A key milestone in Nottingham's transport infrastructure has been marked with the opening of the new £570m tram extension – and Fibrelite is delighted to have played its part: supplying bespoke, non-slip composite access covers and frames for the electrical inspection chambers on station platforms.

Safety First for Operators and Commuters

David Holmes, Technical Director for Fibrelite, said: "Electrical inspection chambers needed trench covers which were safe and easy for operators to lift when carrying out regular checks on the power lines but were also lockable and non-slip as the chambers themselves are sited in the new station platforms."

"We were brought in to design and manufacture 44 lockable covers and frames for pre-existing chambers that had initially been installed with an alternative, but ultimately unworkable solution, in mind."

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"Medium light duty composite trench covers were selected as the obvious solution in terms of load rating but a completely bespoke trench cover arrangement was needed to seal the chamber openings - and we had some extremely tight deadlines to meet. However, we have our own manufacturing facilities in Skipton so we have full control over design metrics, scheduling and quality of the finished product."

Designed to be a 'fit-and-forget' product, composite access covers are maintenance-free, lightweight, durable, corrosion-resistant and very strong as a matter of course. In fact Fibrelite's trench and manhole covers offer the best strength to weight ratio in the industry, allowing for maximum load bearing and durability (tested to BS EN 124) and the Fibrelite extreme heavy duty F900 load-rated trench cover - launched last year - remains unique in the market place.

#coveringtheworld

Fibrelite have also been involved in supplying access covers for many other UK rail projects, including platform upgrade work for Network Rail stations and fully-conductive covers for easy access to electrical junction boxes for another major infrastructure project.

And with manufacturing plants located in the United Kingdom, United States and Malaysia, Fibrelite products are tried and trusted in over 80 countries around the world where they have been installed in facilities as diverse as Water Works; Power Stations; Pharmaceutical Plants; Hospitals; University Campuses; Shopping Centres and Housing Developments – not forgetting a London zoo and a water treatment system in Antarctica.

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