WALL PROTECTION AND IPS UNITS


BioClad has brought under one roof distribution of its wall cladding at a new depot in Harrogate, to ensure a more efficient, responsive, and tailored supply to customers.


‘do not harbour bacteria like tiles do’, and ‘can be wiped clean in seconds’. They are also resistant to the chemicals typically found in the medical, healthcare, and food production industries, and available in a range of colours and designs. BioClad says they will not corrode ‘like paint and steel’, offer a watertight finish, and come with a 20-year guarantee. The company can also offer PhotoClad ‘crisp’, high-resolution, digitally printed wall panels incorporating images, text, or graphics, to help brighten up spaces and create a particular aesthetic.


BioClad has in the past decade supplied


increasingly large volumes of its hygienic and antimicrobial wall panelling to healthcare facilities, with the increased focus on hygiene and infection control only strengthening demand. Equally, its PVC wall cladding is regularly specified for use in schools, restaurants, sports and leisure facilities, and offices.


Improving delivery


BioClad prides itself on the efficiency of its delivery to customers, but until recently had relied on an external distribution company, which had held stock of its wall cladding at one of seven warehouses across England and Scotland, and then transported it to customer sites, an arrangement Claire Redhead told me – when we spoke recently by ‘Teams’ – the company was keen to improve upon. She said: “In January this year the head office team, having outgrown our previous building on the Cardale Park industrial


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estate in Harrogate, relocated to a more spacious and fit-for-purpose two-storey office and warehouse premises in the nearby village of Killinghall. The new building not only provides a more modern, functional, and conducive working environment for our sales, technical, and administrative staff, but also houses a sizeable warehouse. Here we can hold all the required stock of our wall cladding products, giving us greater control over scheduling and delivery, which we now undertake ourselves. We operate in a highly competitive market where – alongside the quality and durability of our products, speed and efficiency of delivery are key. In healthcare environments – whether our products are destined for refurbishment or new-build, many projects have tight schedules, so a reliable supply chain, with products arriving when they should, is key. The new warehouse will help us provide an even more responsive delivery service, while giving us that extra degree of control.”


Production facility in York Claire Redhead explained that, in tandem with the move to the new office and warehouse, BioClad in late 2021 acquired a newly constructed production facility for its BioPod IPS (integrated plumbing system) units, which it began supplying to sectors such as healthcare, education, and hospitality, about five years ago as an addition to its range. She said: “Our IPS units were previously assembled for us by a third party, but late in 2021 we acquired the


In healthcare environments – whether our products are destined for refurbishment or new-build, many projects have tight schedules, so a reliable supply chain, with products


arriving when they should, is key BioClad Sales director, Claire Redhead


56 Health Estate Journal February 2023


production facility for the BioPods in York, equipping it with a CNC machine which we use to precision cut the components, together with a complementary thermoformer and press process. “The new production facilities give us the major benefit of being able to produce the BioPod units ourselves.” BioClad says the IPS units benefit from a ‘discreet’ one-piece design specially manufactured to house important pipework. With what it describes as ‘a clean, contemporary, and aesthetically pleasing’ finish, they can be supplied ‘in a variety of styles’. All of the BioPod units will now incorporate BioCote’s silver-ion antimicrobial technology, and are fully HBN 00-10 Part C-compliant (HBN 00-10 superseded HTM 64). Claire Redhead said: They are also the world’s first IPS system to incorporate BioCote silver-ion technology.”


A one-piece design Supplied as one component – thus eliminating joints, split gaps, and the need for flashbacks, the BioPod units have a fully waterproof, 18 mm PVC core. ‘Made to measure’, they are prefabricated with as few joints as practical, and fully wrapped in BioClad antimicrobial PVC, creating ‘an ultra-hygienic unit’. Each IPS unit has hinged and lockable access panels for both security, and ease and speed of access to the services behind. BioClad partners with a number of leading sanitaryware partners, and says it can thus ‘competitively offer’ the units either with or without HBN 00-10 Part C-compliant sanitaryware. Claire Redhead said of some of the


competitor systems: “IPS units have traditionally been manufactured with an MDF core, which is not only water- permeable – unlike our PVC core – and can thus blow and break due to water ingress over time, but is also not that robust. In contrast, ours are designed to be strong, long-lasting, and resistant to damage – all key attributes when supplied to a hospital, GPs’ surgery, or other healthcare facility. With our new production facility, we can supply IPS units in as little as 15 days from receipt of order. We supply both direct to NHS Trusts, and to major contractors working on healthcare construction schemes.”


Process explained Customers on major installations benefit from their own BioClad account manager as a key point of contact. “Installations generally begin with us visiting the healthcare facility, discussing the requirements and criteria with the customer, and then producing first drawings,” Claire Redhead explained. “These are then modified as required using on our in-house CAD system, and second drawings produced – to ensure that the dimensions, shape, configuration, and


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