Through a highly valued partnership with Biocote^®, Polypipe Building Products have now extended its product offering far beyond what is currently available on the market by launching the world’s first antimicrobial drainage solution.

This includes our ABS solvent weld, push-fit and compression waste pipe and fittings, our traps and our Pan Connectors, which now all include BioCote^® antimicrobial technology.

Benefits of integrating BioCote^® Antimicrobial Technology

From a microbiological point of view, what’s happening beyond the sink drain has proven to be of considerable importance.

Polypipe products containing Biocote^® have been independently proven to reduce over 99% of microbes. Benefits of this include:

• Extends the lifetime of products - By preventing microbes such as mould that can cause material degradation from negatively impacting product performance

• Reduces smells and blockages - Biocote^® protects against bacteria and mould that can cause foul odours and blockages within waste system

• More hygienic - Biocote^® technology consistently acts to prevent the accumulation of bacteria in the waste system

• Provides permanent protection - Integrated during the manufacturing stage, Biocote^® doesn’t wash away or wear off

BioCote^® Technology supported by real life data

BioCote^® protected Polypipe products are supported by regular and robust quality control testing data, however they don’t just perform in the laboratory, they also perform in real life.

Two near-identical waste traps were selected for testing in a study designed to simulate real life conditions. The traps were made from the same material apart from a key difference: one trap was a product made by Polypipe, protected by Biocote^®, and the other was unprotected. The selected sample images below show the results from swabbing the traps after subjecting them to contamination in situ.

The BioCote^® protected traps demonstrated remarkable antimicrobial efficacy that is clearly visible in the images below:

Unprotected Trap

Polypipe Trap with Biocote Technology

Polypipe protected products containing this antimicrobial technology can reduce microbes on the surface by over 80% in as little as 15 minutes. Biocote^® works constantly against contaminating microbes, providing Polypipe products with lasting protection that has been proven to perform for up to 25 years.

You can find out more about Biocote^® via their website or our brand new Above Ground Technical Installation Guide.

Polypipe Underfloor Heating is once again exhibiting at Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the London Excel and this year sees us as headline sponsor of the event.

If you are looking to start on or are midway through your own housing project, you can find out more about our products, systems and design service by visiting our team on stand G137 at the show.

Also with us on stand are Surestop Limited, who are also part of Polypipe Group, who are promoting their range of Stopcocks including their brand new i-water control system.

We are further joined by the team from Trading Depot on Friday and Saturday who are on hand to also talk Underfloor Heating with you. Trading Depot are a stockist of Polypipe Underfloor Heating.

Whether you are at the show or not, you can enter our competition for a chance to win £3000 worth of Polypipe Underfloor Heating, £700 worth of our Smart Controls or a Google Home Smart Speaker here.

Earlier in the year we shared with you that Polypipe Regional Sales Manager Gary Foord, together with a team of other keen cyclists, was due to take part in the Challenge Adventure Charities 2019 Mont Ventoux challenge.

Well the team, (including Keith Driscoll from Wolseley UK, David Right from Right Gas and Paul Needham from Hi Tec Heating) have now successfully completed the challenge so far raising £2353 for charity!

Gary kept us up to date with the team’s progress during the challenge. You can follow their journey via the diary entries below.

It is not too late to donate!

 

If you can spare any change at all the proceeds will be going to the Challenge Adventure Charities and our corporate charity partner Help for Heroes. You can find their just giving page here.

Day One

So here we go! #TeamPolypipe ready to roll in the CAC 2019 Challenge.

184 miles on pretty flat smooth roads. Around 45 miles each at considerable pace.

Light rain in the morning and brightening up later afternoon.

  Day Two

Today is 213 miles.

130 miles covered that was pretty flat with great riding along the Loire, and then not far from starting to climb!

Dave seems to have started a new fashion statement! 

Day 2 smashed! 213 miles in the bag and climbs towards the end ready for tomorrow in Le Cols.

Day Three

Today’s ride is 191 miles and is all about the climbing! Through the valleys and up Le Cols - although some of the routes were closed due to resurfacing. However a day of over 3,000 metres of climbing, poor Paul (or should I say lucky?) managed just over 100 metres!

Three days done only a mountain left!

Our group photo by the fire the start of a calendar?

"Happy Christmas with love from #TeamPolypipe."

Day Four

So, that’s that! Up and down the brute that is Mont Ventoux. Conditions at the top were grim, with wind chill meaning temperature felt like -3 deg and a 70 mph wind meant any team celebrations weren’t possible as no one was going to hang around.

An amazing few days with a great team, thanks guys and all the efforts of all involved at CAC especially the Marshalls. A massive thank you to all of you that sponsored us - the sale of socks on their own raised over £400!

Did you know that in the last 20 years, almost 40,000 men and women have had to leave the Armed Forces due to injury or illness? Every day, this number grows, with an average of seven people being medically discharged everyday since drawdown from Iraq.

With this in mind Help for Heroes, the charity partner of Polypipe Building Products, has launched their 40,000 strong campaign to highlight the thousands of ex-service men and women who are discharged and fall through the gaps in the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) support.

Seventy percent say their transition to civilian life was a negative experience.* That’s why Help for Heroes have created their 40,000 Strong model force to help show the true scale of those who have put their lives on the line for us.

Find out more about the campaign here.

You can donate to receive your very own boxed figure from their 40,000 Strong exhibition here.

*Anonymous online survey of 403 beneficiaries commissioned by Help for Heroes between 19^th-30^th August 2019.

Find out more about Richard Maycock, a Junior Underfloor Heating Estimator at Polypipe Building Products.

You are currently studying alongside your job role at Polypipe, what course is it that you are studying?

I'm currently studying for a HNC At Rotherham college in construction in the built environment - site management.

What’s something you wanted to do when you were younger?

Quantity surveying.

Favourite subject in school, and why?

PE or Maths. PE, I used to love the physical activity and Mathematics, I feel was the one subject that I clicked with and advancing through the levels was fulfilling.

Why is offering apprenticeships and training good for companies?

- Investing in people is good for many reasons such as; loyalty to the firm that you work. I think this motivates you, which helps increase productivity and therefore office morale.

- Financial subsidies from the government.

- Knowledge can be brought back from the college into the office which doesn’t only benefit the apprentice but everyone surrounding them - the apprentice can potentially teach senior members of staff the new material.

- Future preparing - when the senior members are looking to move on/retire there will be a qualified and experienced member of staff ready to pick up their job.

Why was a HNC right for you?

University wasn’t the lifestyle that I wanted to live however with a HNC, I can work hard and reap the benefits. Upon completion of the course I’ll have experience and the right qualification in the field that I want to go into. The opportunity to learn as you work is priceless in my opinion because gaining a degree for a job that you’ve never done before or had experience in could mean you’ve wasted 4 years at uni studying for something that you don’t enjoy doing but with an apprenticeship/HNC it’s the opposite, you are learning for the job that you know you enjoy.

What’s some advice you’d give to young people thinking about doing an apprenticeship/HNC qualification?

Consider your strengths and weaknesses, what you enjoy and what you’re good at. By establishing this common ground you can look into a sector suited to you. At 18 not many people know exactly what they want to do but as soon as you know the direction that you want to head in, an apprenticeship or HNC is perfect because opportunities will come up and you can take the right route for yourself.

How did you find out about Polypipe?

I found Polypipe when I was browsing estimator/QS apprenticeships. I saw the postition so I had a look into the company, I found out that Polypipe has earned awards for investing in people which instantly took my interest. After further reading on the job spec and Polypipe website I decided to apply.

What is your general role at Polypipe?

Underfloor heating technical estimator apprentice, Designing UFH positioning and providing cost estimations predominantly on a domestic scale.

What’s something you do every day at Polypipe?

Morning meetings daily to discuss workload, management briefings and important matters in order to have good communication within the office. Using CAD systems to provide estimations to customers and as Junior, every day I’m learning new ways to become more productive and improve my knowledge.

What has been your most notable experience at Polypipe so far?

The most notable experience so far has been undertaking the 2 day BPEC underfloor heating installation course at the professional development centre at the Kirk Sandall site. The course provided me with an essential basic knowledge on underfloor heating which I’ve implemented every day since - understanding how the system works is much more useful than just seeing it on a computer screen.

What keeps you busy at the weekends?

My girlfriend takes up a lot of time, Sheffield United FC and socialising with friends.

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?

Canery Islands or Beleric Islands

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us?

I use mayo instead of butter on my sandwiches.

Polypipe Building Products Acoustic Soil System combines the familiarity and advantages of standard ring seal soil systems, with proven enhanced acoustic performance. Our range of socketed pipe and ring seal fittings in combination with vibration damping brackets ensures that the system not only meets but surpasses current building regulations requirements for sound insulation.

Our Acoustic Soil pipe is manufactured with a hydraulically smooth inner surface, which allows for a continuous smooth flow of water, reducing sound emissions. The system comes complete with a range of acoustically engineered fittings to ensure fast and easy drainage installations for soil and rainwater applications.

The Benefits

• Excellent sound insulation 12 dB(A) at flow rate 2l/s*
• Elevated impact resistance
• Resistance to a wide range of chemical agents at high temperatures
• Easy to install
• LABC Approved

*Test EN 14366 / DIN 4109

Polypipe Building Products Acoustic Soil is suitable for all gravity waste water pipes in accordance with DIN EN 12056 and DIN 1986-100. Pipes and fittings consist of mineral-reinforced polypropylene, which as well as offering impressive acoustic properties also offers improved temperature properties versus standard PVC soil systems.

The consistently thick-walled pipes and fittings meet the raised requirements of Sound Insulation Class III of DIN 4109 / VDI 4100. Just as with all synthetic materials, Polypipe Building Products Acoustic Soil is corrosion-proof, long lasting and resistant to chemically aggressive waste water in the range of pH 2 to pH 12. The smooth inner surfaces and high degree of resistance to abrasion make sure that no deposits develop and this, in turn, ensures that the pipes can be reliably operated for a very long time.

Sound Insulation

Tests conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute in accordance with DIN EN 14366 confirmed the excellent sound insulation properties and the maximum Sound Insulation Class III requirements. It has been proven for many years now that thickwalled pipe systems with very high molecular weight minerals have excellent sound insulation properties. The high density of 1.6 g/cm3 (+/- 0,05) contributes to the absorption of sound which is transmitted by air and conducted by solids.

The sources of noise in building service installations are:

• Filling noises
• Intake noises
• Noises from fittings
• Draining noises
• Impact noises

Find out more about our Soil range here.

Polypipe Building Products have recently entered into a sponsorship of one of British boxing’s rising stars, Terri Harper, in a joint sponsorship deal with Plumbase.

IBO Super Featherweight World Champion Terri Harper originates in Denaby, South Yorkshire which is just a short distance from Plumbase’s Sheffield branch and Polypipe’s Doncaster Head office. Having been proposed by Plumbase’s Sheffield branch manager, Steve Doran – a close family friend of Terri Harper – the sponsorship will see the businesses help to secure Harper’s status as one of the UK’s most promising professional athletes.

On her latest sponsorship deal, Terri said, 

“It means a huge amount to receive the backing of two local businesses. Athletes in most sports would dream of the kind of support I’ve already been given by Plumbase and Polypipe, and I count myself as being very lucky to be backed by businesses with such strong roots in my home county. Thanks to their support, I can focus on training and becoming the best boxer I can be.”

Tariq Ahmad, Sales Director at Polypipe said,

 “We’re a proud Yorkshire business and jumped at the chance to sponsor one of our region’s rising stars. The year ahead promises to be massive for Terri, and we’ll be looking to help her rise to the top in every way we can.”

Mark Bradley, Managing Director at Plumbase, added,

“We want to help everyone we work with to fulfil their potential and our sponsorship of Terri is testament to that. We’re urging as many people as possible from the heating and plumbing industry to give Terri the backing she deserves, as she bids to become one of British sport’s household names.”

Terri 'Belter' Harper defended her world title aganst Viviane Obenauf last weekend at Manchester Arena in her first outing under the Matchroom Boxing banner.

Polypipe Building Products are proud to sponsor Terri in a joint sponsorship deal with Plumbase, and were there on the night to show our support.

Shortly before the event we launched a competition where one lucky tradesperson could win 2 VIP tickets to ringside seats at the event. The winner of the competition was Dennis Hollingworth of Hollingworth Heating and Plumbing Ltd. He chose to take with him Mark Smith, who is also a fellow tradesperson. Both were hosted on the night by Polypipe Area Sales Manager, Michael Lalor.

Mark and Dennis ringside at the Manchester Arena.

The scorecards from the match were 99-91, 99-92, 97-93 with a dominant perfomance from Terri. Obenauf proved resiliant but Terri stuck to her gameplan and marked her 23rd birthday in style, holding onto her IBO Super Featherweight title.

Whilst waiting on the result, the arena belted out a rendition of Happy Birthday as it was Terri's 23rd Birthday on the day.

After the match, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Terri's next fight will be against Eva Whalstrom for the @WBCBoxing world title in February 2020.  

Terri's trainer Stefy Bull, and Terri chat to Sky Sports after her win.

A massive congratultions to Terri from everybody at #TeamPolypipe. We are very #proudtosupport and wish her the best of luck for the next fight.

Polypipe Building Products today celebrated with some of our staff who have successfully completed courses in English and Maths at various levels.

The team have put in the hours outside of work in order to undertake this training and on behalf of everyone at Team Polypipe we would like to congratulate them in their efforts.

Their certificates were presented to them today by Steve Nevins, Supply Chain Director at Polypipe Building Products.

Our warehouses and offices will be closed from 5pm Monday 23rd December 2019 and will reopen on Thursday 2nd January 2020. No loading of vehicles, collections or carriers can be accommodated during this period.

Our anticipated delivery schedules are:

Merchant stock deliveries *** PLEASE ENSURE your Goods Inwards are in a position to take delivery***

• Orders placed up to the 18^th December 2019 will be delivered up to 23^rd December 2019
• Orders placed between 18^th and 23^rd December 2019 will be delivered on the 2^nd and 3^rd January 2020
• Orders placed after the 23^rd December 2019 will be delivered week commencing the 6^th January 2020

Site Deliveries*** PLEASE ENSURE Sites are in a position to take delivery***

• Orders placed up to the 13^th December will be delivered between 16^th and 20th December 2019
• Orders placed after the 13^th December 2019 will be delivered week commencing 6th January 2019

Collections

• Pre-booked collections will be available until 2pm on Friday 20th December 2019 and will recommence Thursday 2^nd January 2020

Carriers

• Will finish on Thursday 18^th December 2019 and recommence on Thursday 2nd January 2020

BP Hub

• Any orders placed through the BP Hub after 20^th December 2019 will not be processed until Thusday 2^nd January 2020

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

When Yorkshire developer Erris Homes needed to add a final touch of style to their flagship Sheffield housing project they opted for the Elegance Colour rainwater range from Polypipe.

The homes designed at Orchard Croft use high pitched roofs, meaning that water from rainfall can enter a guttering system at a much higher flow rate. The Elegance Colour range of robust guttering and downpipe fittings and fixtures offered the developer a high performance system that provides sufficient capacity for the efficient disposal of heavy rainfall, flowing from a high pitched roof.

In addition, all Elegance Colour systems, available in square and sovereign profiles feature PVCu fascia brackets, top and side rafter brackets, and rise and fall brackets in galvanized metal to provide excellent support to the guttering system year upon year, which meet BS EN 12056-3: 2000 Roof Drainage recommendations.

Erris Homes chose a cast iron black from the Heritage range of colours available through Elegance to match the key features of the homes including doors and window frames.

Polypipe, which has worked with Erris Homes at a previous site in Leeds, also supplied technical support service from the sales and technical teams throughout the project.

Scott Leather, Commercial and Technical Director, Erris Homes, said:

“This is our first development in Sheffield and as such, quality is paramount when you’re hoping to successfully establish a brand in a new area.  We are launching another new development in Sheffield and word of mouth among home buyers is so important in an industry like ours.  It was our hope that the quality of our homes, which is supported by Polypipe’s products, including their striking rainwater systems would be a key feature in supporting sales. This has proved successful as we only have one remaining property left to sell on the development.”

As well as the guttering and downpipe systems, Erris Homes also decided upon Polypipe for below-ground drainage and components for heating systems in their 14-home Orchard Croft development in High Green.

As we near the end of 2019, we thought this would be the perfect time to roundup our fundraising activities from throughout the year, which have all been held in support of our charity partner Help for Heroes.

At the start of the year Peter Fletcher, Divisional Sales Director - Polypipe Residential Systems, collected the cheque from First Event UK from monies raised during a Polypipe trip to Saigon for customers.

Following this, towards the end of January, Help for Heroes launched their #CutTheClock campaign which aimed to ask the nation to call time on the Stigma holding veterans back from getting the help that they need. There was a big social media push on this with their kick-off event seeing their logo's beamed onto the Tower of London and we were happy to support this accross our social media channels.

Throughout the entirety of 2019, we have continued to donate 79p from the sale of each of our WP46 bottle trap to Help for Heroes.

In March, Regional Sales Manager Gary Foord got the final figures raised from the 2018 Annency Challenge which he took part in along with a team from Wolseley UK.

In May, we were on hand to support Help for Heroes with their fundraising at the Doncaster leg of Le Tour De Yorkshire. It was a great morning with their team and other Help for Heroes fundraisers, and fantastic to see Doncaster host the start of Stage One of the now-annual race.

The end of May saw our Underfloor Heating technical office start their training for the Simply Health Great North Run. Dubbed ‘The Polypipe Wolf Pack’ the team raised a fantastic £1233.79 for the charity. 

In June it was time for a Polypipe favourite… Bake for Heroes. Staff across our 3 Doncaster sites got firmly on board baking some tasty treats.

July and August saw Polypipe Charity golf days taking place at Bishop Auckland and Glenbervie Golf Club with merchant staff and customers in attendance.

August also saw some trade events promoting our traps range to customers, including of course the Help for Heroes endorsed WP46.

The start of September meant it was time for the 21st Annual Polypipe Regatta held at Port Solent in Portsmouth. The annual event saw some Help for Heroes beneficiaries attend once again with around £8000 raised from the event.

It was inspiring to hear from Jon Giemza-Pipe at the event who is a Help for Heroes Ambassador. He spoke to attendees about his recovery and experiences with the charity.

October saw Regional Sales Manager Gary Foord set off on another Challenge Adventure Charities Challenge– this time cycling to Mont Ventoux in France. The team covered 620 miles during the challenge raising £2353 for Help for Heroes.

In November we were proud to support the Help for Heroes 40,000 strong campaign. Each figure from the campaign represents one of almost 40,000 people who’ve been discharged from the military for medical reasons in the last twenty years. Donations from the campaign allow Help for Heroes to help real-life wounded veterans, whose lives have been derailed by injury, to stand strong.

Finally, in December, when we were putting together our annual Christmas giveaways for social media, Help for Heroes seemed like a brilliant choice for merchandise to include. Bundles were put together with a Help for Heroes Calendar and Mug, meaning a donation had been made to the Help for Heroes store online in the name of our winners, with all profits going to Help for Heroes.

Polypipe Building Products are very proud to support Help for Heroes and look forward to our fundraising efforts in 2020!