ITW Industry

Alpine

Alpine

Alpine

ITW Offsite News

April 2012

Customer Services get the hang of it!

ITW Industry’s Customer Services get to grips with the new Cullen UH and HUH hangers. In preparation for the forthcoming Cullen UH (Universal Hanger) and HUH (Heavy Universal Hanger) launch, ITW Industry’s Customer Service team worked late into the evening to receive valuable product training from their Cullen Technical Support and Key Account Manager colleagues. Barry Meacher, Customer Service Manager at ITW Industry commented “Training is the one thing in business that you can never do too much of – often the biggest challenge is simply finding the time. Thankfully, our com...

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March 2012

ITW Industry rack up safety

ITW Industry recently invested in a £20,000 overhaul of their Cullen distribution platform at Thetford to S.E.M.A. guidelines, improving health and safety of the workers. The floor plan was redesigned with widened, re-spaced bays, which consequently resulted in 100 extra pallet spaces. The new racking has been strategically re-stocked with high volume products close to the dispatch area to accelerate picking and ship more orders. All orders are now fed to Thetford dispatch from ITW Industry HQ in Glenrothes via a new state of the art live dashboard.

The refit, overseen by Warehouse Manager Kevan Day, was coordinated o...

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March 2012

Hammer down stapling cost

ITW Industry announces the launch of the new Duo-Fast HT11 Hammer Tacker.

The competitively priced entry level mechanical stapler has been introduced to compliment ITW Industry’s comprehensive pneumatic range. Fastening 6, 8 or 10mm long staples with a 10.55mm crown, the Duo-Fast HT11 Hammer Tacker is ideal for stapling breather membrane to timber frame, furniture manufacturing and packaging on a budget.

With a large 168 staple capacity, few moving parts for easy clearing and an ergonomic design to reduce user fatigue, the HT11 Hammer Tacker will keep you working productively.

The Duo-Fast HT11 Hammer ...

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March 2012

House builders positive yet cautious

Market commentary by Tim Widdershoven, Marketing Manager at ITW Industry.Major house builders remain positive yet cautious about the house building market in 2012. House prices are currently stable and early indications in January show good visitor levels, healthy reservations and low cancelations continuing the trend from last year. They all welcome the government’s latest initiative called the “Building Indemnity Scheme” which enables new home buyers to take out a loan to value mortgage of 95%. This will enable a lot of first time buyers on good salaries with small deposits to ge...

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March 2012

RGB ready for upturn

South West builders merchant Rawle Gammon & Baker (RGB) has recently purchased a new Randek SP728 cross cut saw from ITW Industry. The new Randek saw will replace 2 existing EOT saws that were cutting timber for truss rafters, SpaceJoist and timber frame.

“In recent years we have been introducing new products into our product range including the SpaceJoist open web joist system and timber frame. Therefore we needed to renew our saw to keep up with demand,” said truss plant manager Gary Huxtable.

The semi automatic saw is linked to the Alpine VIEW truss and floor joist engineering software allowing t...

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March 2012

Southwest schools pioneer SpaceRafter

The first SpaceRafter projects are now well underway at two westcountry schools. Tymba Frame Systems of Boyton supplied Cornwall College’s St. Mellion Travel & Tourism Academy, while Stoneleigh Timber of Trowbridge fabricated 245 rafters for a large extension at the 1960’s built Matravers School in Westbury.Similar in construction to the now familiar SpaceJoist system, SpaceRafters incorporate the same metal webs between timber chords. The open web design provides deep insulation voids to increase thermal performance. Long clear spans are achievable which may eliminate intermediate load bearing walls. The Lightw...

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February 2012

SPIT i-Expert: For a concrete connection

ITW recognises that timber structures are generally reliant on a concrete substructure and that many modern structures combine both concrete and timber elements. We have therefore developed the SPIT i-Expert concrete anchor calculation software which is available for free online.

The i-Expert software calculates connections in accordance with EN 1992 Eurocode 2 : Design of concrete structures, as the ITW Fastener Calculation Software for timber connections released in 2011(available at itw-industry.com to registered members) calculates in accordance with EN 1995 Eurocode 5 : Design of timber structures...

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February 2012

Paslode IM350+ : The builder’s favourite just got better!

Renowned in the building trade as the most popular cordless nailer on the market, the Paslode IM350 is now even better! The new Paslode IM350+ framing nailer (suitable for timber framing, roofing, flooring, cladding, decking, fencing and more) boasts improvements in ease of use, durability and reliability...

Typically, working with cordless gas nailers in cold weather has previously been problematic. However new technology advances by ITW (Paslode’s parent company) enables the IM350+ to consistently drive nails at lower temperatures than before using the same Nail Fuel Packs – keeping tradesmen working e...

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January 2012

Signs of Irish construction rehab

ITW Industry customer, Smyth Roof Truss supplied approximately 3,500 roof trusses in one of Ireland’s largest construction projects in recent years. In total, sixty lorry loads of Alpine engineered roof trusses and Cullen hangers headed north from the small village of Killucan to the Newry site, just inside Northern Ireland.

Commissioned back in 2010 by Sr. Consilio, founder of the Cuan Mhuire charity, the huge rehab centre was considered by many as an outrageous project in the midst of a challenging financial climate. Nevertheless, supported by n...

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January 2012

Case Study – 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Glasgow

by Tim Widdershoven.

The Commonwealth Games will be in Glasgow in 2014. Four Scottish company’s have combined forces to deliver the £245m Athletes Village. One of the objectives of the Athletes Village is to construct the units to the predicted 2013 Scottish Buildings Regulations which aim to reduce carbon emissions by 60%.

One of these Scottish Company’s, CCG (Scotland) Ltd, based in Glasgow, will, in conjunction with their specialist “Off Site Manufacturing” Division, CCG (OSM) Ltd, provide 237 of the houses required. The houses will all comprise of timber frame closed panels, SpaceJo...

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December 2011

ITW Acquires Gang-Nail Systems and International Truss Systems

ITW Announcement:ITW Acquires Gang-Nail Systems and International Truss Systems Glenview, Illinois – (December 16, 2011) – Illinois Tool Works Inc (NYSE: ITW) announced today that it has acquired the Gang-Nail business and assets from both Gang-Nail Systems Ltd. (Gang-Nail) based in the United Kingdom and International Truss Systems Pty Ltd (ITS) based in South Africa. Gang-Nail and ITS are leading suppliers of steel connector plates and related products, equipment and software to the timber prefabric...

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December 2011

Alpine strength in numbers

ITW Industry dedicates two additional colleagues to drive Alpine forward.

Mick Kelly has been promoted with the responsibility of moving the Alpine brand forward – spearheading the full product offer and overseeing the Field Technical Managers, Alpine Software Development and Alpine Technical Support departments. Mick looks forward to leading Alpine product development for 2012, including the forthcoming launch of SpaceRafter. “Mick’s proven success in his previous role heading hsbCAD’s UK operation made him the perfect candidate to continue to drive Alpine forwar...

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December 2011

Rigged for innovation

At ITW Industry, we have further demonstrated our commitment to product innovation with the installation of a new testing rig at their Glenrothes based industrial facility. The £54K rig supplied by material testing equipment manufacturer and fellow ITW company, Instron, has been put to good use since its installation in August 2011. The soon to be launched Cullen UH (Universal Hanger) will be the first product out of the new facility with others, currently under wraps, to follow. To compliment the rig, a 40ft timber conditioning chamber has also been installed to prepare timber before testing with our products...

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November 2011

Cullen accommodates new Steico I-Joist sizes

ITW Industry have expanded three Cullen I-Joist connector ranges in response to recent developments in the market. This ensures new I-Joist products are supported with appropriate connector ancillaries. New sizes of the Cullen I-Clip, Gripper (GR) and High Load (HI) Hanger have been introduced to meet demand following Steico’s plan to phase out of their 45mm deep solid timber flanged joists in favour of 39mm LVL.

The new HI hanger and I-Clip sizes incorporate the same backerless design feature as the rest of their rang...

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November 2011

Thomas Armstrong win £2m contract

Last year, Thomas Armstrong (Construction) Limited of Cumbria won the tender to construct a £2m timber frame sheltered housing project close to Egremont town centre for housing developer, Home Group. The Ehen Court three storey development will consist of 22 modern two bedroom flats designed for over 55s to rent, with a communal lounge and an office with a scheme manager service. Works began in January 2011 and is targeted for completion in approximately one year.

Thomas Armstrong (Timber) Limited are responsible for the design and build of the Timber Frame aspect of the project. Using the dynamic link...

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November 2011

Powered drywall fixing combines speed & quality

Following the Duo-Fast pneumatic KD665RN screw/nailer re-launch success as the fastest method of fastening plasterboard and dense gypsum board, ITW Industry’s range has extended to a complete fastening system programme for such boards. In addition to coil collated drywall screws for the KD665RN (which are driven like a nail) where a removable fixing is preferred, an electric powered range is also now available in the UK.

Two new Duo-Fast autofeeds are available for 25-55mm or 32-75mm long screws – the latter supplied with an extension allowing standing operation for fastening flooring with speed and comfort. Bot...

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November 2011

The best masonry hanger on the market!

ITW Industry’s new Cullen JHI masonry hanger range is now more concise, more manageable and offers a 20% improvement in structural performance over its “JH” and “JHI” predecessors (for 39 to 100mm wide hangers on 7.0 N/mm² blockwork).

Although the economy remains difficult, ITW Industry recognise that investment in improving product quality and value is more important to their customers than ever. This positive philosophy was behind the £100,000 investment in re-engineering and Ceram Research’s independent testing of the new Cullen JHI range.

The total range has been re...

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October 2011

TTJ Awards recognise SpaceStud achievement

The Alpine SpaceStud system for thermal performance in walls was recognised by the Timber Trade Journal (TTJ) as a finalist at their 15th annual industry awards evening in September 2011. Shortlisted for the “Achievement in Engineered Timber” award, the SpaceStud system is designed to create wider studs than can be achieved in readily available timber sizes – allowing for more insulation to meet code level 4 and greater in the Code for Sustainable Homes.TV presenter and property developer, Sarah Beeney, hosted the evening which was held at a new venue – The Grand Hall in the Grand Conna...

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October 2011

Southern Timber Frame host charity golf day

Southampton based ITW Industry customer, Southern Timber Frame (STF), hosted their first charity “F.A.B Golf Day Challenge” at Paultons Golf Course on Saturday 30th July 2011. Thirty-five entrants enjoyed 9 holes in the morning followed by 18 in the afternoon. Prizes were awarded to the overall winner, runner up, third place, nearest to the pin (holes 9 & 15) and longest drive (holes 7 & 16). The event was a resounding success, with raffles and auctions helping to raise £1680 for the Macmillan Cancer Support, Rose Road Association and Naomi House.The Golf Day was the...

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October 2011

"The Living Room" wins gold!

“The Living Room” garden featuring seven attic trusses supplied by ITW Industry (Alpine) customer, Walker Nene of Cambridgeshire, won a Gold Medal at the 130th annual Sandringham Flower Show. Held at the end of July, the show was attended by 20,000 visitors including the Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.The winning design by Thistlefield Plants & Design, a small nursery run by a husband and wife team, incorporated the attic trusses with a living roof of Yarrow (“Achille...

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September 2011

ITW Instinct micro site - facebook exclusive!

Officially launched by ITW Industry at Ecobuild 2011, the ITW Instinct Residential Design System eliminates the laborious practice of redrawing the building envelope - typically 5 to 7 times per building design. Architects, designers, engineers, estimators and managers collaborate data to a shared Building Information Model (BIM), keeping all parties up to date with latest revisions. BIM massively improves project coordination, reduces errors, identifies construction safety hazards at the design stage and ultimately saves money!The UK Government has demonstrated its intention for 3D BIM with its ...

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September 2011

Free marketing support helps in difficult times

At ITW Industry, we understand that the success of our customers leads to our own growth – and in these difficult economic times it’s important for companies to proactively market themselves and their products. To this end, we offer our customers the graphic design services of our marketing department free of charge. Recent customers to benefit are Nuneaton Roof Trusses Limited (NRTL) and Walker Nene. NRTL approached the system supplier with a budget of £5000 to rebrand their family business. The brief was to portray the professionalism and expertise that NRTL had developed o...

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September 2011

OFP Timber Frame responds to DIY SOS

OFP Timber Frame came to the rescue in BBC1’s DIY SOS programme which aired on Tuesday 9th August 2011, when they built a timber frame extension as part of an overhaul on a dilapidated 1940s prefab house. Show presenter Nick Knowles and his team were transforming the house in Dartford for single mother Louise and autistic son Thomas.

Kent based OFP designed and erected a 7x5m extension to house a new kitchen. The flat roof featured Alpine SpaceJoist open metal web joists, a system that OFP have been manufacturing since the beginning of the year. This part of the build, with OFP’s open panel pre-insulated...

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September 2011

Drives like nail, grips like a screw

ITW Industry announces the launch of our Trallex fastening system which combines the benefits of fast pneumatic nailing with the removability of a screw. The fastener’s unique thread is designed to minimise damage to timber as it is driven. Once installed, the timber relaxes back round Trallex screw thread to provide a strong grip while providing the option of removing and even re-inserting like a screw.The Trallex fasteners are collated on the reliable, time proven Duo-Fast plastic coil in quantities of up to 325 fasteners per coil, allowing long intervals between re-loading down time. The fasteners are installed using t...

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September 2011

SIPS products for increased productivity

Recognising that Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) are here to stay, at ITW Industry we have committed 18 months of intensive R&D to developing a comprehensive product offer specifically for SIPS manufacturers to aid the design, manufacture and construction on site.

The broad and varied SIPS product range includes Cullen connectors & FastenMaster anchors, SPIT concrete fixings & Powder Actuated Tools (PAT), Alpine open web joists and ITW Instinct Residential Design System Building Information Model (BIM) software.

A considerable proportion of the research and dev...

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August 2011

New literature

In recent months we have completed several pieces of marketing and technical literature. All are available online. Below are links to each with a brief overview...ITW Industry SIPS Product Range bookletWithin the SIPS Product Range booklet, we have compiled all our SIPS product offers in one handy document. The booklet covers Cullen connectors, SPIT screws, Alpine open web floors and the ITW Instinct Residential Design System (BIM software solution)....

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August 2011

A better VIEW

ITW Industry’s Alpine VIEW software will have a new and improved user interface in the next release to make it more user friendly. With a new floating/dockable tool window system and the ability to add or remove tools, there will be more ways to customise your workspace to optimise work flow to suit your specific way of working. Design office managers will be able to control the tools available to individual users, allowing them to switch off engineering functions for newly trained users for example. From an aesthetic point of view, the look is ...

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July 2011

Randek revolutionise truss production

Randek’s fully automated production line, the Auto Eye Truss SF022 System, is a leap forward in roof truss manufacturing. With Beckhoff’s servo-motors and control system, roof trusses are produced every 81 seconds! Based in Falkenberg, Sweden, Randek is a long established world leader in production line machinery for offsite house production. “Product development and innovation are key to our work. Through learning the situation of the customer we can more easily understand their needs and then translate our knowledge into standardised industrial sol...

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July 2011

SpaceStud now in hsbCAD

ITW Industry’s software developers have been working hard on the ITW Instinct Residential Design System with its integrated links between software components. The Alpine SpaceStud wall stud system now features in our hsbCAD design software for offsite construction. hsbCAD models each stud complete with associated cutting and estimating data. CCG and Ochil Timber Products are the first to take advantage of the link as reported on the ITW Offsite News issue 6 cover story. For more information on SpaceStud design in hsbCAD, call Mick Kell...

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July 2011

History of SPIT

Founded in 1951 in Valence, Southern France SPIT started out as a producer of Powder Actuated Tools (PAT) and Fasteners, pioneering the development of tools that needed no external power source to fix to concrete or steel. PAT remains a central part of the business today, along with gas powered tools. By the late 1950s SPIT had also become a leader in the manufacture of mechanical anchors for making structural attachments to concrete. In 1987 SPIT was acquired by the ITW (Illinois Tool Works) group. At the same time, the group acquired Paslode, with its complementary tools and fasteners for wood. This e...

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July 2011

Paslode ProScrew

Developed by ITW company - NKT Fasteners in Denmark, the Paslode ProScrew is now available in the UK. The patented Quattro thread cuts through most woods quickly and easily while providing high withdrawal resistance - ideal where higher loads need to be transferred. The Profpoint cutting tip eliminates the need for pilot holes, saving time. It is also one of the first wood screws in Europe to be CE marked, allowing it to be used in engineering buildings to the new Eurocode 5 – Design of Timber Structures. The ProScrew is available with a standard zinc plating or a C...

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July 2011

Innovative modular building springs to life

Unite Modular Solutions Ltd have completed work on one of the most technically challenging volumetric modular buildings in the UK that is already benefiting over 450 students in north London. Using volumetric modular construction (the fast-track design and factory manufacture of modular units that are then joined together on site), Woodland Court in Islington is a building with a structural integrity deriving almost entirely from the modules themselves, which enabled the manufacture and construction of the entire building. With over 15 different types of kitchens and bedrooms, th...

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July 2011

ITW Fastener Software updates

In July 2010, the ITW Fastener Calculation Software was first released in the UK to provide a method for engineers and end users to assess the comparative capabilities of Paslode, Duo-Fast and Haubold branded nails and staples for structural applications. This was the first software of its kind to follow the Eurocode 5 rules on such calculations. A new release of this software features two major improvements; CE marking and the addition of our screw range. Paslode ProScrew and other screws suitable for structural applications are now included in the databank for the new release. ...

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July 2011

OFP roll out SpaceJoist

New SpaceJoist manufacturer, OFP Timber Framed Homes have reported great success since taking on the system.Their first open web joist project since the installation of a purpose built press was at Bridleside, in Bromley, Kent. It was a masonry project where OFP manufactured the floors in a supply only capacity, allowing their client to install the SpaceJoists themselves. The client reported extreme satisfaction with the quality.OFP’s second SpaceJoist project was Papas Restaurant in Ditton, Kent. OFP managed to turn this project around on a very tight schedule. Once again, the client was delighted with the en...

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July 2011

ITW Industry welcomes new customers

Established Newport based timber merchant, Monmouthshire Timber, branched out into roof truss manufacturing with the opening of their new truss plant operating with the Alpine system in December 2010. Mike Thomas, Truss Plant Manager, explains - “We made the decision to switch to ITW Industry’s Alpine roof truss system because I knew the caliber of the staff and the quality of the products”www.montimber.co.ukExisting Cullen customer, Target Timber Systems, have switched to our pneumatic nailing systems. Target pride themselves on the pr...

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July 2011

ITW Instinct Residential Design System launch

Roof truss and open web joist manufacturer, Ochil Timber Products Ltd, have partnered timber frame kit supplier, CCG, to become the first companies to take advantage of the ITW Instinct Residential Design System in the UK. Officially launched by ITW Industry at Ecobuild, Instinct is the most comprehensive Building Information Model (BIM) solution on the market. Architects, designers, engineers, estimators and managers contribute data to the BIM, eliminating laborious multiple input of data and keeping all parties up to date with latest revisions.

In this case study, the process starts with CCG...

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July 2011

hK² win an IM90i

Last year we conducted a market research exercise on collated screw systems with the plan to develop a system of our own to meet the needs of our customers and the market in general.To help us gather vital information, we asked customers to fill out a questionnaire on collated screws for the chance of winning a new Paslode IM90i tool worth over £700! Andy Kennedy of hK² was drawn as the winner who said “it is a very popular tool. I will need to hide it from the lads in the factory as they all want first use!”. Mike Maltby presented him with the tool in February.

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July 2011

Ecobuild 2011 review

EcoBuild was our first exhibition and we didn’t start small. Our 70 square metre stand space was split in half with a 2 story house on one side and a product exhibition on the other side. The 2 story house allowed specifiers, builders, contractors and manufacturers to go inside and see how the various products fitted together and allow for insulation and services. Visitors could not walk past without stopping and looking up to see the complete structure and it really stood out from the other exhibits.The SpaceRafter roof cassette system generated a huge amount of interest with self builders, architects and bui...

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