Compatible Unistrut is not Unistrut
Are you purchasing product that doesn’t conform to the British Standard? Do you realise that your own business could be liable if this product fails? What is the true cost of ownership?
Are you buying Compatible Unistrut believing it is actually Unistrut?
There are a large number of construction and building materials suppliers who will very openly offer 'Compatible Products', such as Unistrut Compatible. What this means is that the 'Unistrut Compatible' product will fit together with other official Unistrut products such as channel, cable tray and Unistrut and Electrical Raceway. Nearly always 'Unistrut Compatible' products are cheaper than their official Unistrut counterparts, this is for a very good reason, the products haven't been through the same stringent quality monitoring process all Unistrut solutions and Electrical Raceway are subject to and as a result are of a much lower quality.
Unistrut are so confident in the quality of their products that they offer a 10 year warranty on all Unistrut constructions. However, if there is one product in the construction which is not official Unistrut and is 'Compatible Unistrut' this voids the warranty, for good reason. The Leadenhall Building in London, also known as the Cheesegrater, is a great example of what happens when compatible products are used, such as Unistrut Compatible Nuts, Bolts, and Fasteners - read all about it on our blog.
The Security of the quality brand
As Unistrut® celebrates its 90th anniversary; they pride themselves as much today on the quality of our products as we did in the 1920’s. By only using quality steels backed by certification and testing all their products to relevant BS standards, we are so confident in our total systems performance we back it with a 10 year warranty*, we also understand that provenance of the materials we use can be a major factor, with this in mind we clearly stamp on the side of all our Channel a unique code (QBN code) that enables traceability of the steel provenance back to the manufacturer and the production batch, giving you the confidence that you get the performance we state and we also stamp Unistrut® on every component to make them easy to identify.
Engineering excellence is at the core of our business and we understand the challenges that modern projects create. It’s often the case that an off-the-shelf solution is unable to answer all of your needs and requirements – especially when there are specific location, timing, or environmental issues to consider, in these situations a bespoke or tailored solution can offer you the flexibility and cost effectiveness you need to successfully deliver your project. Our ability to assess, design, build and provide ongoing project lifetime support for our systems has proven to be invaluable on global major projects.
Know your Support Channel
BS6946:1988 specification for product marking
The standard requires that products are stamped with BS 6946:1988 and also the name of the manufacturer.
We at Unistrut® show that the standard is achieved by rolling the channel with the part number along with the full name of the Standard BS6946:1988, and also our own UNISTRUT® branding. This is, as it should be, engraved deep into the Channel to ensure that you can clearly identify our product over the inferior product that is creeping into the market place.
Be aware, to maintain maximum performance for load and slip characteristics, the Channel Section should have a full return section as shown with the Unistrut® profile below:Products without a full return are, in many instances, unable to support the stated products or the Channel Nut will slip under load:
Unistrut invented it. They are the one you know, the one you trust, the one you ask for by name...
UNISTRUT, accept no substitute.
Take a look at our full official Unistrut range here, or by giving us a call on 0121 706 7777 or contacting our technical team on technical@dpbuildingsystems.co.uk