Since entering the Irish market in 2001, NorDan Vinduer Ltd has become the number one supplier and installer of timber and aluminium-clad timber windows and doors in the country. Technical Manager John McMenamy explains more.
Founded in 1926 by the Rasmussen family in Norway, NorDan is recognised across Europe as a leader in timber window and door design and innovation. Its exceptional quality products are used wherever high-performance and durable windows are required. Timber is a beautiful and warm material and NorDan selects top quality Nordic pine for its window manufacturing. Timber also acts as a carbon sink throughout its life, contributing positively to the environment and international sustainability goals.
An optional aluminium cladding (Alu-clad) is available in a wide range of colours and protects the timber from ultraviolet radiation while being virtually maintenance free. NorDan recently installed an industry leading ‘flash-oxidising’ based powder coating facility with an online pre-anodising treatment, providing the enhanced coating durability necessary for coastal installations. The ironmongery and hinge systems are equally carefully designed and chosen for their long life and minimum maintenance.
With eight factories, NorDan has been synonymous with window and door manufacturing in Scandinavia for almost a century. Norway and Sweden represent 75 per cent of its main market with the remaining production exported to the UK and Ireland. This gives NorDan the capacity to service the largest of projects.
NorDan Vinduer distributes the full range of high performance windows and doors in Ireland, serving both the commercial and residential markets across the 32 counties. From self-build to large-scale developments, no project is too big or too small for this progressive and successful company whose products are available to view at its Dublin and Galway showrooms. A full advisory, installation and contract management service is available to customers nationwide. In addition, NorDan’s RIAI accredited CPD program, which is based on its expertise and research, is proving very popular with architects, particularly with regard to the development of the NTech range of low-energy windows.
“Our windows and doors arrive into our depot in Bluebell Industrial Estate, Dublin 12 fully-finished and ready for distribution across the country,” John explains.
“Our showrooms in Dublin and Galway are designed to service both commercial and domestic markets. We have a 30-strong team of highly-skilled, highly-motivated and professional people comprising fitters, sales and administration personnel and support staff. Our Managing Director is Sean Luskin, while Stephen Harmon is our Commercial Sales Manager.
“We take enormous pride from the quality of our products which are built to last and are designed for climates even harsher than what we have here in Ireland. In the south-west of Norway where the company originated and has its headquarters near Stavanger, they have the same maritime climate as Ireland, but get even more rain than we do! Additionally, the same windows must function in the extreme Arctic climate of northern Norway.
“NorDan products are designed and tested to meet and far exceed Irish standards for weather performance. Our timber windows and doors come with a 20-year warranty and our alu-clad timber windows and doors come with a 30-year warranty.”
There are several reasons why customers choose NorDan’s high-quality timber products. The company insists on retaining a vacuum/pressure impregnation process for preservative treatment. This ensures the most robust protection against fungal growth, decay and insect attack. Unlike superficial processes such as flow coating where the preservative is simply sprayed on, NorDan’s penetrative process ensures deep penetration of the preservative into the timber – 6mm on surfaces and a minimum of 55mm on the exposed end-grain. This is compliant with the requirements of ‘BS 8417 Preservation of Wood, Code of Practice’ for a 60-year service life for external joinery. In addition, its engineered timber profiles ensure dimensional stability.
“With periodic maintenance, there is a minimum 60-year expected service life for our products thanks to the vacuum impregnation process and the quality of the timber that goes into making them. All of our products have Agrément accreditation from the BBA (British Board of Agrément), which gives specification professionals and customers the assurance they have been rigorously tested and assessed by a competent body.”
NorDan’s NTech 1.2 windows have double-glazed units that use a 6mm outer glass pane and 4mm inner glass pane as standard. This provides enhanced sound reduction properties at no extra cost.
NorDan supplies both inward and outward (which are fully reversible) opening windows and doors that can be safely cleaned from within the building, thus eliminating the need for a ladder outside. The unique design of NorDan inward opening windows locates the ironmongery behind the weather seal, thereby reducing their exposure to weather conditions, airborne pollutants and debris, resulting in less maintenance issues. Top-swing, side-swing and side-hung outward opening windows have enhanced sealing as standard. Enhanced sealing improves U-value, sound reduction and water-tightness.
Security is paramount for NorDan with its 3-handled tilt and turn ‘Stormguard’ window being one of the industry’s most secure. It has been developed over several decades of continuous production to effectively keep burglars out and keep your valuables safe inside. NorDan windows are designed to be: safe for children, provide protection from intruders and safe escape in the event of fire, and provide safe and secure ventilation. The NorDan Stormguard window has seven locking points that have been tested to the extreme, keeping you safe in the severest of climates.
Many of NorDan’s products carry the ‘Secure by Design’ label which means they have been tested to the PAS24 enhanced security standard and approved by the Association of Chief Police Officers in the UK (ACPO). Such products are resistant to burglary and help reduce crime and are recommended by An Garda Síochána.
NorDan Vinduer has built up a large and varied customer-base over the past 17 years in Ireland. NorDan was delighted to be awarded the contract to supply timber windows and doors to some 470 lodges at the new Center Parcs Longford Forest holiday site in Ballymahon, which is due to open next summer.
“Center Parcs have been loyal customers of NorDan in the UK for many years and we’re delighted that they have chosen NorDan once again to supply windows and doors to their new holiday village. They wanted a competitively-priced product that was durable, sustainable and low maintenance, and which blended in with the woodland setting in Ballymahon,” John concludes.
NorDan Vinduer Ltd
Bluebell Industrial Estate,
Bluebell,
Dublin 12.
Telephone: 1890 455 555
Fax: 01 429 7986
Web: www.nordan.ie
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, August 2018, Vol 4 No 7
