PRODUCT INNOVATION Breadth of range demonstrated at Mill Lodge


Between August 2017 and August 2018, Creative Ironmongery worked with the Maintenance team at private care provider, Rushcliffe Care Group, to design, develop, and manufacture an extensive range of project-specific architectural ironmongery for the refurbishment of Mill Lodge Hospital, a former NHS facility in Kegworth, Leicestershire now converted to a 27-bed acute mental healthcare facility.


Creative Ironmongery said: “A huge amount of the work involved developing bespoke solutions, which needed to be both suitable for an environment housing vulnerable users, and attractive, robust, and practical. Among the changes implemented was structural reinforcement of the bedroom doors, to restore strength to the apertures after the wall layout had been reconfigured, and ‘extra-strong’ electrical fittings.


“Having learned about some of the key issues that Rushcliffe Care Group’s Maintenance team faces, we designed products that would reduce repairs, cut running costs, and be easy to install. We adapted bathroom fittings, locks, and door pulls, developed attractive anti-ligature radiator covers, and enhanced energy efficiency by ensuring that pivot protectors on doors meant to swing closed enabled them to do so.”


suites. A locked access facilitates routine maintenance and replacement of soap refills.


Pricing


I asked Alan Rees whether, given the engineering expertise that he and his team harness in designing Creative Ironmongery’s own architectural ironmongery products, he can always keep prices comparable to those of his competitors. He said: “Some of our components are a little more expensive, but I never copy competitor products; all our ideas are original. If somebody presents me with a particular architectural ironmongery problem, I will look to solve it, and, where possible, to improve on existing designs. For instance my vision panels work on similar principles to those from mainstream manufacturers, but should prove more reliable and durable – thanks to features such as a metal cam, stainless steel drives onto the cam, and the clutch turn being held together from the inside, rather than screwed on externally.”


Alan Rees explained that while not all Creative Ironmongery’s architectural ironmongery products are anti-ligature, the majority are ‘pretty ligature-resistant’. He said: “What I cannot understand is that with all the focus on ‘anti-ligature’ for mental healthcare, specifiers often don’t consider some of the key risk-posing door components. The bolt, for instance, is generally the strongest element, and a potential ligature point, yet people are making and installing anti-ligature doorsets, passed to the highest criteria, when the doors incorporate a bolt that


Alan Rees added: “Parts we designed for the plumbing team, meanwhile, included heavy-duty bath panels and peninsular type baths, and special brackets to stop taps from being bent, and made ‘easy-fit’. Panels for the shower valves, sited in the bedrooms for staff or maintenance access, are stainless steel, and double up as a robust bedroom mirror. Paper towel dispensers, automated soap dispensers, and toilet tissue dispensers, are all heavy duty stainless steel, with high security locking mechanisms, with each unit powder-coated to match the décor.” En-suite doors, featuring a curved angle for enhanced aesthetics, only open outwards, with a full-length, continuous heavy-duty hinge to withstand damage, and a ligature-resistant design. Each bedroom has a double swinging door with pivot protectors, featuring ‘Lazy S’ clutch turns with a fixed drive. Soft-sprung night latches mean users can open doors from inside. Creative Ironmongery easy-grip pull handles, with an emergency override on the outside of the door, also feature. In corridors and bedrooms, radiators feature anti-ligature grilles, while fire extinguisher cabinets were modified to ensure a perfect fit, and Creative Ironmongery’s TV cabinets installed. The company also supplied heavy duty, damage-resistant, outdoor furniture.


could accommodate a tonne. How can these doors not be tested as a set?”


Routes to market


I asked about the company’s routes to market. Alan Rees explained: “In fact we both manufacture products for other architectural ironmongery suppliers and for our competitors, and develop our own, often bespoke, components, which we can either sell direct, or through distributors.”


Another bespoke in-house developed product suited to mental healthcare is Creative Ironmongery’s TV Cabinet, again originally developed at a customer’s request. Reportedly lightweight enough for single person installation, its design facilitates positioning of the television mounting plate and cabinet surround. The cabinet will accommodate televisions up to 80 mm deep, and is available in four standard screen sizes, with others available to order. The patent pending cabinet is designed to protect against liquid or aerosol damage, with a polycarbonate screen up to 12 mm thick and a durable metal surround. A high security screen lock can be matched to an existing masterkeyed suite.


Testing process


I wondered how Creative Ironmongery tested its products. In fact it has a first floor area where it can mount products in the wall and ‘attack’ them, identify any weak spots, and look to improve them. Alan Rees said: “While we don’t formally have all our products tested by an external test house, we have sufficient knowledge and expertise to be able to quickly identify existing design


flaws, and address them. Our philosophy – in designing products at the market’s more premium end – is to think, ‘If I was a mental healthcare unit’s estates manager, would I be happy with a standard steel die cast pull handle, which will corrode, or would I prefer a one-piece stainless steel handle, available in any size, and, for example, with Euroslots incorporated, customised to look exactly as required?’”


Future plans


With the company’s turnover having increased significantly year-on year since its establishment in 2016, and no sign of demand slowing, I wondered about any imminent expansion or equipment purchasing plans. Alan Rees said: “We are looking at extending the building sideways, potentially by a further 4,000 ft2


, as well


as at moving the CNC press brake into the production area within the main building. We will also be creating a seminar and showroom, but for existing or potential customers keen to see or sample a product who cannot get to us, we are happy to dispatch one.”


As our discussions closed, I wondered what Alan Rees felt were the major factors that marked out Creative Ironmongery from its competitors. He said: “I believe it’s a combination of things – a unique approach to design and development, very substantial expertise with a range of high quality metals and plastics, and greater attention to detail and creative thinking than some of the bigger manufacturers. Such is the confidence we have in our range that nearly every product we offer also comes with a lifetime guarantee.”


hej May 2019 Health Estate Journal 71


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