the questions are ones like ‘how do the modules actually fit together?’ So I have to tell them, though I shouldn’t be taking my job home with me,” a contented Anders Svensson concludes.

All light construction products for Open House production are supplied by Lindab and the com-pany is one of Lindab’s biggest customers.

O

Anders Svensson, Ingela Fransson and son Oliver are just one of the many satisfied families who have moved into Annestad during the year. The vision which the constructor Open House had for better, more economical living is being increasingly realised. Lindab’s light construction products which are an essential part of the new construction technique are completely concealed behind the area’s many pleasant facades and walls. There is a long queue for the flats now, so perhaps the time has come for new projects.

The house building project in which Open House is building 1,500 flats for Hyreshem in Malmö, using entirely

new construction techniques, is now just over half complete. We dropped in on new tenants Anders Svensson

and Ingela Fransson – and there’s no mistaking their enthusiasm for their new home.

“To live in Bunkeflostrand.... .....who wouldn’t want to live there!”




1514 1514

a few years later by Stifab, Lindab and others. In 1966, Lindab, which was then called Lidhults Plåtindustri, decided to expand its successful roof drainage guttering and pipes products with round ventilation ducts. “We were extremely experienced in curving elements for roof drainage systems, so transferring this knowhow to ventilation elements came naturally to us. Besides, for some years we had been making longitudinally folded pipes by hand for the transport of hay and seed for the far-ming industry.”

There appeared to be major opportunities for increasing sales and therefore in 1967 we acquired the first Spiro Tubeformer. It started to go flat out straight away and the production of spirally folded pipes in various sizes accelerated. A large number of templates for the various ducting elements were produced, a task that took several months. The right template could then be produced for every subsequent order, transferred to the black plate everything was made from and bends, Tees and ventilation elements were made by hand. From the beginning of the seventies more and more elements were being shaped in Lindab’s many hydraulic presses. Nevertheless, manufacture of ventilation ducts had already become an industry in the sixties, and it was an irrigation project in

Africa and an ingenious Norwegian engineer that was behind it all.

New legislation“Ventilation installers were quick to spot the advantages of the system and that part of manu-facture that they lost was compensated for by quicker and easier installation and the fact that they were now dealing with products that they did not need to stock themselves but that they could order and purchase from their distributors,” Carl-Gustaf goes on to say.

The major building boom in Sweden at the end of the sixties did not just result in a seldom seen volume of work for the building and cons-

truction industry, with new projects fal-ling like manna from heaven, where installation and not manufacture was what installation engineers and fitters had to concentrate on, the boom also resulted in new building standards and more stringent legislation, including in the ventilation area. Similar

developments were going on in the other Nordic countries, and in these countries the circular duct system clearly had the advantage over rectangular systems – round was more leak proof, round was

abandoned because it was judged to be impracti-cable or because of the discovery of oases, but in 1952 Erling Jensen and his partner Leif Andresen dusted down the project and discovered an enti-rely new application for the spiral fold idea. But of course it wasn’t water but air that was to be car-ried along these pipes. Round ventilation systems would not just simplify production compared to

the then dominant rectangular, hand-built ducts, they would prove to be easier to fit, easier to seal and easier to maintain. The problem was that the machinery needed to produce spiral folded ducts remained to be invented.

“Four years later they brought about a revolu-tion, a round revolution, and in 1956 they proudly launched the first product of their newly started company, Spiro; the Spiro Tubeformer, the first machine for the manufacture of circular ventila-tion ducts”, Carl-Gustaf Sondén goes on to say.

The round revolution“As far as I know, Svenska Fläktfabriken was the first to purchase the Spiro Tubeformer, and at the end of the 1950s started to test the equipment prior to launching it on the mar-ket,” continues Carl-Gustaf. “Thus development began in Sweden and Scandinavia, partly due to the legal requi-rements for ventilation of pre-mises that were slowly being established at these latitudes.”

As the market began to see the opportunities being opened up by round duct systems, the Swedish company Bacho also embarked on manufacture, followed just

aturally, ventilation systems are not new; the engineers and inventors of the industrialism

and past centuries must take full honours there. Many medieval castles had simple systems for the distribution of heat and air to the more expen-sive parts of their houses. In Glimmingehus in Skåne, one of Sweden’s most well known medie-

val castles, started in 1499, the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand (at that time Skåne belonged to Denmark) enjoyed the benefits of air conditio-ning via a primitive duct system hewn out of the meter-thick walls. Today’s circular duct systems are anything but primitive and offer comprehensive opportunities for leak-proof, economical and good ventilation and comfortable indoor climate for all buildings – including medieval castles, should this be needed. However, the origins of the modern cir-cular duct system were not ideas about air, but in fact it was a water problem that got development started.

Irrigation project At the end of the 1940s, investors were looking for a practical and financially attractive irrigation system for North Africa. “The exact details of the story have now been forgotten, but one things remains clear: the Norwegian Engineer Erling Jensen heard about these inquiries, and then drew up draft proposals for a solution, one of which resulted in many raised eyebrows,” says Carl-Gustaf Sondén, former Lindab President. “By fol-ding thin steel sheeting together in spiral form cut into long strips, irrigation pipes could indeed be made both simply and economically.”

Nor does history tell us if the project was

N

Lindab's ventilation systemThe story of

Lindab’s circular duct systems and Lindab Safe are without doubt two of the principal products aro-

und which Lindab’s success has been built. Here Carl-Gustaf Sondén, former Lindab President, and

others tell us of the start of this story, the one which really got Lindab off the ground.




1970 1990 2000

1514 1514

Mass produced circular ducts and duct components became one of Lindab’s major products. After some fumbling at the beginning, quality, product range and security of delivery became matters of honour for Lindab and sales grew as customers came to see the benefits and possibilities the products offered.

easy to fit and round was in stock. In fact, the rectangular corner of the ring was

beginning to loose steam. But there was no KO yet, that was still to come. Once again the domi-nant player in the market, Svenska Fläktfabriken, had a new ace up its sleeve. There were more and more rumours about some kind of rubber seal, which would make tape, putty and glue obsolete.

Lindab SafeThe development of fitted rubber seals crept into the market through Fläktfabriken having its own installation department, which in relative secrecy started installing its new system. “Suddenly mar-ket demands for rubber seals began to multiply, as this relatively humble component took simplicity of installation and sealing to new heights,” Carl-Gustaf continues. “To be absolutely truthful, it came as quite a shock for both Lindab, Stifab and many other manufacturers. Since Fläktfabriken had also had its system type approved about 10-15 per cent of total costs could be saved, as test pressurising of the system installed could be eli-minated.

“Development work went ahead at full speed – now we had to catch up; but our first attempts were not completely successful,” Carl-Gustaf continues, and tells us something of the events around 1973-74. “First we tried O-rings which the fitter had to pull on himself, but they tended to go askew and filled with litter and gravel. So together with factory manager Per-Åke Tuvesson, I travel-led around Småland visiting rubber manufacturers to find a solution. One late evening in a café in Ljungby, the idea of a double seal came up, and this was to be Lindab Safe – but only after many trials and tribulations. The production engineering problems were no child’s play: fitting damaged the rubber seals, there were many different fits, the machinery broke down, the whole thing was torture.”

Lasse Andersson, sales manager Ventilation at Lindab Sweden, then foreman of manufacture and involved in the sealing problems, says, “We made individual tracks in the sheeting, bought rubber strip by the meter, dipped cut-off pieces in quick drying glue and stuck them to the element – but did any of it work, not on your life!”

Challenging Safe start“It wasn’t until we started to use steel bands for attaching the actual rubber strip that we began to suspect that we were on the right track. Carl-Gustaf had sold the first test delivery to one of our customers, who was to carry out ducting installa-tions at the Savoy Hotel in Malmö. I was more or less ordered to attend the delivery because everyt-hing just had to work properly.

We made the ducts, we made the component fittings, and then I, Carl-Gustaf and Per-Åke Tufvesson went along with the delivery and hauled all the materials up in the hoist to the top floor of the hotel. None of the smaller components fitted

the ducts, in our hurry we had miscalculated the dimensions and we had to take everything home again. It wasn’t exactly what we had imagined, but of course we made new fittings – which we test fitted – travelled down to Malmö again and were now able to supply a system that worked. Åke Möller at Ingenjörsfirma G. Dahlqvist in Lomma was later to become one of my best customers. Thus the tradition-soaked Savoy Hotel in Malmö was the very first contract where we supplied an efficiently functioning Lindab Safe system.”

Once the system had been tested and was working satisfactorily and all the technical production problems had been solved, at the end of 1974 we began the comprehensive work of applying for a patent for the new product. So in 1975, Lindab launched a product program with the double rubber seal fixed around the duct fittings with a spot-welded steel band. Lindab Safe had been born and success was waiting in the wings. The superior quality of the seal, the simplicity of fitting and type approval could all be clearly detec-ted in the sales graph. “For a number of reasons, we wished to make our system stand out from that of Fläktens and decided to commit ourselves to a double rubber strip, as they only had a single one. This system also contributed to our composing the slogan which we used for many years when we were advertising Lindab Safe as the solution which

is twice as safe”, Lasse Andersson says in conclu-sion.

Ventilation leadingIn 1974, Lindab had sales of a little more than SEK 57 million, but by just a year later sales had reached SEK 69 million, and by 1976 sales were approaching SEK 100 million with ventilation pro-ducts and the new Lindab Safe as an increasingly important driving force behind our sales progress. In 1980 sales were SEK 195 million, only to reach SEK 1.7 billion ten years later.

“When the Lindh family relinquished their ownership of Lindab in 1991 and the Danish pension fund took their place, we were told that if we needed money for interesting acquisitions or investments, there would be no pro-blem,” Carl-Gustaf continues. “We had been working with Spiro in markets

where we had no presence for many years. Spiro sold Spiro machines to their customers, but also offered ventilation components under their own brand, part of which we manufactured in Grevie and part of which they manufactured at their faci-lities in Switzerland. As at that time Spiro came up for sale, we decided to acquire the company in 1992, thus ‘bringing home’ the market’s leading machinery manufacturer so that we could transfer the whole of duct fitting manufacture to Grevie. The Lindab Safe program was expanded to com-prise all the fitting and component dimensions the market required; we increased the seal efficiency of the system so as to comply with Class D and today Lindab is the world’s largest manufacturer of circu-lar duct systems.”




1716 1716

The pre-engineered steel buildings from Lindab UK could be raised and finished for the 12,000 m2 Costco warehouse in Bristol in as little as 8 weeks. Miller Construction employed Span Construction to manage the project who employed about 35 assemblers from Foxrect Scotland.

“Professional commitment, true competence

in construction, high production quality

and excellent customer service distin-

guished Lindab in this project.”




1716 1716


ostco is one of America’s large cash & carry franchises with over 460 ware-house clubs worldwide. Costco sells a

wide selection of goods at very competitive prices directly from the pallet to the customer. 110,000 employees, gross sales of US$ 52 billion (2005) and quotation on NASDAQ speak a clear langu-age. When the company began in 1983 in Seattle Washington, they quickly established a focus on high quality products at low prices and high turn-over.

Small businesses and eligible individuals can buy almost everything they need in any one of the Costco warehouse clubs, but it is also characteristic of the business that their fairly unique product mix varies little from warehouse to warehouse. Each of the Costco warehouse clubs has its own food court, so whereas Swedish Ikea lets its customers fill up on Swedish meatballs, the focus at Costco is the American hot dog. Another thing that Costco is known for is its good employee policies and, again similar to Ikea, a very economical and cost-conscious way for running its business, which even expresses itself in the simple but functional interior furnishings. But then again, the word Cost is part of the name.

All new Costco warehouse clubs in North-america are built by the American firm, Span Construction, and adhere to a relatively standardi-sed model that Costco calls its prototype. Costco has become very active in a number of markets outside of the US in recent years, including Canada, Mexico, Great Britain and Asia. Great Britain has seen a strong expansion of warehouse clubs in the most recent years, with the 12,000 m2 Costco warehouse club in Bristol as the latest.

The US’ largest metal builder“The Bristol location was our first Costco project in Britain,” says George Goddard, Vice President of Span Construction, which was founded in 1979 and is the US’ leading construction and contractor of pre-engineered metal buildings.

“We formed a subsidiary, Span Construction UK Ltd, in 2004 in order to be able to satisfy our client Costco’s needs in Great Britain,” explains George Goddard. “Our business strategy centres on repeat commissions, and we have formed alliances with large principals, where Costco is one of the most important. This is in order to satisfy their needs to expand in a cost-effective and consistent manner. We build about 35 Costco warehouse clubs annu-ally based on their prototype concept, which we adapt technically from project to project to reach an optimal result.”

Span Construction has about 300 employees who are supplemented with subcontractors for each individual project.

Spreading the basic conceptFor its American operations, Span has established a close collaboration with Butler, the company from which Lindab acquired Butler Europe in 2002. “When Costco also wanted to take its pro-totype model out into the international market, it was natural for us to look for international part-ners in Butler’s network, since Span has exclusive rights to erect all new Costco warehouse clubs in the US, Canada and Mexico,” adds George Goddard. “They wanted to introduce the same model in Great Britain and stick to the basic con-cept with a focus on pre-engineered metal buil-dings. Thus it was reasonable to go through Butler in Kansas to contact Lindab in Great Britain, which is something we have never regretted since contacting them two years ago.

Establishing a Costco warehouse club in America, from the first shovel of dirt removed to the time the first customer walks through the doors, takes one hundred calendar days,” adds George Goddard. The pre-engineered metal build-ings that Lindab delivered to Bristol were assem-bled without a hitch in 8 weeks. This means that Lindab completely met their delivery schedules, and at the agreed-upon price and maintaining high quality.

Costco warehouse club from Lindab in 8 weeks

C

To erect a complete warehouse club of around 12,000 m2 must not take more than a hundred days. That is the requirement of the US-based cash &

carry giant, Costco. When Span Construction, their sub contractor and America’s largest metal builder, select partners for new project, the terms are

thus crystal clear. Lindab Building Systems in Great Britain had no problems in keeping up.

Excellent collaborationThe very good collaboration between Span, Lindab and main contractor Miller Construction, as well as the architects, Mulvanny g2 and Broadway Malyan, has made Costco’s establish-ment in Bristol a great success. “We are very impressed with the professional way that Lindab handled its end of the delivery and our client, Costco, in turn, is very satisfied with the whole project,” concludes George Goddard, who adds that Span and Lindab are presently working to design and propose solutions for the Costco ware-house clubs in the UK. “Professional commitment, true competence in construction, high production quality and excellent customer service ensures that we look forward to having Lindab on these pro-jects as well. We will be working together to move another step closer to Costco’s prototype concept for their warehouses.”

Delivery in 8 weeks“The Bristol project was preceded by 2 years of preparation, where we presented a number of reference deliveries for George Goddard and his team. Throughout the entire process, up until the final delivery, we tried to truly assist Span in the best possible way,” explains David Stark from Lindab Building Systems, UK. “Among other things, we set a fixed price for a number of proto-type buildings for Costco. Once the delivery took place, it only took 8 weeks, from erecting the sup-porting structure to the finished building.

“My clear impression is that both Costco and Span are very satisfied with how we handled the delivery and the quality of the building that is now in place. Naturally, we learned a great deal during the process, and now we will be able to handle any future projects with Span/Costco even more smoothly,” concludes David Stark.




1918 1918

e were totally astonished to see and determine the difference between a

rubber-seal duct system and a taped duct system,” says Jean-Michel Stiernon and Marc Helsen, Belgian ventilation consultants, after participating in one of the many work-shops that Lindab is now running in countries throughout Europe in order to clarify the differences between using duct systems with and without factory-instal-led rubber seals. “Naturally, we expected some difference, but not one this big. Lindab Safe is wit-hout doubt an interesting product, which makes for not only a tighter system and thus lower energy consumption, but also faster, simpler installation. In Belgium, the installation engineer picks the pro-duct, and since air tightness class B is the national standard, systems without rubber seals are still common, however. Following the work-shop that we participated in, it feels natural to try to affect the development in the direction toward increased usage of rubber seals, because both the running costs and installation could be made less expen-sive, irrespective of tightness classification.”

Special test boxBy using a special test box kit, of which there are now over 15 in use, consultants and installation engineers are given the opportunity to assemble a rubber-seal Lindab Safe system and a LindabVent system for themselves. “The Safe system can be assembled in a jiffy, while the Vent system sets all the participants off in a feverish “tightening” taping activity with each joint getting a real dose of duct tape,” explains Torbjörn Bruzelius, product manager for Duct System at Lindab.

“We already know what the results will be, but the whole point is for participants themselves to assemble two different systems and measure leakage together in order to calculate duct class. No matter how hard they try to seal the joints of the Vent system, they can normally only manage duct class B, but despite the simpler and quicker installation required by the Safe system the results are always the same: duct class D or better. This is a classic Eureka moment for participants to take

Persuasive test box

W

South of Denmark it is still common to install the Vent-systems, ie., duct systems without factory-inserted rubber seals. The simple

reason is the lower tightness requirement. One new Lindab activity, currently being carried out in about ten European countries, is

spreading Eureka moments as well as increasing knowledge about how economic aspects can be improved for both the property

owner and the contractor by taking the step up to Lindab Safe’s higher air tightness class.

"

home with them, especially knowing that each duct class is three times more leak tight than the previous.”

Advantages even at Class BSouth of Denmark, the standard for most European countries is air tightness class B, which a taped system is normally capable of achieving. “However, what we also demonstrate in these work shops is that the fan always has to be over-dimensioned when a Vent-system is chosen. This means a larger, more expensive fan, a larger, more expensive fan room and of course a life-long hig-her operating cost,” explains Torbjörn Bruzelius. “Larger fans also require larger and more expen-sive soundproofing; so the negative consequences of choosing this system quickly propagates directly to the property owner’s wallet. This is the truth we want to disseminate.”

Adding to the benefits, the installation engine-er makes money by picking Lindab Safe, because the higher cost for the Safe system is more than compensated by the easier installation in combina-tion with eliminating the need for all the duct tape and whatever else tightening encompasses.

Positive responseThese test boxes are currently being used in 10 Lindab markets throughout Europe, and the work shops conducted so far have received very positive responses with reactions similar to the one refer-red to above.

“We’ve held 45 work shops here,” explains André Boss, Lindab, Switzerland, “and over 300 installation engineers and consultants have parti-cipated so far, but we are only just getting started. We have had very positive responses from the participants, and several customers have changed their orders from Vent to Safe after seeing the results and understanding the advantages. Those using the Lindab Safe are very satisfied with the system and have had all of their expectations met. Share of sales for Safe has been increasing all the time and is now up to 55%.”

Even in Belgium, work shop activities roll on. “Class B is what everyone does here, so Vent is the traditional choice,” explains Wim Borgmans from Lindab Belgium “Of course our participants see the advantages, but the inclination to change is probably greatest among participants who repre-sent medium-sized companies who both design and install ventilation systems. Yet a change in the wind toward tighter systems can be seen even in Belgium. Without a doubt our use of the work shops with their test boxes has been very signifi-cant in our missionary work for the tighter, more economic and easily-assembled Lindab Safe sys-tem with factory-inserted rubber seals.”

Not every one knows that the doubled sealing of EPDM rubber can have great significance for both operational and installa-tion costs. Among those who now know for certain are those who have parti-cipated in Lindab’s new, tightness work shops.

better Safe than sorry




1918 1918 19

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Each workshop begins with the participants having to assemble two duct systems, a Lindab Safe system with rubber seals, and a Lindab Vent, which the participants can tighten to their hearts’ content with duct tape. A fan is then connected so participants can themselves measure the efficiency of the seal and see for themselves how much less the fan has to work in the Safe system to obtain the same air pres-sure. Finally, the air tightness class is calcula-ted based on the measured values.

Most had already concluded in advance that the Lindab Safe system would be tighter, but that it leads to a lower power requirement and thereby lower operational costs, reduced needs for soundproofing and quicker, simpli-fied installations becomes an Eureka moment for everyone.

“Naturally, we expected some difference, but not one

this big. Without a doubt, Lindab Safe lowers energy

consumption, but also gives faster, simpler installation.”




ventilation news

2120 2120

Ejendals Arena is Leksand IF’s (one of Sweden’s national hockey league teams) new home rink and an initiative which has already cost SEK 140 million in ready cash has created a hall not just for ice hockey fans, but it will also be the venue for the Swedish 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. With six restaurants, 272 conference seats, seating for 6,344 fans on four floors and a four-screen Jumbotron it would seem the arena has everything needed for good ice hockey and the holding of major events.

The main sponsor of the hall is Ejendals, one of Sweden’s largest protective glove and shoe manufacturers. The developer is Leksands IF with Peab as general contractor and Bravida re-sponsible for the installation contract. The new arena is partly based on the old one, in that it was decided to preserve the lowest spectator floor. “The decision to keep this part of the old hall, and the ice rink, presented quite a challenge where ventilation was concerned,” explains Lars Larsson, Bravida’s project manager for Ejendals Arena. “Arenas can become very hot and normally cooled air has to be pumped in from below. Be-cause of the nature of the structure this was not possible here, and air had to be brought in from

above. Early on we were in touch with Lindab to discuss whether they would be interested in find-ing a solution for the indoor climate of the arena. After testing in its laboratory in Farum Lindab Comfort came up with a Lindab solution based on the use of its new motorised RCW diffuser,” Lars Larsson continues.

With its rotational distributor the RCW distri-butes blown-in air both horizontally and vertically. It has been specially produced for premises with high roofs and its manner of construction allows the blower angle to be adapted to temperature variations within the premises. Full scale trials, which were carried out on 3 October when two hockey teams and an enthusiastic 7,650 spec-tators inaugurated the arena, were to prove that everything worked in practice just as had been calculated.

“The solution Lindab presented to us was not just the actual product but also the complete loca-tion of the diffuser in the roof of the arena, which Jesper Vartau Hansen and his team had calcula-ted in a manner worthy of imitation,” Lars Larsson continues.

RCW roof diffuser for new arena

Malmö definitely has a new landmark since Orkanen, Malmö college’s new teacher training, library and IT building was inaugurated and is now ready for use; the new building which is characterised by its spectacular architecture but which still retains its simplicity and purity of line, was designed by the Swiss architects Diener & Diener, and it basic shape came from the old ad-jacent houses.

The five-storey high and 43,000 m2 large build-ing, which is in fact six buildings combined, is

located close to Malmö’s old Stock Exchange and extremely close to the central station. The split façade all in glass is reflected in the inner dock and changes colour constantly. Technically, the building is built in a traditional manner, but due to its size it required comprehensive work on such elements as indoor climate, IT and other technical installations. The developer was Dilbau, Deutsche Bank’s property company, which leases the buil-ding to Malmö college.

“We started on the installations in April 2004”, says Håkan Ekvall at Sydtotal, which was re-sponsible for the building installations. “Dilbau wanted a contractor who would be responsible for all the installations, and as we work with everyt-hing from ventilation and HVAC to sprinklers and electricity, we were well suited for the contract.” In total, Sydtotal had 100 installation engineers on site. No special requirements were placed on the installations, they followed normal office require-ments. “On the other hand, an air flow of approx-imately 250,000 m3/hour makes certain demands on the ventilation installations, their scope and dimension,” Håkan Ekvall goes on to say. “Every duct, silencer, inlet valve and component was supplied by Lindab in less than a year. As always, reliable delivery, a complete program and good relations played a part, but this wasn’t exactly the first delivery we had taken from Lindab, so we knew what to expect....”

Major Safe contract for Malmö’s new college

The split façade clad in glass over painted aluminium caissons creates a continuous play of light.

On several of the storeys the Lindab duct system is exposed and entirely visible.

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ventilation news




2120 2120

Lindab’s first delivery to Albania will soon happen, which means a new market can now be added to the existing ones. “An Albanian company in the sanitation business, Gulit, has decided to set up a warehouse and distribution building in one of the capital’s (Tirana) industrial zones,” explains Istvan Molnar, export sales repre-sentative at Lindab Kft, Hungary. “The floor area will be 1,371 m2 with an interior height of 7 met-res. The manufacturing of the primary structure is as good as completed as this is being written, and the deliveries to the assembly site are estimated to begin on 10 October. Naturally, we are very happy to be able to put a ‘Lindab pin’ into the Albania map! The routine work concerning the delivery was handled by our represen-tative office in Kosovo.”

The first delivery to Albania

The surplus milk produced by Arla’s farmers in central Sweden is used as raw material for conversion into high quality milk powder at Arla’s new milk powder factory in Vimmerby. Milk powder is an important ingredient in the food in-dustry and is contained in many delicatessen and bakery products. Arla is the world’s third largest dairy product company by milk weighed in and is owned by Swedish and Danish farming coopera-tives. The UK is its largest market.

“We have now inaugurated an ultra-modern plant in Vimmerby, which will replace several oth-ers in Sweden, and which will be the centre of Arla’s Swedish milk powder manufacture,” says Stefan Davidsson, technical manager of the new plant. The factory, which has a floor space of 25,000 m2, treats milk in a three-stage process. “First the milk is pasteurised and standardised as

in normal milk production,” explains Stefan Da-vidsson. “Then it is dried through evaporation and boiling away the water. Finally the milk residue is spray dried by spraying it into hot air where partic-les explode forming milk powder.”

As with all food production the hygiene requi-rements are highly stringent, and this among other things influenced the design of the ventilation plant. Moreover, the process itself placed greater than normal demands on the dimensioning and design of the plant. “It is always difficult to install a ventilation plant where there are also large air flows in the actual production process and these have to be balanced against the ventilation flow, as the pre-filtered room air is mixed with the pro-cess air,” Stefan Davidsson continues. “In addi-tion, the milk plant is washed everyday with lye and acid, which results in the recurring presence

of corrosive vapour in the room air. Stainless steel ventilation ducts were the only viable alternative in this relatively complex plant.”

Y.I.T. was responsible for the ventilation in-stallations. “All installation work in the processing sections was of clean-room type and stainless steel was the obvious solution,” says Håkan Karlsson, Y.I.T., project manager for ventilation in-stallations at the factory. “About 40 per cent of the plant and all the necessary components such as mounts, silencers, valves etc are of stainless ste-el. Moreover the Danish ventilation consultants, MA-Project in Århus, had recommended Lindab, which suited us fine, as we have good relations with and experience of cooperating with Lindab.”

This was a large order and consisted of about 300 part deliveries. “Everything went according to plan with the right materials at the right time, and Arla now has a system which is well suited to the demanding process,” ends Håkan Karlsson.

Stainless steel duct system for new Arla factory

The next number of Lindab Direct will contain the full story of the stainless duct solution for Arla in Vimmerby.

Through its collaboration with Parson Fleur & Daniels (PFD), an international London-based installation company, the Swedish instal-lation company Sydtotal was contracted to supply a complete installation solution – ventilation, cooling, electrici-ty, control/adjustment facilities – for an extremely large instal-lation at the oil and gas field in Tengiz in Kazakhstan. “This was not the usual type of cont-ract, as we are responsible for construction, installation and project supervision,” explains Anders Lindvall from Sydto-tal. “We built the system and supplied all the products but actual installations were dealt with by PFD’s personnel. On the other hand, we have our own supervisors on site to supervise all installations, an arrangement which is not comple-tely unusual out in Europe.”

The oil extraction company Tengizchevroil’s faci-lities in Kazakhstan consist of some 30 buildings, of which the largest is almost 3,000 m2, and they

contain everything from pro-cessing equipment, compres-sor equipment, fire posts to changing rooms. Sydtotal has despatched some 250 contai-ners from Malmö with materi-als and products for assembly in Kazakhstan. “We chose to purchase all duct products from Lindab, since neatness and ti-diness has been the watchword throughout the entire contract,” Anders Lindvall also says. “The total building surface area amounts to some 22,000 m2, and because this is a complex

processing installation with extremely high safety requirements, Lindab had to supply large quanti-ties of ducts and duct components.”

Package solution for KazakhstanSydtotal contract for gigantic oil project

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Zuccess for zmart (alu-)zinc roofs

Aluzinc is being increasingly used as a standing seam material . “One need not search far for the reasons,” says Torbjörn Palmgren, pro-duct manager for Standing Seams at Lindab. “Be-cause Aluzinc provides extremely good corrosion protection, needs virtually no maintenance and provides a beautiful glossy silver surface, it is a favourite among architects and property owners.

And the fact that we can provide a comprehensive roof drainage range in Aluzinc adds even more to interest in the material.”

Aluzinc is a standing seam material which suits objects of the most varied nature. Above are some examples of recent Aluzinc contracts car-ried out by Lindab, which have resulted in a multi-tude of aesthetically pleasing roofs.

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1. Bjerreds Saltsjöbad. Architect Oliver Lühr.

2. Porkala Lighthouse, the Helsinki harbour approaches.

Architect unknown.

3. Vyn block. Ekhagen, Jönköping. Architect Atrio.

4. Stara Papierna, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland.

Shopping centre in old paper factory just outside Warsaw.

5. Vättersnäs, Jönköping. Architect Ingemar Thorsén.

“Lindab is now launching a new sand-wich panel program, Lindab Sandwich Panels,” says Hans Andersson, product manager for Con-struction Sheet Metal. “It is an interesting comple-ment to the rest of our construction sheet metal and façade program within Lindab Coverline. We can now supply the complete range to the custo-mers if they so desire.”

Prefabricated construction ma-terials are arousing increasing inte-rest in the building and construction industry, and sandwich panels with mineral wool or polyester foam are in increasing demand. “Our new range of Lindab Sandwich Panels contains both of these types. The

products are of high quality with an attractive sur-face finish and are suited to both the Scandinavi-an and the pan-European markets,” Hans Anders-son goes on to say. “The range is appealing in its scope – one example being an interesting Sinus Profile of attractive design and another being fit-ting clamps etc. Naturally, the products are sized

in exact lengths for the least possible wastage, and of course we provide all the necessary technical support.”

The program is presented in its entirety in a new folder describing the range and the engineering de-tails.”

Sandwich panels – a new Lindab product

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Eldhestar and Hamar are two Icelandic hotels, which have in common not only the fact that they have made sports activities the crux of their business – in one case horse riding and in the other golf – but also that both facilities are built based on the Casa Bona building system, for which Professor Gudni Jóhannesson of KTH in Stockholm is responsible. “The golf hotel with its 30 rooms and 1,200 m2 was completed in just 4 months. The

speed of delivery appealed to the customer, as did also the simple logistics which result from the

patented Casa Bona technique. This system is based on the Z joist I developed and which together with notched insulation boards pro-vides quick and simple onsite construction. Inserting the Z joist in the notch that runs the length of the insulation board produces a surfa-

ce which both inside and outside can be clad with any material required – sheet metal, wood, plaster

or plates.” The Casa Bona technique is used both to form wall and roof elements and the resultant load-bearing capacity produced by the structure allows roof trusses to be omitted completely, which gives better opportunities for exploiting the upper floor as a saddleback gable.

“The Casa Bona system provides several benefits,” continues Gudni Jóhannesson. “It pro-vides a good fit between joists and insulation; the insulation helps strengthen the joists and results in a rigid and stable roof/wall structure. The freedom the system provides with regard to choice of outer layer is yet another benefit.”

Gudni Jóhannesson developed the Z joist way back in 1998, and since then he has refined the system further. Trials are underway today to apply the Casa Bona technique to a multi-storey project known as Symfoni. “Lindab manufac-tures the Z joists and it has been involved from the start,” he says. “A licence holder can choose another manufacturer – my choice was Lindab.Because of its resources and knowhow relative to slitting and sheet metal technology, ours is an efficient partnership.”

Lindab

Lindab roof drainage first with product brandingDisplaying the trademark on products

such as cars, white goods or home electronics has been the norm since the beginning of time, or at least since the beginning of the products. But doing so on some other products has not come naturally, perhaps as a result of price differences, perhaps for purely practical reasons.

Many of Lindab’s products are unmarked, but Lindab is now bucking this trend on its roof drainage products, as they will be the first to carry product branding, which in this context simply means that the name of Lindab will be stamped on the varnished sheet metal of certain product fittings and components. “Stamping the Lindab name on our covers and soon on our wrappings gives us considerable benefits,” says Jan Tom-berg, product manger of Lindab Rainline. “Now we have a discreet but nevertheless smart and

clear signal, placed on ‘strategically’ visible pro-ducts, which tell users that their house is equip-ped with quality drainage products from Lindab. Previously our identity was lost in the building container together with our packaging, but from now on our quality mark will be embossed in the metal.”

The embossing tool was produced during the summer, testing was begun and adjustments could be finalised in the early autumn. “Lindab ac-tually has the market’s most comprehensive and easily assembled system”, says a satisfied Jan Tomberg. “Now people will be able to see who has been smart enough to choose our roof drai-nage system. This will increase awareness of our system among consumers and assist distributors in their work.”

With ‘Lindab’ embossed on several of the components of Lindab’s roof drainage program, this product group will be given a strong Lindab identity.

It strengthens Lindab’s brand and sends a clear signal that “high quality roof drainage with the best fit and functiona-lity has been fitted here”.

The embossing depth is only 0.5 mm, with the result that the varnish coating remains virtually unaffected.

Smart Z joist provides complete roof/wall system

The assembly of the Casa Bona system’s Z joists and the notched in-sulation boards is simple and uncom-plicated, and walls can be put up at a steady rate. Once the walls are up, a suitable cladding can be applied to interior walls while sheet metal, plas-ter or wood boards can be mounted on the exterior walls.

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lindab_safe_ad_lindab_direct.indd 1 2005-09-29 07:59:40

direct 2.2005 eng.2.1 - lindab ab...and commercial real estate. the lindab group has over 4,000...

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