ACR Journal

SMI secures Green-Door deal with Asda Thermal insulation specialist Seymour Manufacturing International (SMI) has strengthened its links with national supermarket chain Asda thanks to a new supply deal. The Telford-based team have worked with major food retailers for decades on temperature control projects, and created the Green-Door as a solution to the use of unwieldy sliding ‘night doors’ in both freezers and chillers. Asda has recently invested in over 100 of the products for use in stores across the UK as part of its Click & Collect service. The Green-Door uses SMI’s Tempro, the world’s thinnest and most thermally- efficient material of its kind which has been scientifically proven to cut energy loss by at least 25% in chillers, and 33% in freezers. Asda’s senior manager for engineering, net zero and energy, Brian Churchyard, said they had been extremely impressed with both the products themselves and the advice and support from the SMI team. He added: “As a company we are determined to reduce the impact our stores have on the environment, and thanks to the Green- Door product, we’ve already been able to save a considerable amount of energy. “It was an obvious choice for us to invest in yet more Green-Door products to protect the chilled areas in our Click & Collect areas where our customers’ orders were stored.’’ SMI chairman Brian Seymour said: “We developed Green-Door after years of painstaking research and nearly a decade of stringent tests at sites across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and it is now opening the door to significant financial savings for major retailers.’’ December 2022 | January 2023 NEWS 06 Volume 9 No.1 SMI chairman Brian Seymour J S Wright seals £17m docklands contract Building services specialist J S Wright has won a £17million contract for the latest phase of London Dock. The Birmingham- based company has been contracted by St George, the luxury residential brand of the Berkeley Group, to install the mechanical and electrical systems for all 359 new-build apartments within Saffron Wharf. J S Wright will play a major role in connecting the existing phases of London Dock by extending its district heating system and mains cold water service to serve Saffron Wharf and future phases. Works will consist of installing a low temperature hot water (LTHW) distribution system, including a heating substation, and a boosted cold water (BCW) plant room with distribution network, along with a CAT5 cold water service, soil & waste, above ground drainage, and rainwater services. The mechanical shell and core package also involves installing natural and automatic smoke ventilation systems for the car park, refuse bin stores and commercial units via a ventilation substation, and fitting a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system for heating and cooling common areas. The homes will be fitted out by J S Wright with hot and cold-water services, heat recovery ventilation, radiators and underfloor heating and cooling services via VRF fan coil units. The Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) technical committee has published a technical guidance note on working on cold store ceilings. The guidance relates specifically to insulated cold and chill stores that are constructed within a building structure with ceiling panels that are supported by that structure, typically using drop rods suspended from a portal frame or building truss. Many refrigerated warehouses and factories are constructed from composite insulated panels which provide a barrier to heat and moisture gain from the surroundings. Accidents and near misses over many years have shown that the original design may be insufficient to safely carry in-service or maintenance loads and can be seriously compromised by degradation of the insulation material or the support structure. The note aims to provide a reference for good practice in design of these buildings and their use and maintenance. It includes sections on design, installation, inspection and maintenance, other safety considerations and general recommendations. It also includes links to useful further information such as the IOR Cold Store Code of Practice, HSE alerts and key legislation and standards. The note is free to download at https://ior.org.uk/rachp- publications?id=762&state=b Guidance for working on cold store ceilings