October 2018

Industry News
BTS’S FAB OPEN DAY!
VIRTUAL REALITY AT CONTRACTOR’S DAY!
The NFRC and Total Contractor are pleased to
announce MSA Safety will be bringing its
Rooftop Fall Protection Virtual Reality
Experience to Contractor’s Day!
Above: The Trumpff TruBend Center in action at BTS.
BTS Facades & Fabrications held an Open
Day at its state-of-the-art Newton Aycliffe
HQ and factory on September 25th.
The event was attended by over 120 of BTS’s
customers and supply chain partners and
included updates on BTS’s recent investment
and plans for the future from MD Phil Atkinson
and Company Secretary Marcia Atkinson, plus
BTS’s Mark Kenney informed those assembled
of the company’s developments within its
product range including the Vantage Rainscreen
Systems. Guest Speaker Gary Lumby, of Focus
on Success, also gave an inspirational talk
including advice and guidance from his time in
business.
The day also included the BTS Awards which
saw Errigal Facades awarded for its Westfield
White City project; Prater awarded for its
Town Centre regeneration project in
Bracknell; and Apex Facades awarded for its
work at Kingston, London.
Visitors were also treated to a factory tour
which enabled them to see BTS’s range of
presses and machinery in action, including
the Trumpff TruBend Center 7030 – BTS’s
most recent and significant investment –
which Phil describes as a “game-changer”
for both the company and its customers. The
TruBend Center offers BTS a number of
benefits including unrivalled precision
automated bending; opportunities to develop
its offering; and increased speed and
efficiencies which enable BTS to offer quicker
turnaround for customers.
Visitors to MSA Safety’s stand at the UK’s only
exhibition exclusively targeted at contractors
operating in the roofing, cladding and insulation
sectors, will be able to don a headset and enter a
virtual world where they can experience MSA’s
safety solutions in a representative context and in
the very location where they will be used.
Having stepped into the virtual world at the
launch of this new VR experience, Matt Downs,
Editorial Director at Total Contractor, who colaunched
Contractor’s Day alongside the NFRC,
explained: “This immersive experience really puts
you in the situation and enables you to feel the
very real dangers of working at height. Visitors to
Contractor’s Day will be able climb up to a virtual
reality rooftop using a controller to ‘clip on’ every
step of the way to carry out their work. Once there
they can assess the situation and carry out tasks,
all the time feeling the immediate dangers of their
environment which forces them to really think
about what they are doing. The possibilities of
this technology with regards to training in
particular and the roofing sector in general are
TIME TO FOCUS ON INSULATION’S BENEFITS
The NIA says it is teaming up with the Energy
Saving Trust, the independent national energy
efficiency experts, and other advice agencies
to promote the true benefits of insulation.
The Association says that over the years, large
subsidies and grants from energy companies and
Government towards the cost of home insulation
for both fuel poor households and those in ‘able
to pay’ households has helped those suffering
from fuel poverty, but it has also resulted in
insulation being devalued with householders
focusing on price and grants only, and not
The teams from MSA with Render and Intel who helped develop
MSA’s Rooftop VR Experience. Try it out at Contractor’s Day!
endless, and this will be a great experience for
visitors to Contractor’s Day.”
A spokesperson for MSA Safety explained: “By
enabling customers to literally experience the
products for themselves, MSA can communicate
the value of the products in seconds; decision
makers can immediately empathise with the risks
their workers face on a daily basis and the need
for highly robust safety equipment, without them
actually being exposed to the risk. The nuances of
product detail can be grasped quickly and easily,
all within an exciting, new and innovative format
that prompts engaging discussion.”
The MSA Safety VR experience is yet another great
addition for visitors to Contractor’s Day, which
takes place at Twickenham Stadium on 30th
November 2018. Find out more and register for
your FREE tickets: www.contractorsday.co.uk.
appreciating the true benefits of insulation.
However, the NIA believes this will change as
under the new £640m per year Energy Company
Obligation 3 scheme – which is launched this
Autumn – subsidies and grants will be
restricted to vulnerable and fuel poor
households only and not available to those in
‘able to pay’ households. This, the Association
says, provides a significant opportunity for the
industry to build the value back into insulation
by promoting the benefits of the different
measures available.
6 TC OCTOBER 2018