Grand Designs Event Proves Resounding Success for TB Davies New Prova Banister Railings
TB Davies launched its new contemporary balustrade system at its stand at Grand Designs 2012 at the London Excel, but it was the company’s outdoor metal railing that commanded much attention from visitors to the stand. The company said that the show had been “a real success,” with hundreds of project enquiries, including a large number of developers and garden designers.
TB Davies exhibition of its Prova, contemporary stainless steel and aluminium balustrade system, at the show resulted in several orders for the system many of which taken on the stand, the company states. Francis Camilleri, sales manager for TB Davies said, “The stand was a constant flow of activity. Everyone we spoke to praised the quality of the product range, which has been a huge success across many European markets, and this is mirrored in the quality of the leads.
TB Davies To Launch Unique Glass Fibre Ladder Range at NEC Safety & Health Expo Event
Multiple new glass fibre product line that brings added safety to electricians, plumbers and other professional trades to be launched at this year’s Safety & Health Expo at the NEC in Birmingham.
TB Davies (Cardiff) Ltd is excited that the expansion of its glass fibre product line will create the safest, most versatile non-conductive fibreglass ladders for professional tradesmen in the UK. The new products are part of the group’s world famous Little Giant brand from Wing USA. The new fibreglass extension ladders, stepladders, and multi-use ladders will help give much greater safety for those who work at height for a living. Electricians, contractors, plumbers and other skilled professionals will be able to work faster and more safely with this new exciting ladder range. Read this post
Ladders – It’s Not Chaos, It’s Just Art
Once again we find ladders used as part of an art exhibition. Not everyone will enjoy the sculpture exhibition Material Intelligence at Huddersfield Art Gallery. Quite a lot of it is an intellectual exercise as the eight artists involved show their own reaction to various familiar materials.
However, there are one or two highlights and plenty of accompanying notes for those with the patience to read them so you are not left completely in the dark! In this exhibition – which comes courtesy of the well-known Kettle’s Yard Gallery in Cambridge – familiar objects, materials and processes are ‘re-purposed’, while remaining recognisable.
Matt Calderwood in Double Ladder (Parallel) uses two buckets, two spades and two sports balls as well as ladders in a delicately balanced work. But more hard-hitting is a piece of his performance art seen on video in which the artist is seen burning gradually through a piece of rope. This leads to a suspended car battery falling and just missing his fingers.
Robert Hall, senior visual arts officer, said: “It is interesting to see a range of different artists’ approach to materials and the idea of the show is to promote artists who work in this way and a group of younger artists who have not shown in this gallery before.”
Some casual gallery visitors will no doubt walk straight past this exhibition, which looks chaotic at first glance. However, some of it, at any rate, is worth a closer look, showing what expressionism is leading to today.
For more information on Ladder Safety or Ladder Training contact TB Davies directly on 029 2071 3000 or via email
Jeff Koons Exhibition Features Little Giant Ladder With Popeye Pictures and Inflatable Toys
Pictures of Popeye, the cartoon character, and what appear to be giant inflatable children’s toys draped over Little Giant Ladders have gone on show in an exhibition celebrating the work of Jeff Koons. The Serpentine Gallery, which is hosting the display in London, said it was the first major exhibition of the American artist’s work in a public gallery in England.
It includes dolphins, a paddling pool, monkeys and lobsters which, at first glance, look like they would be more at home being played with on a beach. But rather than being inflatable, the objects are cast in aluminium and their surfaces are painted.
Featuring loans from both public and private collections, the cartoon figures of Popeye and Olive Oyl are central to the series. Popeye was conceived 80 years ago when the Great Depression was taking hold.
Koons, who is based in New York, was at the gallery for Tuesday’s press launch. He said he wanted visitors to engage with the works and feel that “their history, their culture is perfect”. He added: “Working with everyday objects, it’s about people and the acceptance of others. I watched Popeye when I was younger… I always see a little bit of my father in Popeye.” He described his father as a strong and optimistic man.
Koons began his Popeye series in 2002. Speaking about the “inflatables”, he said: “In our own life we’re inflatable. We exhale and it’s a simple death. They’re (the artworks) in a state of being optimistic.” He added: “Maybe art is the spinach.”
Koons famously made a sculpture of the late Michael Jackson and his chimp Bubbles. “I’m saddened because Michael was a great artist. It’s a tragedy to see someone who’s so talented… not to exercise all the creativity that was within him. But he was a great artist.” Koons said he did not have any plans at the moment to make more works based on Jackson. The exhibition is open to the public from July 2 to September 13.
For more information on Ladder Safety or Ladder Training contact TB Davies directly on 029 2071 3000 or via email
TB Davies Return To Royal Botanical Gardens, But This Time To Save World Famous Edinburgh Site
Earlier this year we worked closely with the sister site at Kew but have now been asked to provide a solution at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh whose history dates back to 1670 when it began as Scotland’s first physic garden on a modest patch of ground at Holyrood Park no bigger than a tennis court. Today the garden comprises 70 acres with its magnificent Victorian Temperate Palm House at its heart.
The glasshouse is the tallest of its kind in Britain with the glorious entrance allowing visitors the opportunity to explore ten distinct climatic zones holding around one percent of all known flowering plants, cycads and ferns. Access to the roof of this, and many of the other smaller glasshouses was not an issue in Victorian Britain. You could always find a small child and a stick with a sharp point. In today health and safety climate these things need to be done more carefully.
The ladders in use around the site are manufactured from heavy galvanised steel made before aluminium was available in the many forms and extrusions it is today. TB Davies has designed a complete set of specially made ladders that are designed to fit each of the octagonal structures individually sloping rooflines. Access to other parts of the structure will be made safer by providing a series of small ladders to allow safe access and egress to the ladders mounted on the houses. Read this post
Little Giant launches Nine New Products At Las Vegas Hardware Show
TB Davies long standing US partner Little Giant Ladder Systems launched nine new products at the Las Vegas Hardware show last month. The stand was literally brimming with new ideas and innovations designed with making the user safer and more productive with his ladder.
Among the nine new ladders was the brand new BigTrex™, showing many new patented technologies created to improve an already amazing tool. From its extra wide treads to its new X shaped hinges, this ladder has it all. It comes with a built in AirDeck™, a tray that can be used for a variety of tasks. It is magnetic, to hold small parts such as nails and screws. It also can hold varying sizes of paints as well as other tools.
CEO Ryan Moss said “Other companies are so caught up in driving down the cost of the commodity that they haven’t really focused on the end user and put in innovation that matters. We are launching an innovative strike into the ladder category with new ladders that go across the spectrum. We are going to take the Little Giant brand name, take the innovation and quality and plug that across the breadth of all ladder styles.”
David Gray Director of TB Davies said “There are so many synergies between TB Davies and Little Giant Ladders and I completely agree with their CEO Hal Wing when he explains that we are using the same ladders today as our great grandfathers. Our competitors have fallen into a comfort zone showing little or no innovation for decades and that is not good news for ladder users”
Other products on show included the Sumo Stance™ that has a flared base for increased stability that can adjust for use on uneven ground providing all round increased safety for the user. Synergy™, SwitchBlade™ and MicroBurst™ will also have us rethinking the way we look at ladders.
National Accounts Manager Dave Francis added “We want to be the innovators in the entire ladder category because the industry has been stale for one hundred years.”
The roll out program will begin later this year for these and a raft of new product developments. Please look at the videos on our website and let us know which ones you would like to see first.
For more information on Ladder Safety or Ladder Training contact TB Davies directly on 029 2071 3000 or via email
TB Davies Attends DIY & Home Show 2008
T.B. Davies has recently exhibited at the DIY & Garden Show, Earls Court. The show attracts 4,000 trade buyers from across the DIY & gardening arena looking to source new & innovative products for their range.
The Horizon Range launch was very well received with specific interest in Xtend & Climb Home™ and the Garden Work Platform. As ever the Little Giant Ladder System® remains a much sought after product and the Summit Signature Series™ stepladder caused a bit of a stir.
We met some really interesting visitors and are confident of developing a number of new and fruitful partnerships over the coming months, with independents, buying groups and multiples.
For more information on Ladder Safety or Ladder Training contact TB Davies directly on 029 2071 3000 or via email
TB Davies Attending DIY & Garden Show 2008
T.B. Davies will be exhibiting for the first time at the DIY & Garden Show 13-15 January, Earls Court 2, stand G28.
The Show will see the launch of our new Horizon product range for the serious home improver. Horizon is a bit different from your run-of-the-mill DIY range. We have scoured the globe to find innovative high quality products for domestic applications. Horizon products are straightforward and easy to use, yet strong and reliable.
All Horizon products come with a limited three-year warranty, unlike the standard one-year so we stand by the quality of the range.
Products featuring at the show will be Xtend & Climb Home, Garden Work Platform, Little Giant Classic and the Signature Series Step.
If you would like to visit the show please register at www.diyandgardenshow.com or alternatively call us on 029 2071 3000 and we’ll send you a free ticket.
For more information on Ladder Safety or Ladder Training contact TB Davies directly on 029 2071 3000 or via email
