Heron Fire Doors takes home British Woodworking Federation’s Innovation Award
Cookstown-based Heron Fire Doors has won the British Woodworking Federation's (BWF) Innovation Award for the development of the 'Herodor' - pronounced Her-o-dor.
The firm, a subsidiary of Heron Manufacture Limited in Northern Ireland, supplies fire rated complete doorsets to the United Kingdom and Irish market.
The BWF Innovation Award recognises excellence in technical innovation, product development, design, manufacturing or application and is sponsored by Anker Stuy Coatings, the family-owned Dutch business which provides high-quality, durable wood coatings that offer long-lasting protection and a premium finish for doors and windows.
Heron Fire Doors was chosen as a winner of the prestigious award for the ongoing development of their cost and thermal efficient fire rated front entrance doorset ‘Herodor’.
The BWF Award judges commended their work, saying the doorset is “a true innovation for the industry” and “recognising the continued demand for timber fire doors, the Herodor aims to do something entirely new, and is a timely product given ever increasing demand for energy efficiency.”
Julian Knipe, general manager at Heron Fire Doors said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised for Herodor, designed to set a new standard in fire rated thermally efficient timber front entrance doorsets. There are other thermal fire rated front entrance doors available but these are typically composite doors made with glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) or thermoplastics. At present fire doors gain a special exemption from the lower U values required by a non fire rated doorset of 1.4 W/(m2·K) within Building Regs.
"This is to ensure fire doors remain affordable. The fire rated ‘Herodor’ achieves a lower U value than the non fire rated requirements and surpasses other fire rated timber doorsets typically made from timber particleboard that will not achieve 1.4 W/(m2·K) U value. It’s important to note that the Herodor U value is offered as a complete doorset and not just a door leaf, read the small print when comparing entrance solutions thermal efficiency.
“To have the hard work and technical expertise of the team acknowledged by such a prestigious award is fantastic, and we are proud to play a role in bringing a naturally renewable thermally efficient product to the market. Timber products have the lowest embodied carbon among mainstream building materials.”
Helen Hewitt, chief executive of the BWF, said: “The BWF Awards are a rare opportunity for us to come together to celebrate the fantastic achievements of the past year and the skills, dedication and technical expertise that drive our industry forward.
“As the Awards continue to grow and the submissions become harder to judge, the hard work, skills and innovation displayed by our fantastic finalists truly celebrates the very best of our profession. Congratulations to Heron Fire Doors on their impressive achievements.”
The prize was presented at a celebratory awards evening at The Langham, London Hotel.