TECHNAL LTD
Hydro Building Systems UK Ltd
Severn Drive
Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire GL20 8SF
Tel: 01684 853 500
Fax: 01684 851 850
Suppliers of: Aluminium Windows, Sliding Doors, Aluminium Doors, Commercial Doors, Curtain Walling,
Imagination makes the world go around. At TECHNAL, it’s our driving force and way of doing things. It allows us to move forward, innovate and inspire. Where others just see a window, we see cutting-edge technology that benefits both the users and the environment. We see the future.
The TECHNAL brand from Hydro was created over 60 years ago and is a pioneering international specialist in architectural aluminium building systems. We have established an unrivalled reputation for innovative and inspiring design solutions, building up a profile of impressive award-winning projects.
With a history in the UK that spans more than 30 years, our aluminium building solutions have been used to create purpose-designed facades for diverse sections of businesses and residential buildings. We have a clear understanding of the requirements of architects, contractors, developers, fabricators and occupiers which enables us to create an innovative, technically advanced and flexible product portfolio.
Sustainable development is one of the greatest challenges facing the industry today and we need to transform our economy. TECHNAL shares the values and commitment of the Hydro Group, a world leader in aluminium solutions, namely the preservation of natural resources, the reduction of CO2 emissions and waste, the guarantee of employee safety, the satisfaction of quality expectations and the improvement of consumers’ quality of life. These goals to protect the environment and to build a sustainable future are made possible with the sustainable aluminium alloys we offer.
HYDRO CIRCAL® 75R RECYCLED ALUMINIUM
Hydro CIRCAL® is a range of prime quality aluminium made with a minimum of 75% recycled end-of-life aluminium (post-consumer scrap), like for example façades and windows that have been dismantled from building and fully recycled. Solutions using Hydro CIRCAL® have the highest share of recycled aluminium on the market, at least 75% and have one of the smallest CO2 footprints world wide – 2.3kg CO2 per kilo of aluminium. This is six times, or 84% less than the world-wide average for primary extraction.
LOW-CARBON ALUMINIUM Hydro REDUXA®
Hydro REDUXA® is our low carbon aluminium range. Thanks to modern technology and the use of renewable energy from hydro, wind and solar power, we can produce aluminium that is cleaner than ever before. The threshold of four kilograms of CO2 per kilogram of aluminium is the maximum allowable carbon footprint for this product line, a figure that includes total emissions from mining, refining, transportation, power and anode production, smelting and casting.
We certify that the dedicated parts of our production comply with the highest standards, even from a climate perspective, because we believe that as our customers’ footprint shrink, there are many opportunities available to them.
- GEODE MX 52 - GEODE MX successfully combines the creative and visual demands of architects and the functional needs of contractors, developers, and occupiers. By simplifying the technical aspects, manufacturing, and the installation process ensuring high quality, convenience, and cost-efficiency
- SPINALMY 62 - Based on the 62mm module and with a patented assembly system, SPINAL MY combines pleasing aesthetics, large sizes, and interior comfort. The double skin creates a space between the façade and exterior wall enabling bioclimatic buildings to be created. This product is a true link combining technical and design expertise. All visual aspects can be created with easy integration.
- ELEGANCE 52 - Elegance 52 is a comprehensive aluminium curtain wall system that combines technology and design with the demands of contemporary building architecture and construction. By using a 52mm aluminium substructure width a slim sightline is provided alongside necessary strength and inertia requirements.
- CROWN RESIDENTIAL With Technal Crown Residential Window Suite, true flexibility is available to meet your product needs. Our design expertise, technical knowledge, and passion have developed this window system to provide you with a range of options and capabilities - including those that provide structural integrity. The Crown system was designed the way we would like them to look in our home, making them perfect for residential projects
- SOLEAL FY 65 - The innovative, universal window system that brings high performance, technical advancements, and design features to enhance your project.
- DUALFRAME 75 SI - The Dualframe 75 Si window system has been designed to comply with the increasing complexity of meeting Secured by Design, Building Regulations, British Standards and other regulatory demands.
- DUALSLIDE - The Solution for vertical or horizontal sliding windows. Using advanced polyamide thermal break technology, Dualslide provides high thermal performance without foam filled profiles or costly sealed unit specifications.
- DUALFRAME 75 - The Dualframe system combines strength, safety, sustainability and beauty for new-builds or refurbishment projects, particularly in residential, educational or light commercial buildings.
- TIGAL - TIGAL is a hybrid pull-slide system, combining the advantages of a sliding door with the performance of a window. This product is ideal for meeting the challenges of climate change as it has excellent thermal insulation and weather performance compared to traditional sliding systems. With a patented central sealing system, exceptional water-tightness is guaranteed – up to four times greater than a traditional sliding door.
- CONFORT - Confort is a high performance thermally insulated sliding door system, with a user-friendly (lift-) slide action. The system, with an attractive aesthetic line, is durable, stable and remarkably energy efficient. With a maximum vent weight up to 400 kg large glazed areas are easily attainable.
- STII - Delivering exceptional thermal performance, the new STII Commercial Door System is an aluminium door system suited to high traffic commercial applications. Offering a range of framing options, installations can be tailored to suit most space and sizes up to three metres high. Designed for use with Technal’s aluminium window systems and curtain walling, the STII doors provide an integrated façade solution for your projects where high traffic aluminium doors are essential.
- CROWN FOLDING SLIDING - Combining form and function, the Crown Sliding Folding Doors can be tailored to suit any project and is key to bringing together the inside of a residential property with the outside. With a unique continuous hinge, there is no unsightly hardware to disrupt the contemporary sightline.
- CROWN PATIO – The Crown Patio Doors are key to bringing the outside into your home, and are engineered for strength and stability. These wide opening aluminium doors have strength and a slim frame, allowing enjoyment of the best views and maximum light to flood in. These patio doors have a multipoint locking system providing additional security features to ensure they deliver high-security for peace of mind.
Technal’s market-leading commercial aluminium doors provide specifiers with flexibility in design, safety and security, combined with excellent weather resistance. Door suites are available in a wide range of configurations including - hinged, pivot, revolving or sliding systems and these are all compatible with Technal’s curtain walling and low rise façade systems.
- PY 55 COMMERICAL DOOR - The PY 55 Commercial Door range offers outstanding thermal performance, levels of security and specification options for high traffic applications. This system has been developed for areas of heavy use like hospitals, shopping and sports centres, offices, apartment buildings and education environments.
- CD COMMERCIAL DOORS - The CD Door is a heavy-duty door solution for use in busy public places. Combining lasting resistance to wear, protection against vandalism and effective security this is a robust system that’s ideal for secondary school applications and entrances to public buildings such as airports, offices and shopping centres.
- STORMFRAME STII COMMERCIAL DOOR – The Stormframe STII High Traffic Aluminium Door provides the ideal solution for a wide range of commercial applications. Since launch, it has been recognised as an exceptional product in terms of performance and fabrication.
- 202 COMMERCIAL DOOR – The 202 Commercial Door is a non-thermally broken aluminium framing system. This modular product can incorporate single and double doors along with automated sliding doors having being designed for entrance screens and shopfronts.
- DUALFRAME DUALSECURE 75MM DOOR – Suitable for Commerical and Domestic projects, the Dualframe Dualsecure 75mm aluminium door can be used for contemporary or traditional styling. By using a unique patented polyamide strip with an integral bead retention leg the projection of the door leaf profile is minimised. Dualframe 75 stiles are designed to accept full-length Eurogroove – ensuring compatibility with a wide range of hardware.
- CROWN RESIDENTIAL DOOR – The Crown range of doors have been designed for their aesthetics, strength and durability. These fit easily into domestic projects easily with front and back door styling options. Whichever you choose, you can be assured that your home is left secured each and every time.
Technical Support for Architects and Contractors
A range of support systems are available to you which includes technical assistance with design development, through to the preparation of specification. TECHNAL responds to individual project needs, with bespoke designs for specific scheme, performance enhancements and new innovations.
Our team of field-based Project Consultants work closely with our in-house contracts, system design and supply chain teams to provide information and assistance. We cover every aspect of your project. We combine architectural trends and technical developments as part of our product design to deliver high-performance and aesthetically pleasing systems.
Group Websites:
- Technal: https://www.technal.com/en/uk/
- WICONA: https://www2.wicona.com/en/uk/
Social media
For further information on all our products and services, please visit our web site www.technal.co.uk or download our brochures from our BPi library.
We advocate for an honest and transparent conversation about the CO2 emissions
As the world increasingly acknowledges the reality of climate change and the crucial role of sustainable practices, understanding the carbon footprint of materials, such as aluminium, becomes vital. However, when it comes to aluminium recycling, not all processes are created equal - a fact that can result in confusion and misinterpretation.
Aluminium is prized for its durability, lightness, and infinite recyclability, making it an ideal material for a circular economy. This has led to the offering of recycled aluminium as a greener alternative by many manufacturers. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of this recycling is contingent on the origin of the material and whether it has been used in a product before.
If the recycled aluminium is from used windows, doors, façades (post-consumer scrap), its CO2 footprint is close to zero, as recycling aluminium only requires 5% of the energy it takes to produce it the first time around. Post-consumed scrap is therefore the greenest recycled aluminium.
Aluminium can also be recycled from production waste, or pre-consumer scrap. As this aluminium has never been used in a product and had a useful life before, it carries with it the same CO2 footprint as the original aluminium – plus 5% from the recycling process.
Ask what’s inside your recycled aluminium
Some aluminium producers merge pre- and post-consumer scrap in their calculations, which could incentivize waste production and misrepresent high carbon footprint aluminium as zero carbon scrap. The key, then, is transparency: understanding the methods of calculation and documentation of the product you are purchasing. This allows you to get an accurate picture of the actual environmental impact of your recycled aluminium.
As a customer of recycled aluminium, you should always ask:
What is the CO2 footprint of my product?
How do you calculate the CO2 footprint?
How do you document the product you sell?
When it comes to pre-consumer scrap, however, there is an ongoing debate regarding its classification in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. Unlike post-consumer scrap, pre-consumer scrap has never lived as a product (never consumed) and its associated CO2 emissions are fresh. Furthermore, pre-consumer scrap holds positive financial value, often being sold to external recyclers.
In addition, if your product comes with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) the document should describe the shares of pre- and post-consumer scrap, alongside the global warming potential (the “CO2 footprint”) and the additional environmental impacts of the product.
Two methods of calculating the carbon footprint of aluminium scrap
The confusion lies in the absence of clear guidance from international standards on the best method of carbon footprint calculation for pre-consumer scrap. There are two commonly used methods: the cut-off approach and the avoided burden approach. While both methods are valid, they deliver drastically different results.
The cut-off approach: Here, the footprint follows the main product because there is no environmental burden for the scrap.
The avoided burden approach: In this case, the footprint follows the material, with the burden shared between every output (ingot and scrap).
The main reason the two scrap types are considered equivalent is because the avoided burden approach implies the ability to fully trace the scrap. The cut-off approach, due to its simplicity, is often preferred, but it could hinder the development of the circular economy by not giving post-consumer scrap a carbon footprint advantage. This could potentially encourage the use of pre-consumer scrap, overshadowing the sustainability goal of reducing and avoiding scrap in the production process.
In light of the debate, the priority should be transparency, offering data for either calculation method. In a world that increasingly values sustainability, vague claims of being "sustainable" or "recycled" are no longer sufficient. It's imperative that we accurately define these terms, share data openly, and encourage verification.
The philosophy at Hydro Building Systems aligns with this vision. We believe that the avoided burden approach is a good way to get a realistic picture of the carbon emissions and incentivize a circular economy. We advocate for an honest and clear conversation about the CO2 emissions associated with our products. We firmly believe that through understanding, innovation, and commitment to sustainability, we can lead the way in demonstrating that recycled aluminium is not just a buzzword, but a viable, responsible choice for the future.
TECHNAL ACHIEVES EVEN LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR ITS ALUMINIUM BUILDING SYSTEMS
TECHNAL ACHIEVES EVEN LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR ITS ALUMINIUM BUILDING SYSTEMS
Driving decarbonisation forward yet again, TECHNAL part of Hydro, has reached a new milestone for its recycled, end-of-life aluminium Hydro CIRCAL 75R, which now carries a carbon footprint of just 1.9 CO2e/kg of aluminium - 78% less compared to the European average.
Originally launched in 2019, Hydro CIRCAL 75R is a prime quality recycled aluminium, made with a minimum of 75% recycled post-consumer scrap. When guaranteeing more than 75 % recycled content, TECHNAL exclusively refers to aluminium that has reached its end-of-life as a product-in-use and is brought back into the loop.
Using the knowledge gathered over the past few years, the Norwegian aluminium group Hydro has once again taken a step forward within recycling. Advances in sourcing, sorting and traceability of post-consumer aluminium scrap, and an optimized melting process, allows the company to deliver Hydro CIRCAL 75R with an embodied footprint of only 1.9 kg CO2e per kilo aluminium, down from the previous 2.3 kilo. The new lower carbon footprint of Hydro CIRCAL 75R recycled aluminium is documented by an Environmental Product Declaration and is available across all products of TECHNAL.
In addition to Hydro CIRCAL 75R, Hydro also offers Hydro CIRCAL 100R recycled aluminium which contains 100% post-consumer scrap. This special aluminium offers an even lower footprint of just 0.5 kilo CO2e per kilo aluminium. This means it is possible to specify door, window and façade profiles with a near-zero carbon footprint (scope 1, 2 and 3) – among the lowest in the world.
For now, the Hydro CIRCAL 100R is only offered for special, dedicated projects, however, thanks to advancements in technology and manufacturing process, Hydro CIRCAL 100R will progressively become more accessible as the company is focused on developing its urban mining partnerships to further enhance circularity.
TECHNAL’s using Hydro CIRCAL recycled aluminium exemplifies the brands’ innovative spirit and commitment to anticipating specifier needs – going beyond regulations and playing a leading role in the decarbonisation of tomorrow’s buildings.
Also, TECHNAL enables developers and specifiers to determine the environmental impact of projects or individual products thanks to the dynamic Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) functionality via the fabricator software TechDesign by providing the actual environmental impact of the material used in its products, rather than using generic data.
Lucile Souyri, Sustainability Manager at Hydro Building Systems explains: “Low carbon innovation and circularity is at the heart of our commercial strategy. Company-wide, we are working hard together with our suppliers and construction industry partners to find new ways of reducing carbon impact. This Hydro CIRCAL carbon footprint reduction is one initiative. We have also halved the carbon footprint of the extrusion process, compared to the European average, which will reduce the carbon footprint of our products even further. More projects are ongoing, including how our end-of-life façades will be dismantled and recycled. And we won’t stop there.”
