 The Sureclad range of ventilated rainscreen systems from Shackerley Holdings Group Limited has earned the company a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
Shackerley, one of the UK’s key distributors of ceramic granite, developed Sureclad in order to allow buildings to be protected and aesthetically transformed with fully vitrified ceramic granite ventilated rainscreens. Sureclad comprises a range of high-grade aluminium horizontal and vertical rails, profiles and brackets installed on an outer wall to create a carrier system with a defined air cavity. Shackerley’s large format ceramic granite cladding panels are then ‘invisibly’ fixed to the substructure using the company’s patented stainless steel undercut anchor method to create a monolithic facade.
A major benefit of Shackerley’s standard Sureclad Access system is that individual ceramic granite panels can be removed in isolation for access to services behind the façade. Furthermore, because the slabs do not have to be fixed sequentially, contractors can install facades without traditional scaffolding.
In terms of performance and aesthetics, Shackerley’s ceramic granite is ideally suited for use in rainscreen cladding. It has virtually zero porosity (Class B1A) and is resistant to extreme climatic conditions and impervious to airborne pollutants. Made entirely from natural constituents, it is an attractive and exceptionally hardwearing material that can be manufactured to resemble any quarried stone. Technically engineered, it has none of the flaws and imperfections associated with hewn stone such as marble or granite. This means that comparatively thin and lightweight slabs of ceramic granite provide outstanding protection without imposing excessive loadings on the building and the substructure.
 As a result of the development of Sureclad, UK architects are now employing Shackerley’s large format ceramic granite slabs in ventilated rainscreen applications all across the country.
Brian Newell, Shackerley founder and Chief Executive said:
“We’ve played a major role in creating the market for ceramic granite rainscreens in this country and have had a very visible impact on the architectural landscape. We’re absolutely delighted that our achievement has been recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise.”
This is Shackerley’s second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. In 2002 the company earned its first royal commendation for the successful development of Framelight, an easy-to-use system for assembling glass block walls and partitions in the home.
As demonstrated at the Paragon project in Brentford, using the Sureclad Access System can eliminate the need for contractors to use full scale scaffolding to create the ceramic granite facades for the ventilated rainscreens
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