Leading building products manufacturer Steadmans has supplied materials for the first indoor skate park in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The company, a principal UK manufacturer of building products for the steel building sector, provided almost 2,700 square metres of AS35 insulated panels in goosewing grey and ocean blue for the walls and roof of the UrbanExtreme development.
Steadmans also supplied nearly 140 metres of AS FAIR rooflights, plus insulated and standard gutters, and all flashings. The materials were manufactured at the company's headquarters site near Carlisle.
Construction work at UrbanExtreme began in mid-summer 2013 and the venue opened last August. Open to cyclists, skateboarders, scooter riders and in-line skaters, the site also has a café and is hosting children's parties, for which it is already fully booked until the middle of 2015.
UrbanExtreme is being run as a charity and is deliberately keeping prices as low as possible, in an effort to provide an affordable amenity which will attract youngsters from a wide area of Cumbria, where venues enabling them to pursue healthy activities are not plentiful.
The couple behind the initiative are former semi-professional BMX rider Jason Keith, who formerly ran a construction ground works business, and his wife Jane. The park's development followed them setting up an UrbanExtreme Facebook page, which attracted hundreds of followers, and holding meetings with local enthusiasts for the activities offered, to obtain their ideas on the venue's facilities.
Commenting on Steadmans' contribution, Mr Keith said: "We started scouring the country for second-hand sheeting but realised that if we tried to install it ourselves, we'd probably get it wrong. Jane was therefore looking on the internet for industrial cladding when she found Steadmans. Brian Hewitt, the company's area sales manager for north-west England and north Wales, came to see us and we sensed straight away that he was a fantastic guy.
"Most sales managers will recommend what's best for them and their company, not the customer, but there was none of that with Brian. We explained our situation and he took us through the options in a very informative way. His advice over matters such as materials, colours and thicknesses was invaluable and he ended up becoming an important part of the project."
The installer at UrbanExtreme was Carlisle-based Cumbria Steel Fabrications.
Steadmans is the leading UK manufacturer of building materials for the agricultural and steel building sectors, specialising in galvanised roofing sections, composite wall and roof sheets, metal cladding, roofing products and fibre cement sheeting. All the company's relevant products conform to CE marking regulations and meet their requirements.
The company's insulated roof and wall panels are ideal for use in the efficient completion of a wide variety of building envelopes, from commercial and warehouse uses to office blocks. Its AS35 panels are manufactured in a quality process certified to ISO 9001:2008, using non-ozone depleting technology. This provides designers with an environmentally-responsible product, with excellent thermal performance and a predicted service life of 40 years.
Available in a range of thicknesses, from 40mm up to and including 137mm, the panels can be specified to achieve insulation U-values, aiding compliance with the latest L2 regulations. The panels are also Loss Prevention Certification Board approved.
