Door Industry Journal - Summer 2020

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 10 THE door industry journal summer 2020 Industry News Yale Puts its Capabilities to the Test with a New Large Scale Testing Rig Bigger and better than ever before, Yale’s all new commercial test rig opens the way for superior capabilities, smarter testing and greater opportunities. In an age of increasing fenestration scale, where glazing products are becoming bigger and developments and renovations are getting larger and more unique with architect flare, the industry must keep up with the ever changing demands of window and door hardware. Using its new super scale testing rig, Yale is able to ensure customers of the durability, capability and compliance of its products. When used in endurance testing, Yale can now monitor the load with each and every cycle – allowing the team to measure the operating force of products during testing. With improved testing capabilities, comes better opportunities – and now with the ability to conduct mockup tests with an adjustable vent and frame mechanism for unique window designs, Yale is undertaking a higher volume of larger-scale projects. The test rig enables indicative testing on project specific opening vents, with the ability to tip the rig into any inclined position between vertical and +/- 20 degrees, and tailor the test to represent a particular building or project, no matter how obscure. Enquiries are already coming in from Europe, China and the Americas, as Yale invite its worldwide customer base to test the performance of their windows and hardware. Testing for almost all international certifications and standards, the rig ensures products are compliant to British Standard BS6375, America’s AAMA and China’s JG/T 433 certifications. Grant Stratford, Technical Director at Yale, comments: “We are so pleased to be able to expand our testing facilities to meet the ever-growing needs of our customers. The capabilities of the new rig mean we can test all sorts of weird and wonderful window designs. For example, we are endurance testing a triangular mock-up vent at the moment, which is being carried out to the customer’s unique requirements”. To find out more about Yale’s testing capabilities, please visit www.yaledws.co.uk or call 01902 366800. A Day in the Life of Garador’s Aaron Clarke In this feature article we will get to know Garador’s Area Sales Manager for the South West of England, Aaron Clarke, who works as part of Garador’s nationwide sales team to generate business for the company. How long have you worked with Garador? I started at Garador in September 2016, 24 years young! What is your job at Garador? I am the Area Sales Manager for the South West, looking after the National & Independent Builders’ Merchants, Specialists, Housing Developers and Housing Associations, basically anyone that has a Garage Door requirement! What experience or training was required? I have 10 years sales experience including 3 years field sales experience prior to starting at Garador, this included working in Media, Marketing & External Sales for a National Builders Merchant. What does a normal day look like? A normal day tends to start with a wake up call from my two children! In reality every day is different, however I’m normally on the road by 7.15 en route to see my first customer of the day! My day to day duties largely involve visiting customers at their premises and offering support on products and pricing, ensuring showrooms have all our up to date products, working on new business together such as housing developers. What are the best and hardest parts of the job? Best – I have an excellent customer base in the South West and have built up some great relationships over the past 3 years or so. Hardest – Being away from my young family. Have you worked on any interesting projects? I have worked on lots of interesting projects! Because we have quite a diverse product range, I get to work on lots of different projects across the region which requires different specifications. What has been your proudest moment at Garador? I was awarded the Managing Director’s award fairly early on in my career with Garador, for going above and beyond the call of duty with a customer and really going out of my way to help the company. This gave me great confidence that what I was doing was being noticed and appreciated. You can find out more about Garador’s full range of products by visiting www.garador.co.uk