Yearly Archives: 2021

Season’s Greetings from the team at Twinfix!

Season’s Greetings from the team at Twinfix. We thank you for your custom throughout 2021. This year, we have worked on some really exciting projects across the rail, healthcare, education and commercial industries. We were also named “Best Canopy & Roof-Glazing Installation Company” in this year’s Build Architecture Awards, for the third year running.

We will be closed for Christmas from 4pm on Wednesday 22nd December, and will reopen on the 4th January at 8.30am.

Take a look at some of our project highlights from 2021 below:

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We are Family

Today, Twinfix are an award winning, British manufacturer of polycarbonate glazing, and canopies. Above all of that, they are through and through, a family business, and it all started with the vision of one man.

The creation of Twinfix

Graham Kench, armed with a degree in chemistry, started his career at General Electric (GE) Plastics, travelling the country and Europe, informing clients about the virtues of the polycarbonate sheets they produced. He quickly identified a gap in the market and bought into a company, in 1990, based in Surrey, to meet this need. Initially focusing on a domestic market, but with an eye on the commercial world.

Onwards and upwards

Graham relocated the company to the northwest, to a great location which could service the whole of the UK. The move to Cheshire, gave Graham a chance to grow Twinfix, from the four employees they had at the time. Specialising in high end materials and design, he focused his efforts into manufacturing high quality products for schools, aviation and healthcare sectors. Graham’s passion for rail, led him to develop solutions for this sector too, and by pioneering ‘just in time’ techniques inventing a modular roof panel which could be assembled off-site, he was able to offer something unique to his clients.

The Millennium

The year 2000 saw Twinfix explode onto the market. Known as the ‘Pioneers of Polycarbonate’, Twinfix glazed the Millennium Dome, now known as the 02 Arena. Modifying their Multi-Link Panel, they manufactured a ten-metre-high wall, stretching 1000 metres around the dome. Working on such a prestigious and high-profile project allowed the company to evolve to the next level. This saw Twinfix move to its current home, a bigger premises which offers more space for storage, manufacturing, and development.

Graham had a long-held passion for plastic and believed in quality products, innovation, and developments. He was at heart, a people person. He believed that it was the people that made the business. He was a man who valued his employees, and stayed true to his values, instilling this in the DNA of Twinfix, which still holds true today. Sadly, in 2013, Graham Kench suddenly passed away.

Twinfix today

Graham’s daughters, Sarah Kench and Vicky Evans now run Twinfix as joint Managing Directors, with fellow Directors Dan and Paul. Vicky and Sarah are both keen to continue their dad’s legacy and follow in his footsteps. Sarah who joined the business in 2005 has been instrumental in ensuring quality, managing risk, and developing contracts, which has helped Twinfix achieve their many accreditations, accreditations Graham was aiming to achieve.

Vicky joined the firm in 2010 and has focused on customer service, sales and marketing, roles she naturally fitted into. Complementing the work of her dad, she has helped continue to grow in the rail sector.

The family feel of the business is important to all the Directors, who say that the people who work in the business, grow with the business. Vicky, Sarah, Paul Greenfield and Daniel Smith run the company. Today, they make up a formidable foursome leading Twinfix and their focus is to offer their clients, a full service from initial enquiry, advisory support and design, manufacture and install (for schools).

Proud moment

Reflecting on the business, Vicky said; “I am proud of how the company has evolved. It’s a family business at heart and even though we have grown in the last 30 years, it still has that family feel. It’s in the DNA of what we do and how we operate and that is part of the legacy my dad left. Twinfix is in its 31st year and continues to thrive. I hope that my dad would be extremely proud of where the business is today and where it’s heading. We have grown from four people at the beginning to a current team of 45 people.”

Future fit

These strong foundations built by Graham have given the business a strong platform for the current Twinfix team to drive things forward for the next 30 years and beyond.

Founder Graham Kench

Kench family when Twinfix story began

Millenium Dome

Twinfix Directors 2014

25 year celebrations

Victoria Station

Twinfix Proud British Manufacturer

St Giles School in Devon

Dry Run Assembly

Aberdeen Station

Winners at 2020 Rail Business Awards

The Twinfix Family

Kilmarnock Station

Twinfix Lorry

2009 Exhibition

Directors Sarah, Paul, Vicky & Dan

Twinfix achieve Constructionline Gold status

Twinfix are delighted to announce that have awarded Constructionline Gold Membership again following changes to the requirements of the award.

Constructionline has been working with construction buyers and suppliers for 20 years, working closely with a range of partners, and has a deep understanding of buyers’ needs.

The accreditation includes validation of PAS 91 and SSIP processes to achieve supply chain standards recognised by construction industry procurement.

This certification adds to an array of industry accreditations held by Twinfix as supplier to the industry.

When a customer undertakes a project with us, they can have confidence that they are buying high quality, safe and long-lasting products and our service from initial enquiry, through to installation and after sales service will be first class and highly professional.

Our core values underpin everything we do at Twinfix

At Twinfix we are continually looking to the future, working to improve our current products, and developing further offerings for the roofing and canopy arena.

As a family run business, we understand that staying true to our values is the thing that drives us forward. They’re the principles that guide how we operate across the business. These core values underpin our everyday behaviours and future strategy.

Through our focus on customer service and continuous improvements, we will be recognised for our performance as the UK’s leading manufacturer of canopies, shelters, roof glazing and walkways.

Twinfix Core Values

We are proud of what we do, where we’ve come from, and who we work with.

Twinfix Sustainability

Sustainability

To provide a long lasting, durable and environmentally friendly product. Virtually unbreakable polycarbonate is a great solution.

Twinfix Safety

Safety

Our products are always designed with safety as a key feature.

Twinfix Quality

Quality

We are proud to be a British manufacturer. We put our products through rigorous quality checks to ensure they meet the high standards that our customers expect.

Twinfix Innovation

Innovation

We love to design products that meet a need. We have designed products specific for the roofing and canopy market and enjoy the challenges that this brings.

Georgian Wired Polycarbonate - mimics Georgian wired glass

rba1

Manchester Islamic Centre - Area 1

Springwood Primary School, Manchester – Case Study

A special educational needs school in Salford welcomed an additional sixty pupils across its two sites in Swinton and Irlam this September.

Springwood Primary School, which is the only primary school of its kind in the city, increased its overall capacity to three hundred pupils from nursery to Year 6.

The expansion involved enlarging a second site at Craig Hall in Irlam which the school used as a ‘temporary annex’ for around three years.

Twinfix were approached by MTX Contracts the Principal Contractor on the project to design, manufacture and install a canopy at the site, between the building and existing canopy.

A major challenge that Twinfix’s design team needed to over-come was a Build-Over-Agreement issued to the school by the Water Board, which required 24/7 access to the drains beyond the proposed site for the canopy.

The team rose to the challenge and designed this mobile canopy, a first of its kind for Twinfix. This impressive free standing curved canopy, spanning a total of sixty square metres comprises of a sliding section with a run length of three metres and a static section with a run length of 17.5 metres.

The aluminium structure is powder-coated to RAL 5003, Sapphire Blue. The half barrel vault roof design was constructed using Twinfix’s bespoke roof glazing systems glazed with 10mm clear polycarbonate. The non-fragile system achieves a Class B designation in accordance with the HSE’s ACR[m]001:2019 drop test.

The main challenge was to create a frame that was strong enough to retain its shape when moved but light enough for a single person to open and close the retractable section. This was achieved through material choices, such as the polycarbonate vertical glazing instead of glass to keep the weight to a minimum. The expert team also designed a bespoke track and wheel system which allowed the whole frame to glide open and close very easily, once closed it was locked in position to the adjacent fixed frames which retain it in place during high winds.

Director at Twinfix, Dan Smith commented: ‘From initial concept we felt like this product would fit in well with our current product range, so had confidence it was something we could develop for the client. The finished design looks really well and is extremely easy to use, this is a credit to our internal design and fabrication teams that worked together to achieve our goal’

Matt Lawrenson, Deputy Head at Springwood commented on their new canopy: ‘Over the Summer of 2021, we had a Sheltered Walkway constructed and installed by Twinfix at our SEND provision, where we have children with a range of complex additional needs aged 2-7 years old. Our sheltered walkway allows us to move pupils between our existing school building and the new extension we have had built. As well as ensuring safe passage for children and staff, the quality and dimensions of the structure will provide an ideal additional learning space for our pupils, lending itself to a whole host of possibilities. It is light, spacious, and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the walkway satisfies an extremely specific and demanding design brief, with a retractable section which will allow utilities services access to a rising main in the event that this should be needed, without compromising its appearance or necessary sturdiness. We could not be more pleased.’

You can see the canopy in use here.

Case Study – Stourton Park & Ride, Leeds

The official opening of Stourton Park and Ride on 16 September 2021, marks the 150th anniversary of public transport in West Yorkshire. In 1871 a horse tram commenced between the city centre and Headingley. The horse soon gave way to electric trams, trolleybuses and petrol buses, the latter quickly being superseded by those with diesel engines.

The £38.5 million public transport project situated in the Stourton area of Leeds, at junction 7 of the M621, was delivered as part of a wider scheme to help Leeds City Council’s aim of transforming the Leeds City Region into a net zero carbon economy by 2038.

BAM Nuttall, appointed to develop the site, started detailed designs in January 2019. They approached Twinfix with a requirement for a free-standing mono-pitch canopy and Twinfix worked closely with them to design, manufacture and install a striking canopy spanning 73 square metres.

The canopy comprises of the innovative Multi-Link-Panel NF (Non-Fragile) roof glazing system which combines a maintenance-free aluminium frame fitted with virtually unbreakable solid polycarbonate glazing. This innovative system meets the non-fragile requirements outlined in ACR[M]001:2019 and sits over Western Red Cedar roof cladding, aluminium framework and posts, powder-coated in RAL 9005 jet black.

The finished canopy enhances the aesthetics of the site, while offering protection from the elements for its visitors.

Latest Issue of Twinfix Connect Newsletter Now Available

The latest copy of Connect – the Twinfix newsletter – is now available. Click to read here:

Newsletter – Connect 2021

Twinfix signs Railway Mental Health Charter

The Railway Mental Health Charter (RMHC) is a framework to help rail companies promote, manage and support workforce mental wellbeing. Aligned with good practice and developed to respond to industry needs, the charter provides targeted actions and resources for improving mental health in your company.

Twinfix were proud to sign the charter and are committed to supporting the reduction of mental health stigma and change behaviours in the workplace, through cross industry collaboration.

It’s Show Time!

As the event and exhibition industry starts to make a comeback, the team at Twinfix are busy preparing for their presence at Education Estates in Manchester, next month.

Education Estates specifically focuses on the funding, design, build, management and maintenance of educational premises across the UK. This proved to be the perfect platform for Twinfix to promote its high quality range of canopies and roof glazing systems which are often specified in the education sector.

Director Vicky Evans commented: “We are pleased to be attending this event and looking forward to showcasing our product range to visitors at the Exhibition.”

You can find the Twinfix team on Stand B20, opposite the Universities Stage.

Case Study – Pathfield School, Devon

Pathfield School, a specialist-maintained SEN school in Barnstaple, Devon, has increased its pupil numbers for the new academic year.

To help accommodate these extra pupils, the school has had a brand new, purpose-built building constructed by Wernick Group with the project being managed by Principal Contractor Mercury Construction.

To complement the impressive interior of the new building, the school have provided students with a dedicated, outside play space to promote physical development, friendships, as well as social and emotional development.

The initial project involved installing two free-standing mono-pitch canopies spanning a total of 57 square metres and a walkway spanning 66 square-metres around the new building. Twinfix were approached by Mercury Construction to design, manufacture, and install these structures.

Once the building was complete and realising the benefits that a playground canopy could add to their outdoor area, the school approached Twinfix to provide them with a further canopy spanning a total of 43 square-metres.

All the canopies have aluminium frames powder coated in anthracite grey RAL 7037. As this metal doesn’t rust in use, they will keep their good looks throughout their long life.

The roof glazing consists of Twinfix Multi-Link-Panels NF fitted with tough 25mm multiwall polycarbonate. The NF denotes that these panels conform to the HSE’s recommended drop test ACR[M]001:2019, as recommended by HSG33.

Avril Burrows, Premises Manager at Pathfield commented on the new canopies: “It looks absolutely amazing, and I am very happy! The installers made sure everything was clear and clean before they left, and the results are great. I think the students will be very happy with them.”