As a relatively small component within a window, you wouldn’t expect a fabricator’s choice of friction stay to be of great concern. Try telling that to Halifax based trade manufacturer Polyframe. Polyframe are the UK’s largest independent fabricator and they use the Sinidex Handed Stay with Locators, a product manufactured and supplied by leading international hardware company Cotswold Architectural Products.
The special ‘locator’ incorporated within the component enables Polyframe to instantly hook the hinge into the sash without the need for a jig, saving valuable seconds per window during the assembly process. For a company that manufactures 1000’s of windows per week, this has a big impact on their production line and is one of the reasons the company can claim to have one of the most efficient window factories in the UK.
Chris Watson, Managing Director of Polyframe comments: “The Cotswold locator stay can be processed more efficiently than other stays and has been an integral component within our casement windows for a number of years. Aside from benefitting us from a manufacturing perspective, the stays offer smooth closure and high performance whatever the window size, enhancing the quality of our finished products.”
Polyframe and Cotswold created the Sinidex Handed Stay with Locators together in 2002 when the fabricator decided they needed a hinge that would enable them to manufacture windows more efficiently. Designers at the two companies worked in conjunction to create the stay and it has been used by Polyframe ever since.
When the stay was initially launched, Polyframe were manufacturing a different profile, but when they took the decision to switch to WHS Halo and then latterly add Rehau as a second system, Cotswold adapted the product to suit. “In 2005 Cotswold provided us with a new version of the stay which catered for an up-stand in the WHS Halo profile,” Chris adds.
Cotswold now supply Polyframe a number of friction stays to suit the fabricators extensive product range. Polyframe offers 5 different profile types from its two factories in Halifax and Norwich including WHS Halo Eclipse chamfered, Esthetique sculptured and Rustique ovalo; and Rehau S706 and Edge. The reason for this, according to Chris, is to give installers more choice and the opportunity to target a wider customer base.
As for the Sinidex Handed Stay with Locators, the product is manufactured using high-grade Austenitic and Ferretic stainless steel and has a proven 30,000 cycle guarantee. The product offers improved security and weather sealing through the use of a Nylon reduced friction end cap and conforms to BS6375 Pts 1 & 2. It is available in 8 to 24” top hung, 8”, 12”,16” for side hung applications and 12”,16”,20” & 24” Restricted.
Iain Morgan, Managing Director of Cotswold concludes: “The Sinidex Handed Stay with Locators is one of our more specialist products and I am delighted Polyframe have found such great success with it over the years. It is the ideal product for any high volume manufacturer as well as offering superior performance for the end user.”
To find out more information about Cotswold visit: http://www.cotswold-windows.co.uk/