Ancon wins Queen’s Award for innovation

This article was originally published in issue 26 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €10, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge

The company picked up the award in the innovation category this year for its advanced composite, low thermal conductivity, Teplo wall tie range.

Launched by Ancon in 2010, Teplo wall ties are manufactured from continuous basalt fibres set in a resin matrix, a fibre-reinforced polymer that is 70 times more thermally efficient than steel. When used to join the two leaves of a cavity wall, this material virtually eliminates cold bridging across the insulated cavity.

Teplo has been used in numerous ground-breaking projects, including the UK’s first masonry cavity wall passive house (Denby Dale) and the largest building in the UK built to the passive house standard to date, the University of Leicester’s Centre for Medicine.

Head of marketing and innovation at Ancon, Annabelle Wilson, said: “Ancon launches a number of new and improved structural fixings every year and invites ideas into our innovation process from both inside and outside the company.

“We saw potential in this new material immediately, and over the last eight years have committed our business resources to improving and extending the Teplo wall tie range as part of the Ancon product portfolio, bringing the benefits of advanced composites to mainstream UK construction.”

Speaking after attending the royal reception, Hervé Poveda, divisional manager with Ancon, said: ”It was a wonderful personal experience to meet the royal family at Buckingham Palace and a great honour to be asked to represent Ancon at this event. A Queen’s Award not only recognises expertise in developing new products or achieving commercial success, but also excellence in every area of business.”

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are presented annually for outstanding achievements in the categories of innovation, international trade and sustainable development. Ancon previously won a Queen’s Award for international trade in 2015 and one for innovation in 2011, for its patented lockable dowel.

The 2018 Award will be officially presented to Ancon later in the year when the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, the Queen’s local representative, visits the company’s recently extended production facility in Sheffield.