The Ministry of Defence subjected a bomb-proof walling system developed by a Warwickshire specialist construction company to an explosive blast, and found it not only withstood the explosion, but the dummies placed behind the façade remained unscathed.
“The blast was enormous – a 220lb bomb exploded from 82 feet away,” said Gary Summers, Managing Director of Alumet, a provider of building facades, which has designed and developed the ABLE (Avon Beam Lightweight Enhanced) system. The company has been recognised with a Queen’s Award for Innovation.
“Terrorism is not going to go away, so it is vital we keep our high security buildings safe,” said Mr Summers, who is Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year 2011. “We were offered a big contract by the MoD which required that we ensure a high level of security for certain buildings, which also had to blend into the environment,” he said.
It was this that sparked off Alumet’s creative design team, who came up with the ABLE system – a pre-glazed wall that can be clad in a variety of materials – even timber, aluminium, or terracotta – and remain bomb-proof.
Another feature of the ABLE system is that the façade can be built at Alumet’s head office or one of its other sites across England, and transported to construction sites, for quick and easy attachment.
“The finished buildings look like any normal commercial units and are aesthetically pleasing, unlike the fortified bunkers we are used to associating with secure facilities,” said Mr Summers.
Alumet, which has a turnover of £28m and is the major employer in the town of Southam, says that building applications include airports, embassies, courthouses, police stations, banks and other vulnerable establishments.
The company describes itself as the “greenest” specialised construction contractor in the business, having won awards for environmental awareness. As for the ABLE system, all the materials used are recyclable and emissions from production are it’s claimed significantly less than those produced from the concrete alternative.
