“We need to form alliances with the best supply partners in the world and this requires a strong relationship with an open exchange of ideas,” said Sean Parnaby, managing director of West Port and also chairman of the British Woodworking Federation.
The two companies are looking at improvements to manufacturing efficiency and quality. They realise the importance of environmental initiatives and are looking at projects to use fewer materials/less packaging to achieve better performance at a lower environmental cost.
One of the first projects West Port and Remmers collaborated on was to apply a metallic appearance door finish to doors.
The commission was for construction company Speller Metcalfe and architects Proctor and Matthews Architects on a retirement project for Pegasus Life. The Tetbury project involved 39 stable doors finished in the specialist metallic system from Remmers, consisting of Induline GW-360 base coat, Induline ZW-420 metallic effect mid coat and Induline LW-720 clear topcoat.
This allowed the designer to achieve a door that looks like a metallic substrate, but uses timber as the raw material, thus creating a modern look with a sustainable solution.
“The environmental credentials of timber with the interesting aesthetics afforded by this unique coating show how timber can be used to mimic other less renewable building materials,” said a West Port spokesperson.
“In a reversal of roles where we are used to seeing materials such as PVCu and GRP copying the aesthetic of timber, we see timber being converted to appear as a man-made substrate to give architects an interesting and environmentally responsible option.”
