Center Parcs revolutionised the holiday market in Holland over 40 years ago and did the same in the UK when it opened its first Village at Sherwood Forest in July 1987, providing short break holidays in the forest on a year-round basis.
In December 2004, Center Parcs announced it had identified a location for a fifth UK site at Woburn Forest, Bedfordshire. The Woburn Forest project involved the construction of accommodation, indoor and outdoor facilities, sub-tropical swimming complex, restaurants and a spa.
This extremely high profile project by a World class manufacturer would need to partner with outstanding suppliers and professionals to deliver a stunning and entertaining destination venue. Blackburn-based AkzoNobel would feature very heavily in the final phase of the project.
AkzoNobel is a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. Calling on centuries of expertise, they supply industries and consumers worldwide with innovative products and sustainable technologies designed to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing planet.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, they have approximately 47,000 people in around 80 countries and their portfolio includes well-known industrial wood coatings brands such as Sikkens, ICLA and Zweihorn. Consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of sustainability, they are committed to making life more liveable and our cities more human.
Maryport-based West Port Timber Window and Door Technology were awarded the contract by the main contractor ISG to provide the new holiday Village with 4,000 timber System X windows and 2,000 timber doors. And West Port needed the assistance of AkzoNobel to help them fulfil the high demands of the project.
Carl Circus, UK Distribution Manager, AkzoNobel Wood Coatings commented: “The Center Parcs project was for us, a hugely high profile contract and one that we at the time relished supplying. It’s always great to see our products matching up to the exact specifications and demanding needs of our customers.”
All of the West Port timber windows and doors provided to the site were painted in a specific brown as requested by Center Parcs, enabling the windows to blend into the building and surrounding area. No easy task and the choice of coatings would be crucial.
Sean Parnaby, West Port commented: “Colour was a major part of the decision in specifying the product and working with our partner AkzoNobel we were able to match exactly the colour requested by the client.”
Each of the 625 Forest lodges had been provided with a timber front door with electronic locks and a sliding patio door giving the living area more light. The final specification of the coatings for these lodges would need to harmonise with the natural surroundings, look great and be durable.
The ideal coatings solution for this project rested on the expertise of AkzoNobel in supplying two of their hugely popular products which would meet this specification perfectly.
Sikkens Cetol WP 560 from AkzoNobel is a waterborne, translucent base stain ideal for wooden windows and doors that are made of hardwood for either the interior or the exterior. It provides deep penetration, is wood moisture regulating and offers a high quality colour outline. Sikkens Cetol WP 560 also has good UV protection and is water thinnable, which means equipment can also be cleaned easily.
The second product from AkzoNobel that would be gracing the project would be their popular Sikkens Rubbol WF 378 fully factory fi nished system.
A waterborne coating that is an opaque satin gloss mid and fi nish coat for wooden constructions that have either an exterior or interior finish. This would of course would be another ideal choice for this ‘forest borne’ project. Sikkens Rubbol WF 378 offers good levelling and has great weather resistance. It is ideal for spraying onto windows and doors and is also water thinnable enabling equipment to be cleaned with ease.
The project would need one coat of WP560 and two coats of WF 378 in RAL 8011 shade.
Sean Parnaby finally added: “The end result of the lodges looked brilliant with the timber windows and doors due to the colour and style used.”
To see the list of UK and Ireland distributors www.sikkens-wood-coatings.co.uk/en/home.html. Contact them for further details on their product offers, specifications and specialist industry advice.
