COMPANY FOCUS: BIRKDALE A LOOK AT THE FUTURE I
n the fast moving world of construction, new solutions frequently come and go, requiring merchant staff to keep up-to date with the latest trends. These shifts in customer demand are brought about by a number of reasons - legislation, environmental factors, best practice, proven performance benefits or even, in the current climate, availability. Steel fencing solutions are growing in popularity due to a number of these factors. Not only do they provide strong performance advantages over traditional concrete and timber posts, but they are also highly recyclable and largely unaffected by the material shortages of recent months. Antony Reed, DuraPost product manager at Birkdale says that, in terms of performance, unlike concrete posts, steel fencing solutions will not chip or crack over time and can withstand extreme weather conditions. “What’s more, fencing products manufactured from steel are available in a number of durable colour choices,” he says.
Conversely, the options on offer with concrete posts are more limited and many find solutions made from this material to be of little aesthetic value. Likewise, when compared to timber fence posts, solutions manufactured from steel provide more effective, long-term durability. Reed explains that the material will
not rot, warp or twist over time and can be supplied with guarantees of up-to 25 years. “For merchants, such performance benefits are hard to ignore, especially when looking to provide customers with the optimum solution to complete a professional and efficient job,” he says.
“Within the steel fencing solution market, certain products, such as Birkdale’s DuraPost® by FENCEMATE stand out even further,” Reed believes. “The galvanised steel fencepost is cut and rolled through a specially made die to create a unique, patented H-section profile. In turn, this helps to create an incredibly strong but lightweight product”, he says. For merchants, this strength to weight ratio and H profile means not only can they offer customers a light-weight, easy-to-install, safer solution, but can also take advantage of the slim inter-locking profile to reduce storage pressures. “In fact, the product offers up to 80% less volume than concrete and timber fence posts, and can be easily and compactly stacked, which can make a drastic difference to stock capacity in-branch,” he says. Reed adds that, furthermore, by stocking lighter and slimmer steel fence posts, merchants will be able to positively affect the number of posts that can be purchased and transported in one load for a customer at a single time. “In particular, if a merchant business sells to individual trade professionals, or smaller scale contractor businesses then this will be a great benefit. With lighter solutions, tradespeople can prevent multiple trips to and from branch with a partially empty van, due to the weight of the product and the load regulations of their vehicle. In practice, not only does this benefit the customer, but reduces the frequency with which merchants have to hold stock back.” As well as delivering top levels of performance, steel solutions can be reliably sourced, even in an era of exogenous supply-
January 2021
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net STEEL
Premises security is an issue that never goes away and steel fencing could represent a major area for sales growth for builders merchants. BMJ finds out how it stacks up when compared to more traditional fencing products.
chain shocks. Unlike many alternative fencing solutions, DuraPost®
is manufactured in
the UK and, Reed points out, will continue unaffected after Britain has formally left the European Union.
“Similarly, steel fence post solutions provide excellent results in light of another growing concern; the environment. Stainless steel is endlessly recyclable and can help merchants in their efforts towards supplying more sustainable solutions. As we move into the new year, the system is emerging as an obvious choice for those looking to supply the trade with simpler, more robust and more effective product solutions, as well as for merchants looking to ease ongoing storage issues.” BMJ
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