BUILDING supply chain partnerships with main contractors, fabricators, installers and architects has been a critical element of Metal Technology’s growth strategy in Scotland. And it has paid off handsomely, especially over the last two years with growth hitting the 50% mark.
The architectural aluminium systems supplier has been trading in Scotland since 1989, and today, through its network of approved fabricator / installers, works with companies including Balfour Beatty, Miller Construction, Morrison Construction, Graham, Knight Property, BAM and Robertson.
Annual installations across the UK and Ireland now exceed £90m and in Scotland, the education sector has proved especially rewarding, with recently-completed contracts including the Western Isles schools – at £2.5m installed value – the Port Glasgow shared campus for Graham and Kirkwall Grammar with Morrison. Four other school projects had a combined installation value approaching £4m for BAM Construction.
Market sectors have expanded to health projects – at Victoria and Stobhill Hospitals in Glasgow and Aberdeen Emergency Care Centre – and residential schemes include Hughenden Terrace in Glasgow and a 450-bed student accommodation block at Fountainbridge in Edinburgh. In the commercial market, the company has been successful with a combined £3.5m worth of curtain walling installations at Cityview, Prospect Park and Technip, all in Aberdeen, and the Scottish Crime Campus and Collegelands in Glasgow.
Retail business has also remained strong, with projects completed at Sainsbury’s in Darnley, Blackhall and Strathaven, and the Asda Superstore at Robroyston retail park.
Many of those projects, including a recently-secured contract for 1200 windows in Aberdeen, have come in response to investment in the development of high-performance- engineered, sustainable, window, door and curtain wall systems. A continuous research and development programme has produced and expanded the Hi + Therm-Al range of high insulation window and door systems offering very low U-values which exceed the requirements of current legislation, allowing architects to achieve excellent BREEAM ratings.
