Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/918331
Construction Marketplace 5 7 Thursday, January 11, 2018 a completely new manufacturing compa- ny, with headquarters in Singapore. CM: Tell our readers what prompted you to make this move. RH: I have been using Chinese sub contractors for the past nine years, but it has become increasingly difficulty to maintain acceptable quality standards. Polar Shield™ technology requires far more attention to detail and much more exacting standards than regular iron doors. Even having my own quality control staff in the Chinese factories was not enough. What really happened is that the technology just went past the capability level of the factories. Chinese ironwork- ers are skilled but the management was not willing or able to introduce 21st cen- tury quality management methods. The management also regularly encouraged workers to hide problems rather than solve them. CM: What is different about your new company? RH: Simple – it's my own factory, so I have complete control and can build prod- uct according to Western standards from the bottom up. I've introduced high tech processes, like water-cooled TIG welding that does not distort the metal. This allows us to keep exact tolerances so we can do away with the layer of filler that is usually spread over iron doors to hide the distor- tion. No filler means we can use "baked on" finishes, a combination of powder coating and DuPont Axalta Performance Coatings – a super durable finish that is a Polar Shield (Cont'd. from p. 1) world away from our competitors. Incidentally, unique to our company, you can now have different colors on the inside and outside of your door. CM: Can you give our readers some highlights of your new product? RH: The main feature is an R-Factor that is almost twice as good as my ear- lier products. This technology has two U.S. patents granted and a third on the way. It really is a big step forward in energy efficiency and Polar Shield doors qualify for Energy Star rating in many parts of the county. Apart from having a thermal break that is improved by 250 percent, we also deliver triple pane, argon filled glass in all our win- dows. The seal system has also been completely overhauled, with dual seals in all the places that matter, so resist- ance to air and water infiltration is about as good as it gets. You really can install these doors in the coldest cli- mates with confidence. CM: What are your company's distribu- tion channels? RH: We are a strictly wholesale business that supplies only in container quantities. We are set up to offer a genuinely superi- or product but still compete effectively with the Chinese and Mexican factories. We have some distribution already and hope to get more at IBS – which is the launch and showcase for the company and our Polar Shield 4th generation tech- nology. For more information, go to www.polarshielddoors.com or visit booth #S1770. home and office. MediaMAX offers flex- ible, low-voltage solutions that save on installation and rework, and meet all applicable standards. Suttle has long been an approved vendor with major service providers (Telco, CATV, ISP) for service distribu- tion from the panel all the way to the jack in a faceplate. To wire an intelligent building, sepa- rate cables are run from the media panel to each distribution access point in the unit (home, apartment, office). The media panel is the center for all current and future service provider connectivity so it is important to select a product that allows for multiple vendors, changes and growth. Suttle's industry experts have designed the MediaMAX panels to be modular, long-lasting and trouble-free to house and protect hardware and electronics. Accessories such as shelves and cable guides are ideal to MediaMAX (Cont'd. from p. 1) neatly fit provider equipment such as modems and gateways, and the panel's superior ventilation keeps electronics cool. Suttle has a long history of co- designing modules to leading provider specifications. MediaMAX modules are high-quality, multi-purpose, flexi- ble and tool-less whenever possible, and the groundbreaking tool-less CAT6 jack is becoming the standard for data wiring. Additional voice and data jacks are also complemented with traditional and downward facing face- plates. At headquarters and manufacturing in Hector, Minnesota, Suttle takes pride in producing high-quality solutions. With over 100 years of experience in telepho- ny and broadband networks, its products are currently in 70 percent of U.S. homes. For more information, visit booth #W5888, call 800.852.8662 or go to www.suttlesolutions.com. six-story 201,450-square-foot office building, along with a six-story 787- space parking deck. The office building's exterior features precast brick and con- crete panels, composite metal panels and an aluminum curtain wall, while the parking deck is entirely precast. "The company was looking for an old, authentic brick warehouse design," says Nathan S. Daniel, AIA, Principal, LS3P Associates Ltd., the architectural firm selected to design the company's new campus. "We knew their tight sched- ule wouldn't allow for traditional brick construction. Instead, we decided to go with precast construction with a dis- tressed brick, which brings more unique- ness to the project." General Shale's English Pub thin brick was selected to achieve the rustic warehouse look congruent with the area's historic buildings, while the company's darker, Old Coffee Bean thin brick was chosen as an accent. Both are part of General Shale's Denver, Colorado line of products, which offer straight, through- the-body colors. The Denver manufactur- ing facility is also able to heavily texture any brick product and make it into a thin brick. The challenge for this particular project lay in creating distressed thin brick products that would work well in precast panels. LS3P and General Shale worked with precast provider Metromont Corporation and concrete form fabricator Architectural Polymers for an innovative solution. Metromont and Architectural Polymers developed a custom-built form liner that marries AvidXchange (Cont'd. from p. 1) the varying distressed reliefs of the General Shale product to expose a larg- er surface area of the thin brick face and edges. "We got the brick to where it's square again, and we were able to have the same tolerances to hold the brick in the liner," says Chris Rogers, Sales and Business Development Manager at Metromont. "We created a deeper joint on the liner to generate a shadow line, which takes the focus off the joints, mak- ing the brick look less linear and more natural, like hand-laid brick. The end result was a great achievement – a pre- cast project that saved time and money, is more durable and provides a better over- all building system for the parking deck and office cladding, with a distressed brick design that satisfied both the archi- tect and the owner." The outcome of this collaboration was a huge success for both the parking deck and office building, Daniel agrees. "With this product developed by Metromont using General Shale's brick products, you're able to bring in tradi- tional, core elements, such as stacked bond and soldier courses in the panels, to keep it looking authentic," Daniel says. "Another unique detail is we have some large curtain wall openings that we recessed, and we were able to work with General Shale on a custom corner, and with Metromont to be able to wrap those conditions without having an exposed precast edge. That brought the authentic- ity back, making it look like a true brick building." For more information, visit www .generalshale.com. Meyer Introduces Ayesha Curry Kitchenware Brand In collaboration with rising culinary star Ayesha Curry, Food Network host and author of a New York Times best-selling cookbook, Meyer U.S. introduced the Ayesha Curry ® Home Collection kitchenware brand. Ayesha's eponymous line of casually-sophisticated cookware, bakeware, stoneware, cast iron, cutlery, pantryware, and kitchen tools and gadg- ets are now available at retail nationwide. "I hope that my line will give people that spark they need to get in the kitchen and try something new," says Ayesha Curry. "My goal is to make cooking at home in your kitchen effortless and fun." Anchoring the comprehensive Ayesha Curry kitchen lifestyle brand are high-quality cookware collections offered in porcelain enamel, hard anodized, stainless steel and porcelain enamel cast iron. Oversized stockpots are part of an enamel on steel collection that also includes one of Ayesha's per- sonal favorites, an adorable Bacon Grease Can. Rounding out the new line is innovative bakeware with a diamond textured nonstick surface styled in sil- ver and copper hues, kitchen knives offered in open stock and sets, pantry items such as serving and cutting boards, and kitchen tools crafted in sus- tainable parawood. Ayesha Curry and her love for cooking first became known from her blog and YouTube channel Little Lights of Mine, which focused on healthy liv- ing through faith, family and food. In 2016, Curry's Food Network Show, Ayesha's Home Kitchen, launched and her first cookbook, The Seasoned Life, became a New York Times bestseller. In partnership with world-renowned chef Michael Mina, her successful pop-up restaurant International Smoke is open- ing its marquee permanent location in San Francisco in fall 2017, with addi- tional locations to follow in 2018. Ayesha Curry was recently announced as the new co-host of ABC's Great American Baking Show, and as the newest CoverGirl. Ayesha's warm and welcoming personality — evident in her fashion sense and home décor — is reflected in the design aesthetic of more than 125 items offered in her new kitchen lifestyle brand. In true collaborative spirit, Ayesha, who resides with her husband Stephen Curry and two young children near Meyer's headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, participat- ed in all stages of product development with Meyer's team — from choosing colors, finishes and design features, to selecting the shape of her cookware handles. "At Meyer, every brand that we introduce has its own distinct personality and place in the market," says Darrin Johnston, Managing Director of Meyer U.S. "The Ayesha Curry consumer is in prime household creation years, often with a young family, and has a design aesthetic that is eclectic, savvy, welcom- ing and on-trend. We believe there is an opportunity to better serve this new and growing consumer across many house- wares categories with a design and per- sonality that is uniquely Ayesha." For more information, visit www.ayeshacurry.com.