Wrekin Products, manufacturers of intelligent products for civil engineering, has launched UniPakTM to increase the durability of highway ironwork installation, reduce cost and get roads open more quickly.

UniPak creates a strong, uniform foundation for a manhole cover or gully grate from the moment it’s installed, allowing the road to be re-opened as soon as the excavation has been backfilled and resurfaced.

“Fitting highway ironwork right first time is the only way to prevent surrounding carriageway failure. New UniPak highway ironwork installation system dramatically improves the standard of manhole cover fixing,” says Barry Turner, Technical Manager at Wrekin Products and the lead engineer behind UniPak.

The UniPak patented system is made up of 3 components. Engineered polymer packing planks raise the sub-structure to the required level, unique polymer stepped wedges level the ironwork and polymer based low slump mortar interlocks with the planks and securely bonds the complete installation to prevent premature failure.

“Installing highway ironwork is a demanding task that can, and often does, go wrong,” adds Barry. “It is independently reported that ten percent of manhole covers fail within the first year. The movement and cracking of the foundation causes manhole covers to rock, leading to road damage and potholes.”

Wrekin Products’ UniPak combats these common points of failure. It’s also a lot simpler and quicker than conventional installation methods. The support planks, wedges and mortar combine to form a homogeneous structure that exceeds both the requirements of HA104/09 and the WRc Streetworks report CP373. The high strength polyester resin used for all three UniPak components is well proven in civil engineering and resistant to common service contaminants.

UniPak is available from builders’ merchants across the UK. For details visit www.wrekinproducts.com.