Double win for Catnic Tata Steel Innovation Awards

Catnic was delighted to receive it's highly commended recognition at last year’s Tata Steel Innovation Awards in the Chris Elliot category, which highlights incredible innovation and collaboration.

The recognition was for Catnic’s energy efficient Thermally Broken Lintel, which is the best performing lintel on the market in terms of both thermal and structural performance.

It is a unique design and no other lintel currently available provides a complete thermal break between the inner and outer leaf.

Richard Price, Technical Director, Catnic, said: “Traditional lintels bridge the insulated cavity of the wall, providing a path for heat to flow from inside the house to the outside.

The project was led by the Catnic development team, but would not have been possible without support and intervention from manufacturing, quality, procurement, engineering, technical and sales.

“Our product overcomes this by completely removing the thermal bridge. The lintel comprises two separate steel sections bonded to a high density expanded polystyrene (EPS) core.

“The EPS core reduces heat flow at a window head by 95% compared to an existing lintel. The core is also critical in holding the lintel together, providing structural stability during the construction phase where it is subject to unrestrained loads.”

Richard said: “Initial protypes were produced and assessed by our development team, looking at different designs, including different adhesives and insulation types. Procurement brought in suppliers to help advise on what options we could try and how best to evaluate them.

“And working with sales, we took our proposals to our large house builder customers for feedback, where we decided to move forward and invest in
a new bespoke patented manufacturing line.

“Engineering worked with the production line supplier, to help develop a very wide range of different thermally broken lintels and to determine a stock profile and to lay down stock.

“The success hinged on collaboration and is an example of our one company’ ethos. My thanks to everyone involved for their time, commitment and passion.”

“Based on previous sales of existing lintels, Catnic expect sales to keep increasing to about 25,000m per week and when the housing market returns to previous levels, sales will increase to over 30,000m or 300 tonnes per month.

Catnic also received a second award for it was lucrative product SolarSeam that was joint winner in the Making Connections category.

Jo Ingham, Sustainability and Product Marketing Manager, said: “With homeowners now going greener at a faster pace, a replacement or new roof installation is the perfect opportunity to harness the power of the sun with the installation of solar panels.

“We did not have a total business offering to take advantage of this market, but we have supplied Catnic Urban to building projects such as the Active House, Active Classroom and Active Office at Swansea University, which had the integrated solar laminate supplied by a company called BiPVco.

“Homeowners have been able to buy a Catnic Urban roof and the BiPVco CIGS solar panel separately for several years, but not as a total package as it was not a viable option for either company.

“But with advancements in building regulations, and increasing electricity costs, this has now changed. So, we started to work closely with BiPVco to look for a solution that is both viable and improves the offering to homeowners.”

The lightweight solar panels are laminated directly onto the Catnic Urban standing seam profiles, so there is no requirement for framework to support the modules, allowing them to blend seamlessly with the roof – a much desired attribute.

Jo added: “The result of a great working relationship was the birth of SolarSeam, and we are the first homegrown manufacturers in the country to offer standing seam roofing contractors a simple means of taking advantage of the growing solar panel market for residential roofs.

“And it was a great piece of recognition from the Innovation Awards, it reinforces the successful connection made with BiPVco, and the SolarSeam offering that is making waves in the marketplace.”