DELTA® protects property. Saves energy. Creates comfort.

DELTA®-NEWS April 2013

Issue 1

THIS is the first issue of our newsletter, and we hope you find it interesting and informative! Dörken's DELTA®-NEWS will be updating you regularly on one of Europe’s leading membranes for pitched roofs and façades, and where they are obtainable in the UK.

Inside this first issue you can read about the Dörken DELTA® launch into the UK market, the type of products available, where they have already been used, and much more.

We welcome any reader comments, questions, news and views, so please contact Dörken’s UK business development manager Colin Williamson on 07725 816947, or at colin.williamson@aol.com.

Welcome! Visit us at RoofexCome and see for yourself the impressive range of Dörken DeLTA® membranes on our stand (number 660) at the Roofex exhibition on may 1 and 2 at the NeC, Birmingham.

They include our established and proven pitched roof and façade membranes, and our new Reflex reflective vapour barrier.

UK business development manager Colin Williamson said:

“Specifiers in particular will appreciate the high specification and performance characteristics of europe’s leading designer and manufacturer of innovative building membranes.”

DörKEN GmbH & Co KG, based in the small Westphalian town of Herdecke, Germany, has occupied a leading position in the European building materials segment for many years.

Under the brand name DELTA® it has been developing building products for over 45 years. The highly motivated workforce develops systems that are manufactured with one aim: to offer the market the ultimate in security, reliability and energy savings.

Herdecke is located in the heart of the ruhr-valley region, one of the leading industrialised regions of Germany with a long tradition of designing, manufacturing and marketing materials for energy-compliant materials on a global scale.

This medium-sized family company is deeply rooted in the region, but with a very successful export department which contributes approximately 50 per cent of volume turnover. Dörken has taken the bold decision to invest over 25 million euros in a new plant facility specifically to

supply and service markets that have the potential to continue this successful growth rate.

On the home front, Dörken has been producing outstanding, innovative building products for many decades and in June last year was awarded (for the third time) a place in the ‘Top 100’ as one of the most innovative SMEs in Germany.

Key figureWith a civil engineering background, UK business development manager Colin speaks four languages fluently and has had articles published in many of Europe’s leading trade magazines. He has been a key figure in training insulation techniques throughout universities in Holland, Germany and Belgium – in these countries all roofing operatives have to undergo extensive training through apprenticeships and cannot operate without proving these qualifications.

Colin explained: “Dörken DELTA® membranes are introducing ten product

lines into the market, which include specialist membranes for solar panel installations and encompass a wide range of membranes suitable for all weather conditions. All Dörken membranes carry EN and CE norm certification and will eventually carry BBA certification and NHBC approval in the UK as well.”

He added that all product training is available throughout the range; five rigs are already set up in rugby and he is keen to talk to training centres who would be interested in running courses in partnership with Dörken.

Impressive credentials for a family business

Impressive credentials for a family business

DörKEN doesn’t do things by halves… so unsurprisingly, its UK launch began at the 2012 London Olympics. The breathtaking Aquatics Centre, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid, boasts a made-to-measure, breathable DELTA® -Exxtrem membrane, complete with a 25-year guarantee.

The venue’s roof proved to be one of the most complex engineering challenges of the Olympic Park big build. Spectacularly wave-like, it measures 160m long and up to 80m wide, giving it a longer single span than Heathrow Terminal 5.

However, the Aquatics Centre wasn’t Dorken’s first UK project; some ten

years ago one of its DELTA® membranes was incorporated into the Stansted Airport extension.

And football fans will be interested to know that these membranes were used in the construction of the magnificent Bayern Munich Football Stadium in Dörken’s home country.

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Colin Williamson · mobile: 07725 816 947 · e-mail: colin.williamson@aol.com · website: www.doerken.de

WITH its partnership with SIG now firmly sealed, and having quickly established a foothold in the Scottish market, Dörken has now decided to set up an operation north of the border near Kirkcaldy, which will stock specialist products. This will facilitate the need to offer ‘just-in time’ delivery to the specialised form of timber-frame housebuilding that is prevalent in Scotland. Jim Dickson, northern regional manager, will oversee all commercial and technical sales activities in this area.

The picture for the rest of the UK is equally as positive, with two large storage facilities in North Weald in Essex, and Wolverhampton in the Midlands.

Colin said: “Eventually we hope to have specialist teams throughout the UK offering products that are designed specifically for individual regions – extreme weather conditions in coastal regions, mountainous areas, lowlands, and the warmer but wetter climes in the southern and westerly parts of the UK.”

He added that this emphasis on innovative design and manufacture has been the core of Dörken’s success in Germany, which now accounts for over 60 per cent of the market for breathable membranes in the construction sector.

Dörken’s development across the UK

Buildings to impress….

It is now 12 months since the German subsidiary of Ewald Dörken AG, Dörken GmbH & Co KG, decided to enter the UK pitched roof and façade sector.

A household name throughout Europe for its high quality, breathable pitched roof and façade membranes, Dörken felt that the time was right to capitalise on the renewed interest in the UK building sector for highly specialised, quality-driven breathable membranes in roofs and façades.

Colin Williamson was appointed the UK business development manager in April 2012 to develop a strong market presence via a network of specialist roofing and construction outlets throughout the UK, and he hasn’t let the grass grow under his feet. A new UK company is now fully operational.

two transport hubs in the South and the Midlands serve the whole of the UK market, while Jim Dickson is the UK northern regional manager, meaning that Dörken can effectively cover the entire UK.

the UK’s largest builders merchants, SIG, has awarded Dörken a Preferential Supplier Status (PSS) for its Roofing Merchants Division. Colin and his team will be visiting all 350 SIG outlets to build on the excellent relationship already established with SIG’s headquarters in St Ives, under the management of David Farrant and his team.

And together with SIG, Dörken will be launching various important national marketing initiatives in the roofing sector.

All in all, a good 12 months’ work!

What a difference a year makes