Building managers lean on trusted suppliers to keep their buildings fit for function

From provider to partner

A recent poll by Unicom of small to medium sized property portfolio managers has revealed the issues stressing property managers today … and damage and unexpected maintenance costs comes in third, while controlling costs comes in fifth, and Government regulations comes in ninth.

Suppliers who can minimise these issues for building managers are worth their weight in gold and there’s no better vote of confidence in today’s world of value-engineering, risk management and short-term contracts than to keep a customer over a period of years.

For more than a decade, some of the largest FM and building management companies across the island of Ireland have trusted KCC to keep the buildings under their guardianship fit for function, to ensure products such as automatic doors & access systems are fully compliant at worse, and futureproof at best, and to be on standby 24/7 for emergency repairs and callouts.

The quality of this service has resulted in KCC being “promoted” from purely service provider to a highly regarded partner whose expertise has been sought at the earliest stage of the specification process. This has enabled KCC to select systems that not only bring form to a building but long-lasting, low-maintenance function too.

For more than 30 years, KCC has fine-tuned its ethos to deliver best practice from both a manufacturer’s and a supplier’s perspective. So, while it has its own manufacturing facility, it also has access to tens of thousands of other manufacturer’s products, supported by a peerless nationwide team of service engineers fully trained to ADSA and EN16005 standards.

These KCC teams offer comprehensive service and maintenance packages to minimise inconvenient downtime and to keep buildings operating as intended. The range of service includes all automatic door types, automation controls, security and access control systems, hospitality locking systems, movable walls and all architectural ironmongery.

The service solutions are specifically tailored for healthcare, hospitality, retail, education and commercial sectors. Fixed routine maintenance fees help to enable cost forecasting while Service Level Agreement (SLA) clients benefit from 24/7 support and technical assistance.

SLA clients are privy to a dedicated support line and on-call engineers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. KCC also offer preferential call-out rates and discounts on spare parts as well as guarantee efficient repairs or replacements when needed to minimise costly downtime and keep buildings operating as intended.

KCC brings a holistic approach to developing innovative access and automation strategies integrating door automation, key management, electric locking systems and contactless access solutions that combine the latest technology with maximum control over building security.

Prestigious Hospitality Clients

One of KCC’s valued SLA clients is the prestigious Castleknock Hotel. The service and maintenance team work closely with the facilities team at Castleknock to ensure the ongoing smooth operation of the building for all users, including staff and guests of the hotel.

Recently there was a requirement to automate and extend an existing corridor door from a standard double door to a brand new double doorset with an extended active leaf. This door was traditionally manual but in order to provide ease of access to the corporate meeting rooms area of the hotel KCC provided a fully integrated doorset, hardware and automation solution with sensor activation on both sides. This also provides a “covid compliant”, safe entry and egress for users of the corporate suites with contactless activation.

The 60 minute doorset was manufactured specifically for this project, bespoke by KCC’s manufacturing company Elite Doors, in a paint grade finish to blend in with the other existing doorsets in the hotel with integrated vision panels on each leaf plus integrated ironmongery and automation, all pre-prepared in the factory for on-site installation by our BM Trada accredited carpenters.

Building Partnerships in Construction

KCC have built partnerships with many of the leading contractors in Ireland and Northern Ireland, by delivering the right construction solutions, on time, expertly installed and all working as intended.

One of these long-standing partnerships is with PJ Hegartys who contracted KCC’s service department as part of recent works to a major manufacturing facility in Kildare. KCC supplied a series of 22 replacement fire doorsets as part of the refurbishment works on a building situated on the technological and manufacturing campus.

A combination of both fire and non fire rated doorsets was provided in double and single variations, with and without integrity only or integrity and insulation vision panels, all manufactured in KCC’s timber door factory, Elite Doors, in Mallusk and installed on site with KCC ironmongery and accessories.

As well as supply and installation of fire doors KCC’s service & maintenance team offer a fire door inspection service. A team of qualified fire door inspectors provide a complete solution, assessing each individual fire door, inspecting all door components and issuing a comprehensive report on their findings.

Multi-Divisional Expertise

KCC’s service team are often heavily involved in design when it comes to refurbishment projects where it is necessary to upgrade or replace an older automatic or access control solution.

The Foyleside Shopping Centre is one example of this where KCC’s service team in Belfast designed a solution which involved removing the older sliding entrance that had a smaller clear passage width due to the manual escape doors incorporated into the fixed side screens. The client wanted a more modern aesthetic with minimal framing. For this reason KCC elected to use the GEZE SL Bi-parting fine frame system. We completed the installation of the inner and outer entrance doors in just 4 days, which included removing the existing screens and doors, to minimize disruption to the centre.

KCC’s dedicated and highly trained team has a depth of knowledge and expertise across multiple divisions meaning they have the capability to deliver solutions and install on time ensuring everything works exactly as intended.

Trusted Advisor

As one facilities management company summed up: “KCC provide an end-to-end service for us – they audit, report and repair. Their advice is specific, clear and their pricing transparent. A good, reliable, very professional service, and most importantly, the feedback from our end clients is positive.”