Wicona expands its range of low-carbon aluminum systems for fire protection in buildings

In this niche, technical and regulated market, aluminum continues its rise and continues to gain market share at the expense of steel and wood.

In this buoyant context, WICONA continues its developments. This year, its fire protection offer was enriched with 14 fire resistance classification reports validated by the Efectis laboratory, according to the amended decree of March 22, 2004 by the Ministry of the Interior. WICONA now has one of the broadest aluminum product offerings on the market covering 90% of current demands in the fire protection of tertiary and residential buildings in France. Its 30 or 60 minute fire protection (EI) and flame arrester (EW) systems, designed as an extension of the standard range, are attracting more and more carpenter-manufacturers, who appreciate their ease of implementation.

A certified offer, designed as a range extension

WICONA has designed its aluminum fire protection solutions as complements/extensions to the current range rather than developing a specific range as is customary in the sector.

The fire and flame barrier performance of its low-carbon and recycled aluminum systems is achieved by simply adding dedicated accessories. Thus, stainless steel clips positioned on the aluminum profile hold the glazing in position in the event of a fire, intumescent strips line the bottom of the rebate to ensure fire-tightness between the glazing and the joinery. Finally, if necessary, inserts are slipped into the cages of the aluminum profiles at the heart of the thermal break.

The required accessories, common for all facade (WICTEC), door (WICSTYLE), window (WICLINE), partition (WICLINE and WICSTYLE) ranges, are simply integrated into the “fire” frames during manufacturing. They become invisible after installation. Thus, there is nothing to distinguish an aluminum firefighting frame from a standard frame. These safety elements retain the many recognized advantages of aluminum solutions including the choice of finishes, aesthetics and durability. No additional investment in machine tools is necessary.

The optimization of assembly time and the real gain in productivity generated by this process are attracting more and more customer-manufacturers, who praise its ease of implementation. Proof of this is that its compulsory and continuing training sessions are very successful.

Like all WICONA references, the offer is carbon-free, produced from Hydro CIRCAL 75R or 100R aluminum, whose carbon footprint is among the lowest in the world, reaching respectively: 1,9 kg of CO2 per kilo of aluminum produced for the CIRCAL 75R and less than 0.5 Kg of CO2/kg for the Hydro CIRCAL 100R.

Fire training is in full swing

For WICONA, fire is a matter for specialists with training that is essential. Only customers who have followed the specific two-day “WICONA fire” training cycle, provided in the WICONA technical center in Courmelles near Soissons, are authorized to access the software area allowing the encryption and generation of fire orders. accessories intended for flame-retardant/fire-rated joinery and facades. In addition, WICONA has implemented a continuing training module for a year allowing customers already trained to update their knowledge.

The interest of WICONA customers in fire protection systems is confirmed. Since 2014, 187 companies and 269 people have already been trained. This year, faced with the influx of training requests, the gammist had to revise its program and move from quarterly sessions to monthly training. Nearly twenty companies have been formed since the start of the year.

The technical support provided by the WICONA teams continues throughout the life of the project. The brand brings its expertise and its ability to adapt to the specificities of a project, from its outline, to manufacturing and installation, including the design itself and the administrative procedures linked to the project (notice of construction site with Efectis), and quality procedures (CE marking).

For Aurélien Lesieur, WICONA fire safety representative: “The uniqueness of our fire protection offering, characterized by its simplicity of implementation, has made it possible to democratize and simplify access to this market, without making any concessions on the performance of our systems. The stakes are too high: it is above all a question of guaranteeing the safety of people. What we are seeing is that more and more clients, who until now had the fire elements of a file outsourced, now wish to manage it internally. The interest shown by customers to develop complementary skills and specialize in the manufacturing and implementation of aluminum fire safety systems attests that our offer is considered by professionals to be relevant.”

The program: Fire Safety Specialist Partners welcomes 3 new members

Launched in May 2022, the WICONA Fire Safety Specialist Partners were born from the desire to strengthen the relationships that the range maintains with approved manufacturers-installers and to grow together by providing mutual support through the sharing of good practices and feedback. experience, training, etc. Members are fully involved in discussions on product developments and improvements.

With the Fire Safety Specialist Partners, WICONA aims to establish the expertise and know-how of approved joinery manufacturers-installers with architects and professionals in their construction or renovation project. This program also aims to raise awareness of the performance of aluminum systems in the fire protection of buildings.

Since its official launch, technical workshops have been organized to allow members to update their knowledge of the scope of the fire offering and to train a larger number of employees within Partner structures. Members also took part in fire tests with glass partners. Finally, the general meeting of October 12th organized in Paris was the opportunity to announce the arrival of three new members: the company Face Alu, Olivier and Simard Menuiseries.

The program now has 19 Partner structures, spread across France.

WICONA’s objective is to prioritize the quality of services. The Fire Safety Specialist Partners are carefully selected. To do this, you must be a historic WICONA partner, have followed the specific “WICONA fire” training cycle and have significant experience in the implementation of WICONA Fire Safety joinery. The quality and compliance of the services provided are the number 1 priority of this group of experts.