Boulting Group specifies Spelsberg enclosures for fire protection system at high-tech pharmaceuticals facility

A large pharmaceutical company that specialises in the research and development of new medicines has recently invested heavily in upgrading and developing its UK production facilities. Boulting Group was contracted to oversee the design and installation of the project, which included all of the electrical design, cabling and routing as well as its integration with the rest of the site.

Boulting Group has nearly 100 years experience in providing engineering solutions to a range of industries including pharmaceuticals, power generation and water and utilities. It has the in-house capabilities to deliver a full scope of M, E & I engineering services from project management, design, fabrication and installation, to ongoing after care and asset maintenance.

As part of the design and installation process Boulting Group had to ensure that the fire protection system would protect valuable instrumentation equipment, and more importantly the lives of employees, should the worst happen. Fire resistant components were needed that would protect critical wiring for the emergency lighting system to ensure that it would stay online.

Chris Lloyd, Sales and Marketing Manager for Spelsberg UK, comments: “According to national fire safety regulations, all wiring for critical safety systems such as building fire alarms and emergency lighting must operate for at least 30minutes when exposed to external fire. Other systems such as water pressurising plants for the supply of extinguishing water, ventilators and lifts have to remain functioning for a minimum of 90 minutes. Boulting Group specified our enclosures as they meet the protection requirements for emergency lighting system.”

Spelsberg is Europe’s biggest manufacturer of non-metallic electrical enclosures, with a range of over 4,000 standard product designs, most of which are suitable for its in-house CNC customisation services. It was able to recommend the WKE 5 IP65 enclosures, which are delivered complete with 2 x 12-pole terminal blocks. With pre-drilled entry points, and fire resistant IP68 dome topped cable glands available, the enclosures allow for simple installation and offer both E30 and E90 fire resistance in accordance with DIN 4102/12.

The WKE range is manufactured from Orange (RAL 2004) halogen free duroplastic, which offers lower smoke emissions and an ingress protection IP54 or IP65 to EN60670. The units are available in five different sizes that range from 100 x 100 x 50mm to 171 x 256 x 106mm and come complete with IP54 cable entry accessories. Each junction box is rated at 450 V and features integral, high temperature ceramic terminals, suitable for conductors from 0.5mmsq up to 2X6mmsq or 4X1.5mmsq conductors per pole.

Chris Lloyd continues: “The WKE junction boxes offered the level of protection that was required for the lighting system. We design all our enclosures to allow for easy installation and offer a wide variety of dimensions and entry options to ensure that no compromise is necessary between an system’s original design and its specification. The Boulting Group is known for the quality of its engineering solutions and I consider it a testament to the quality of our products that they were specified.”