VIEGA LTD

Speed, efficiency, and the fact it ‘just works’ – these are the reasons contractor Promech Services utilised Viega press connections in the Belmont Development. The new development will provide 115 high quality homes for the Camden area, creating an attractive and modern living space in place of the current buildings.

VIEGA MEGAPRESS – THE IDEAL FIT FOR FESTOOL HQAward-winning international power tools manufacturer, Festool has invested £10 million into its new headquarters based in Bury St. Edmonds. As part of the construction, Viega’s Megapress press connection technology has been utilised for the building’s new state-of-the-art heating system, allowing for an efficient and effective installation.Festool has relocated its 55 office-based employees to the new site in Suffolk Business Park, in Bury St. Edmonds. The large, modern facility includes meeting rooms, cafés and office space with a separate warehouse and demonstration facility. It was important for the company that its new headquarters represented a modern and sustainable design and could be a facility where the company can continue to expand and develop.The headquarters has a complex range of HVAC systems, including a hybrid air conditioning system, underfloor heating and domestic services. Viega’s carbon steel press fitting system, Megapress was an ideal solution to create the pipework connections, offering a fast and effective alternative to traditional methods such as welding.David Aldous, Mechanical Project Manager at Ceetech, the contractor for the project, commented: “We selected Megapress as it ticked all the boxes. It provided a secure press connection without the need for welding and allowed our team to undertake the work efficiently and effectively. This project had to be completed to a tight deadline, so it was essential to make strategic time gains throughout the installation period.“We were also able to make valuable time-savings because with the Megapress system, there is no need to prepare the pipe surface or clean it after as with welding, threading or grooving. From a health and safety perspective – it also removes the element of hot works.”A highly effective pressing method, Megapress connections can be made in just seven seconds – helping to achieve a 60% reduction in installation time. After cutting the pipe to the required length, contractors need only deburr the cut surface, slide the press fitting into place and press the connection.The simplicity of the press fitting process also ensures that a uniform seal is created on each connection throughout the project; particularly important on large-scale developments where there is set to be thousands of joints across a single site. Once the fitting has been pressed, it forms a strong and secure connection.David concluded: “The Megapress system is excellent, I’ll certainly select Viega again for future projects. It was a clean installation and the end-client was pleased with the high quality of work."

The Islington Waste Recycling Centre is looking to decarbonise. At present, the centre accounts for 9% of Islington Council’s corporate estate gas use and the aim is to reduce that to zero. To achieve this, air source heat pumps and condenser units will be installed which posed an immediate challenge – how to install new copper pipework without disrupting the recycling centre. Contractor Vital Energi’s solution focused on the use of Viega Profipress.

Viega’s Megapress press connection technology has been installed across 11 floors of a new £85 million development, 125 Deansgate in Manchester. Selected for its speed of installation and its reputation as a trusted method for connecting thick walled steel tube without hot works, the Megapress connections have been used throughout the heating system.With 12 floors in total, 125 Deansgate echoes the industrial Victorian architecture of the Deansgate area and comprises 117,000 square foot of offices above 12,000 square foot of retail space at ground floor level. The development is expected to achieve a BREEAM Excellence rating on completion.Briggs & Forrester Engineering Services Ltd. were awarded the M&E contract by main contactor Marcus Worthington & Co. Ltd. and began on site in May last year. Briggs & Forrester had not previously worked with Viega’s Megapress system in its northern region so this was the team’s first experience of the product.On the decision to use it in this development, Richie Jones, Site Manager for the company commented: “The project specification suggested using a crimp system for the pipe connections, but Briggs & Forrester Engineering Services do not use lightweight carbon steel crimp systems, so we were looking for an alternative.“Our sister company, Briggs & Forrester Living highlighted that they had used a Viega press connection system on one of their projects and had also been on a Viega factory tour where they had been impressed with the Megapress system. After researching Megapress and the installation process ourselves, we decided to use the product for 125 Deansgate.”In total, approximately 7,000 Megapress connection joints were installed, with somewhere between 500 and 650 joints being used per floor across the 11 floors of office space.Richie highlighted that while Briggs & Forrester were working to a tight programme, Viega’s Megapress helped the company to meet its installation targets though its simple installation process.Using Megapress press connections can provide a 60% to 80% time saving compared with alternatives such as welding, grooving or threading tube. Viega’s proven SC-Contur technology is also designed to deliver a 100% positive leak if a fitting is left unpressed which is clearly discernible during leakage testing or when the system is filled for the first time. This prevents costly remedial work that might be required later on and can again save contractors a significant amount of time on site.Richie continued: “The installation of the Megapress connections was simple and we did not have any issues with the products. There is a good selection of connections to choose from to suit any installation requirement and the system is also simple to clean which reduces the flushing time and overall cost.“We will definitely use Megapress again - using Viega is like going back to using traditional heavy grade steel pipe systems but with a modern twist.”Paul McCormick, Senior Project Manager at Marcus Worthington & Co. Ltd commented, “As yet, Briggs and Forrester have not started to test the system; however, from a safety stand point the Megapress system is much better than traditional brazed pipework as it cuts down on the number of live hot works permits required at any one time and is also less prone to workmanship errors. I look forward to seeing the system prove its reliability during testing.”

Viega has supplied its cold applied Profipress and Sanpress Inox press connection systems to the latest refurbishment of the 17th century Queen’s House in Greenwich.Queen’s House, a Grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, was originally built between 1616 and 1635 and is the last surviving section of the palace of Greenwich. Queen’s House is now part of the Royal Museums Greenwich and is home to a large collection of important paintings, drawings and sculptures. Over the last few years the 400-year-old building has undergone a program of vital maintenance.The scheduled ancient monument protection is granted to sites of national architectural importance and makes it a criminal offence to damage the monument in question. The importance of the building meant that during the maintenance work the materials and methods used had to be carefully considered. For example, no hot works of any kind were permitted on-site so traditional soldering or brazing of pipework was not an option.Mechanical and electrical maintenance specialist Red100 was selected to carry out the work as the latest in a number of contracts to work on the building. The renewal of the pipework systems included the heating and chilled water systems, for both of which the supply comes off a header pipe from a plant room located in another building. The contract also included work on the greywater system.As a result of the restrictions on hot works, press connection technology was the chosen methodology for the pipe installation. Viega’s Profipress system was selected for use on the copper heating and water pipework while the stainless steel greywater pipe was connected with Sanpress Inox fittings.Stephen Phillips, Director at Red100 said: “We were familiar with press connection technology, having employed it on a number of similar projects. We had been recommended the Viega systems and were impressed by what we saw when we visited Viega’s production facilities in Germany.”Paul Burkett, Technical Sales Manager at Viega commented: “After discussing the requirements with Stephen at Red100 we were confident that the Viega products fitted their needs exactly. Also the range of different press connection options offered by Viega meant that there were suitable products available as the scope of the work expanded.”Due to the historical significance and protected status of the building as well as the priceless nature of the artwork housed within the Queen’s House, the security of the connections was paramount. Any water leaking from incomplete or inadvertently unpressed joints had to be avoided due to damage it would cause. The SC-Contur feature designed into products from across the Viega range, including Profipress and Sanpress Inox, ensure that any missed connections are reliably identified during testing. This avoids expensive and potentially damaging failures once the project is complete.Stephen Phillips concluded: “We were delighted with the performance of the products. The installation on Queen’s House went very smoothly and as a result we have subsequently used the Viega systems on other projects."

VIEGA’S SMARTPRESS PIPING SYSTEM USED ON A BERKELEY GROUP RESIDENTIAL PROJECT

VIEGA’S VISIGN RANGE AND PRE-WALL SYSTEMS SPECIFIED FOR THE LONDONER HOTEL

VIEGA’S MEGAPRESS PROVIDES IDEAL SOLUTION FOR THE NEEDS OF THE NATIONAL GALLERYViega’s Megapress connection technology has been specified as the ideal solution for a section of pipe relocation work at The National Gallery in London. The industry-first press connection system for thick-walled steel tube, Megapress, ensured that the installation of steel pipework for the building’s heating and chilled water HVAC systems could take place without disruption to the gallery space which remained open throughout the project.The work was necessary in preparation for a gallery extension which is due to take place in January 2019. Before the building work could take place, it was vital that all pipe routes were relocated, bypassing the location of the extension, so that the other gallery spaces could continue to remain open during the planned building work.Colin Garbutt, Contracts Manager at Capri Mechanical Services Ltd. selected Viega’s Megapress due to the specific range of needs that the gallery space and its displays necessitated. Colin highlighted the difficult circumstances which involved taking the pipework up a riser and across the top of the gallery through a ventilation and services space.“For this installation, speed, cleanliness and minimal noise were key requirements to make sure we did not disrupt the gallery space which remained open below us,” Colin commented. “Hot works were not an option in such an environment and it would have been incredibly difficult for us to get the machinery needed for a screw system into such a tight space. Megapress allowed us to carry out the work quickly, cleanly and efficiently - which was ideal.”

How do you replace the water distribution system in a 100-year-old prominent building? That was the challenge for contractors Capri Mechanical Services who took on replacing and updating the domestic services at the prestigious Strand Palace. Their solution was simple: replace all pipework and utilise Viega press technology to install the systems in a way which protected the hotel and met building requirements.

VIEGA PROVIDES PRESS CONNECTION TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPMENT IN MAIDA VALE

VIEGA PROVIDES TIME SAVING PIPE CONNECTION SYSTEM FOR UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

A high-quality installation of pipework for heating and drinking water, absolutely free of contaminants, quick to install and guaranteed to perform over the long term. These were the priorities for the developer of the prestigious West End Gate development in London, leading to the specification of the Profipress system from Viega throughout.The development is a collection of apartments, stunning penthouses, commercial units, and leisure facilities situated in the prestigious neighbourhood of Marylebone and Little Venice. Berkeley St Edwards were taking no risks with water hygiene, looking for a piping system which would guarantee clean water to the different heights of the towers. Given the prestige of the development, the system had to be faultless, future proof and guaranteed to last. Specifying a high-quality solutionKevin Guiry, Senior MEP Manager for Berkeley St Edwards, explained the rationale for specifying the Profipress solution. “Quality was our top priority, both in terms of the water system and the products used. With all the heating and chilled distribution pipework running in a closed system, we needed a solution to guarantee clean and safe water without contamination. The copper Profipress system delivers this alongside real on-site benefits.” Berkeley St Edwards has made a considered effort to move to press connections over soldering methods for pipework. Particularly in domestic projects, the benefit of cold press means contaminants from soldering are reduced and so systems produce a quicker turnaround for test results from flushing. On top of the speed advantages of cold press, the additional benefit of risk reduction through removal of hot works helps increase safety for those installing on site.“Viega was specified in the first phase block, and it was fantastic. As such, we approved the spec for the next phase as per the previous block. The contractor who received the contract used their same core operatives which resulted in a consistent, clean installation.” Kevin summarised.Working with Viega qualityCraig Yardy, Fit-Out Manager at Vital Energi, oversaw the installation of the system and mirrored the sentiment from Kevin. “Three to four years ago we mainly used soldering, but we’ve shifted to press connections systems. With soldering, you get flux and contaminants in the pipe, so you must flush the system. With press, it’s a far cleaner system.”On working with the Viega Profipress system Craig commented: “we had used the copper system on previous projects which were good installations, and it has been the same on-site here. Generally, the high-level fitting has been easy, the challenge has been where pipework in the walls runs into mixers. This means tight spaces for the installer to work the pipes and makes it difficult to press the joints. Viega press tools come with an angled jaw giving us the flexibility to get into those hard-to-reach places.”Providing ongoing support and training One of the benefits of choosing the Viega specification is the on-site training offered for the installation teams. This will ensure that the systems are installed correctly and effectively, using the recommended tools and techniques. Not only does this process maximise speed of installation, it also allows Viega to issue its full warranty.“The support from Viega started with demonstration days at the very beginning of the project. Throughout the first block installation they visited multiple times to check on the installation, offering support and guidance” Kevin noted. “We plan to continue using Viega for the remaining phases of the development. The Viega quality and future guarantees are what made the initial investment worth it in the long run. I’m a big believer in quality and with this system we’re getting the best quality fittings for this premium development. We didn’t want to risk any further maintenance or damage and the Viega Profipress system achieves this.”Due to be completed in 2025, the first four tower blocks have been completed. Ranging from 10 to 30 storeys in height, the development offers unparalleled views of the surrounding area, commanding high-quality finishes to the apartments inside and out.