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Technical Blog
My name is Gary Carpenter & I’m your MEDITE SMARTPLY Technical Sales Manager for South West England & Wales. I’ve been with the company a little over 3 months now but have worked in the construction industry, in various roles, for almost 40 years. My previous role, prior to joining MEDITE SMARTPLY, was a 16-year career with Knauf UK, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of plasterboard and other lightweight construction materials.
The construction industry has evolved over the last 40 years and will undoubtedly continue to do so, with health and safety continuing to be a number one priority, as well as a growing focus on sustainability and waste reduction. All whilst continuing to set high standards in innovation, cost reduction and build quality.
This leads nicely into my new role at MEDITE SMARTPLY where we are driven by innovation including R&D to solve genuine construction and customer problems & improve build techniques, whilst keeping H&S and sustainability at the core of what we do. We are also environmentally responsible, with our materials coming from our own FSC® and PEFC® managed forests in which we planted over 19 million trees last year, from seedling to finished board we manage the process, a genuinely green business.
I’m incredibly excited by our extensive portfolio of speciality & technical products but having come from Knauf and the plasterboard and drylining industry, the one that has had the biggest impact for me so far is our SMARTPLY PATTRESS PLUS.
Traditionally on site a plywood is used as pattressing behind plasterboard to improve rigidity and pullout performance of the wall and supporting the hanging of sinks, cupboards, hand rails, etc. This is usually cut on site, which has historically caused issues with dust, product waste and an increased risk of injury whilst cutting, not to mention it’s a fairly time-consuming process even before the board is fitted to the studwork. SMARTPLY PATTRESS PLUS is a highly engineered OSB board that is manufactured with a pre-routed track, meaning the board fits perfectly into a metal C stud, which is then simply screwed to the stud. With half and full board lengths, designed for 400 and 600mm centres we offer a solution for most if not all metal stud sizes.
What this means, is there is no longer cutting required on site, there is no dust emissions and no waste, three of the key drivers the industry is focusing on eliminating from sites across the country. On top of solving these key issues, the speed of construction has rapidly increased by simply being able to remove these hazardous and time-consuming processes from sites.
“But ply is what we’ve always used and OSB doesn’t have pull-out strength” is what I’ve heard during my first three months and historically this may have been the case but we have made huge strides with the product in the last decade. In fact, SMARTPLY PATTRESS PLUS is tested, like Plywood, to the relevant sections of BS5234 demonstrating high pull-out strength, in line with industry applications. Manufactured in accordance with EN300, CE marked and FSC® approved it is a fully certified alternative to tropical plywood, with all the benefits of no dust, no cutting and improved build speed. Our SMARTPLY PATTRESS PLUS is also manufactured with no added formaldehyde so is perfect for use in schools, hospitals, labs, museums and other environmentally sensitive areas.
We’ve already seen a positive uptake this year with key projects such as Strathclyde University, Queensferry High and Surrey Quays all enjoying the benefits of this simple but innovative solution and I’m looking forward to working with our partners and using my specific sector knowledge & experience to promote the clear benefits of SMARTPLY PATTRESS PLUS and working with an innovative, market leading manufacturer such as ourselves.
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