With neo smart-slide ticking all the boxes for use in architecturally driven spaces, systems house, aluplast, says the product’s lower U-vales and lower cost translate to higher margins for its fabricator and installer customers.
When it comes to windows and doors, the ‘bigger is better’ mentality continues to dominate high-end home improvements and the wider built environment.
Fuelled, in part, by the ‘Grand Designs’ effect, the desire for expansive glazed areas that boost wellbeing by allowing more daylight into a property, better connecting the indoors and outdoors and maximising views, remains strong.
With sliding doors spanning large apertures increasingly specified to reflect this trend, aluplast’s neo smart-slide is, as its name suggests, a smart option, especially for top-end residential projects that require more than just good looks.
Aluplast neo smart-slide is capable of meeting Passive House standards. It can also accommodate units of up to 54mm, with U-values as low as 0.57W/m2K; a big draw for the architectural space.
“Advances in PVC-U system technology mean that aluplast neo smart-slide offers next-level thermal performance for large spans,” explains aluplast’s Ian Cocken.
“Combine that with contemporary, minimalist design; slim sightlines that maximise the glazed area; premium finish options; and top-class hardware for added appeal, and you’ve got highly desirable product, that looks as good as it performs.
“These things give PVC-U fabricators and installers a credible and cost-effective proposition for architecturally driven spaces that, traditionally, would have been the remit of the aluminium sector, and this translates to valuable profit margin for them,” he adds.
Capable of achieving heights up to 2.5m and spans of 6m with just two panels in total, one fixed and one sliding, neo smart-slide can be specified in a range of 40 colours. This includes aluplast’s popular range of life-like woodec and aludec foils, for stylish, high-end aesthetics that match those delivered by true timber or aluminium products.
“Our aludec foil, for example, is available textured or smooth to the touch, in a range of classic aluminium colours including the ever-popular Anthracite Grey,” explains Ian. “These things combine to replicate the appearance and physical feel of aluminium so closely, it actually beggars belief,” he adds.
“In fact, end-users will be hard pushed to tell the difference between a sliding door finished with aludec, and a genuine aluminium sliding door. But one thing that does set it apart is the price point, which is significantly lower,” he adds.
Another stand-out feature of the neo smart-slide is its high-security benefits. Incorporating top-tier hardware from either MACO or Siegenia, the smart-slide meets the stringent demands of BS6375 for weather tightness and PAS24 for security.
Its robust performance is achieved with a locking mechanism that pulls the sliding sash onto the frame and secures it on all four sides, when in the ‘fully locked’ position. When ‘fully open’, neo smart-slide lifts away from the gaskets and weather seals for effortless operation via its rollers, simultaneously accommodating individual sash weights of up to 250kg.
For added flexibility and design appeal, neo smart-slide can be suited with aluplast’s Ideal 70 and Ideal 4000 systems, as well the system company’s flush window and door products, creating even more opportunities for customers to capitalise on the lucrative trend for all things high-end.
“With super-low U-values for outstanding energy efficiency, great functionality and aesthetics, neo smart-slide is helping our customers compete with premium aluminium products, in a market that is still keen to realise ‘Grand Designs’-type aspirations,” continues Ian.
“It’s ability to effortlessly accommodate large spans, while maintaining class-leading performance, makes it a cost-effective option for the architectural space.
“The fact it can be suited with our other PVC-U products – all colour-matched with our next-generation woodec or aludec foils – means it can offer clean, modern lines or heritage detailing that looks like wood, or aluminium, without the expense of the real thing.
“This helps specifiers deliver high-end projects within budget and crucially, increases margin for our fabricator and installer partners in a challenging economic climate, and that’s what really matters to us,” he concludes.
For more information call 01684 273401 email info@aluplast.co.uk or visit www.aluplast.co.uklast.co.uk