As HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, discovered from Sales director, Claire Redhead, the business is looking ahead with renewed confidence.
BioClad was established in 2008 as a company in its own right by Lindsay McKenzie, the current CEO. At the time its main focus was supplying ‘hygienic’ wall cladding to customers throughout the UK and Ireland. Today this is still a key part of its activities, but to its product range it has since added antimicrobial wall cladding, integrated plumbing systems (IPS units, for short), antimicrobial safety flooring, antimicrobial heavy-duty doors, and antimicrobial wall and door protection worldwide. As you would expect given that its wall cladding systems are heavily targeted at healthcare facilities, among the cladding’s key properties are ease of installation and cleaning, chemical resistance, and a robust construction.
Prior to concluding a ‘partnership’ agreement with BioCote – which has been established as a supplier of antimicrobial silver-ion technology supplier for over 25 years – and with which BioClad has a licence to embed the company’s silverion additives into its wall cladding during manufacture, Lindsay McKenzie had run a separate business supplying more ‘standard’ PVC cladding since 1995. The BioClad website states that the integration of BioCote silver-ion technology into products and surfaces during manufacture provides ‘integral protection’ against microbes including MRSA and E. coli, even ‘deactivating’ Influenza H1N1 by up to 99.99% within 24 hours. Laboratory tests and real-life studies have verified that the technology, which ‘works 24-hours-aday’, eradicates 80% of microbes within 15 minutes, and ‘up to 99.99%’ within two hours
Simplifying cleaning and maintenance
With the ever-greater focus on hygiene and infection control in healthcare, BioClad says these properties not only help minimise cross-contamination, but also simplify maintenance and cleaning of a range of surfaces and products found in medical environments without the use of harsh chemicals. Once integrated, the additives will continue to function as a long-term defence against microbes in the treated product or coating.
By way of context, BioClad explains that while antibacterial technologies are only effective against bacteria, an antimicrobial combats a wide spectrum of microbes – including bacteria, mould, fungi, and even viruses. Currently, there are four main types of antimicrobial additive in widespread use – based on silver-ion (as in the case of BioCote additives), copper, zinc, and organic technologies. The silver-ion additives reportedly kill even antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria such as MRSA, VRE, and CRE, but also mould such as Aspergillus which, in addition to being unsightly and unpleasant, presents a considerable health hazard to those exposed to it. The technology destroys the microbes by damaging the proteins on which they rely to exist, and the cell membrane – causing oxidative damage, interfering with DNA replication, and promoting the formation of reactive oxygen species.
‘Hygienic’ cladding
Alongside its antimicrobial wall cladding, BioClad also supplies what it dubs its ‘hygienic’ PVC cladding – based on a standard white wall panel compatible with standard trims and details. The ‘advanced’ PVC hygienic cladding panels ‘do not harbour bacteria like tiles do’, and ‘can be wiped clean in seconds’. They are also resistant to the chemicals typically found in the medical, healthcare, and food production industries, and available in a range of colours and designs. BioClad says they will not corrode ‘like paint and steel’, offer a watertight finish, and come with a 20-year guarantee. The company can also offer PhotoClad ‘crisp’, high-resolution, digitally printed wall panels incorporating images, text, or graphics, to help brighten up spaces and create a particular aesthetic.
BioClad has in the past decade supplied increasingly large volumes of its hygienic and antimicrobial wall panelling to healthcare facilities, with the increased focus on hygiene and infection control only strengthening demand. Equally, its PVC wall cladding is regularly specified for use in schools, restaurants, sports and leisure facilities, and offices.
Improving delivery
BioClad prides itself on the efficiency of its delivery to customers, but until recently had relied on an external distribution company, which had held stock of its wall cladding at one of seven warehouses across England and Scotland, and then transported it to customer sites, an arrangement Claire Redhead told me – when we spoke recently by ‘Teams’ – the company was keen to improve upon. She said: “In January this year the head office team, having outgrown our previous building on the Cardale Park industrial estate in Harrogate, relocated to a more spacious and fit-for-purpose two-storey office and warehouse premises in the nearby village of Killinghall. The new building not only provides a more modern, functional, and conducive working environment for our sales, technical, and administrative staff, but also houses a sizeable warehouse. Here we can hold all the required stock of our wall cladding products, giving us greater control over scheduling and delivery, which we now undertake ourselves. We operate in a highly competitive market where – alongside the quality and durability of our products, speed and efficiency of delivery are key. In healthcare environments – whether our products are destined for refurbishment or new-build, many projects have tight schedules, so a reliable supply chain, with products arriving when they should, is key. The new warehouse will help us provide an even more responsive delivery service, while giving us that extra degree of control.”
Production facility in York Claire Redhead explained that, in tandem with the move to the new office and warehouse, BioClad in late 2021 acquired a newly constructed production facility for its BioPod IPS (integrated plumbing system) units, which it began supplying to sectors such as healthcare, education, and hospitality, about five years ago as an addition to its range. She said: “Our IPS units were previously assembled for us by a third party, but late in 2021 we acquired the production facility for the BioPods in York, equipping it with a CNC machine which we use to precision cut the components, together with a complementary thermoformer and press process
“The new production facilities give us the major benefit of being able to produce the BioPod units ourselves.” BioClad says the IPS units benefit from a ‘discreet’ one-piece design specially manufactured to house important pipework. With what it describes as ‘a clean, contemporary, and aesthetically pleasing’ finish, they can be supplied ‘in a variety of styles’. All of the BioPod units will now incorporate BioCote’s silver-ion antimicrobial technology, and are fully HBN 00-10 Part C-compliant (HBN 00-10 superseded HTM 64). Claire Redhead said: They are also the world’s first IPS system to incorporate BioCote silver-ion technology.”
A one-piece design
Supplied as one component – thus eliminating joints, split gaps, and the need for flashbacks, the BioPod units have a fully waterproof, 18 mm PVC core. ‘Made to measure’, they are prefabricated with as few joints as practical, and fully wrapped in BioClad antimicrobial PVC, creating ‘an ultra-hygienic unit’. Each IPS unit has hinged and lockable access panels for both security, and ease and speed of access to the services behind. BioClad partners with a number of leading sanitaryware partners, and says it can thus ‘competitively offer’ the units either with or without HBN 00-10 Part C-compliant sanitaryware.
Claire Redhead said of some of the competitor systems: “IPS units have traditionally been manufactured with an MDF core, which is not only waterpermeable – unlike our PVC core – and can thus blow and break due to water ingress over time, but is also not that robust. In contrast, ours are designed to be strong, long-lasting, and resistant to damage – all key attributes when supplied to a hospital, GPs’ surgery, or other healthcare facility. With our new production facility, we can supply IPS units in as little as 15 days from receipt of order. We supply both direct to NHS Trusts, and to major contractors working on healthcare construction schemes.”
Process explained
Customers on major installations benefit from their own BioClad account manager as a key point of contact. “Installations generally begin with us visiting the healthcare facility, discussing the requirements and criteria with the customer, and then producing first drawings,” Claire Redhead explained. “These are then modified as required using on our in-house CAD system, and second drawings produced – to ensure that the dimensions, shape, configuration, and other design characteristics, are exactly as required. We can supply our BioPod IPS panels in a range of sizes, shapes, and colours, and deliver them either direct to site for installation, say, by an NHS Trust’s Estates & Facilities team, or to an external contractor. With their one-piece design, they are quicker and easier to install than an IPS unit comprising several sections.”
Claire Redhead explained that BioClad is always receptive to customer suggestions on how its products can be improved – the IPS units being no exception. She said: “For example, some healthcare specifiers have asked us to improve the access panel. As a result, we can now produce them in a way that further simplifies access to the pipework. We have also slightly altered the design by incorporating drillholes the whole length of the panel, giving greater flexibility in the siting of the brackets behind, and again, simplifying installation.”
Extending its reach into mental healthcare
Having predominantly supplied its IPS units in healthcare to acute and primary care facilities in the past, BioClad is now looking to step up its supply of the units into the mental healthcare sector, and particularly acute mental health facilities. It has recently been working with a number of architects to develop versions of the BioPod with reduced ligature risk.
Claire Redhead elaborated: “To date, to our knowledge, there has been no self-certification scheme for the anti-ligature performance of IPS units. However, we have recently been talking with the two organisations about the potential for testing through the BRE and DiMHN’s jointly developed Informed Choices product performance assessment scheme for products used in mental health settings. These discussions are ongoing, and we are hopeful of a fruitful outcome.
Simulated attack
“What we have done so far is to talk to some architects and other key professionals within the NHS working in mental healthcare, and a number of NHS Trusts, about how we can optimally manufacture IPS units with reduced ligature characteristics suitable for use in acute mental health. To evaluate, and indeed demonstrate, the resilience and robustness of our BioPod units, we have conducted some tests in the new York production facility.” Claire Redhead explained that these have included subjecting the IPS panels to 10 blows with a large mallet, 10 subsequent blows with a hammer, and a further 10 with a sizeable piece of wood, to evaluate their strength and ability to resist damage, from say, an agitated or distressed service-user armed with some form of ‘weapon’. She said: “We were pleased to note that following this sustained attack, none of the panels splintered, suggesting a low risk of parts of them being removed and used to inflict self-harm or harm to others. We have also created an IPS panel with a sloping top to reduce ligature opportunities, which has only a negligible gap between panel and wall the size of a razor blade, making it extremely difficult for somebody to insert anything into the space.”
Bespoke manufacture
Returning to the more ‘general’ features of BioClad’s BioPods, Claire Redhead reiterated that they are generally produced on a ‘bespoke’, customer-specific basis, in whatever configuration, shape, and size, the customer requires. Once in situ – they can be specified with a variety of locks – they provide straightforward access to the services, while fitting seamlessly into the wall, but are also sufficiently secure to prevent tampering or damage by all but the most determined aggressor. The addition of the silver-ion additive into the PVC ensures antimicrobial protection for the unit’s lifetime. BioClad has a network of some 280 installers across the UK and Ireland, which those requiring an installation service can call upon.
High temperature testing
Claire Redhead stressed that the company’s partnership with BioCote, with its long-standing experience in silver-ion based antimicrobial technology, not only gives its customers the added reassurance of the performance of its wall cladding and IPS products, but also first-class technical back-up. She explained: “We regularly submit product samples for antimicrobial performance testing to BioCote, and the particular product line is then re-certified, and marked up to confirm this. One of our recent initiatives was to submit some of our antimicrobial wall cladding to be tested in a special chamber, at temperatures of up to 60 °C for 1,080 hours, which equates to a 25-year lifetime. The exercise showed that the embedded silver-ion still delivered a 99% reduction in bioburden over two hours.”
BioClad has also been busy recently looking to secure a place on NHS England’s ProCure 23 procurement framework. Claire Redhead elaborated: “In conjunction with this, we have been looking with a number of architects at the potential for introducing some form of standardisation for IPS units across the healthcare sector, although because they tend to be produced in bespoke sizes and shapes, there are some potential hurdles. We are working to standardise drawings to make it easier in Revit to create accurate and realistic 3D models which will allow architects and other building professionals to design and document an area by creating a parametric three-dimensional model of a BioPod that includes both the geometry and non-geometric design, and construction information, also known as Building Information Modelling, or BIM.
Improving efficiencies and driving down costs
“We are convinced that some form of standardisation would improve efficiencies and further speed construction work, as well as bringing cost savings, benefiting specifiers across the NHS.”
Another recent development for BioClad has been its introduction of a range of wall protection products, such as hand rails, crash rails, corner guards, and bedhead protectors, which will also feature embedded BioCote silver-ion protection. Claire Redhead said: “These will complement our wall cladding systems, and – given the high throughput in hospitals, and the resulting impact damage from items such as patient trolleys, beds, and mobile medical equipment in corridors especially – will be ideal for such environments.”
A busy period
The past year has certainly been a busy one for BioClad. My interviewee said: “We are particularly pleased to have the new IPS assembly facility up and running, while having much closer control of the delivery of our wall cladding. We pride ourselves on being a ‘hands-on’ business. For example, I personally supervised the delivery and installation of the new CNC machine, thermoformer, and press in York, and subsequently gave the training for the operators of the new press and CNC. Being a small, but close-knit and experienced team means we can offer a personal service, and, as innovators, are always open to customer feedback and ideas. Healthcare is a very important market for us, and we are looking forward to making further positive strides in both acute and primary care, and mental healthcare, as we continue to develop and enhance our range.”