Structure-flex renews P50s 10 years on

Structure-flex is a family-owned business established in Norfolk more than 50 years ago, specialising in manufacturing products from flexible plastics using high-frequency welding.

The company has become the UK’s leading supplier of lorry tension curtains: heavy-duty sheets that run along the sides of lorries to protect the cargo and keep it dry.  It also manufactures a variety of innovative products for other industries including crane test bags, bulk packaging bags and fast flood defence systems.

Back in 2015, Structure-flex relocated to a bespoke 50,000 sq ft factory in Cromer, where it operates state-of-the-art high frequency and hot air welding equipment.  Given the nature of these operations, the installation of robust fire safety equipment was essential, and led to the purchase of around 40 P50 foam fire extinguishers from Britannia Fire.  These composite fire extinguishers were fairly new to the market at the time, and were advantageous in that they wouldn’t corrode like traditional metal extinguishers, and therefore wouldn’t need professional servicing every year, just a simple maintenance check by a designated Responsible Person.

Structure-flex’s Operations Manager, Mark Frior, comments:

“At the time, we selected the P50s partly to support a fellow Norfolk manufacturer, but also because they would last ten years without the added cost and inconvenience of annual professional servicing.  Instead, I have undertaken a quick maintenance check every year, usually during the first week of January when the factory is quieter than usual.   I follow a simple set of instructions provided by Britannia Fire to check everything is in order on each fire extinguisher, and then sign the back.”

Ten years on, and Structure-flex’s P50s would be due for refurbishment. However, the company has chosen to replace them with Britannia Fire’s environmentally-friendly P50-Eco PFAS-free foam extinguishers, in preparation for a forthcoming ban on firefighting foams containing PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ which is expected to come into force in the next few years.

“The communication with Britannia Fire has been excellent, and the re-installation process went very smoothly.  The engineer fitted our new fire extinguishers in the same locations and numbered them in the same way as before, and the old ones were taken away.  We’re now set for at least another 10 years.”

To find out more about Structure Flex, please visit www.structure-flex.co.uk