Decorative casings solutions, such as column casings and wall linings, are a fundamental part of contemporary retail design. In addition to providing a practical method of concealing interior and exterior structural steelwork they also add to a building’s aesthetics, style and shopping experience.
This combination of practicality, versatility and decorative design has been at the centre of the wide range of retail projects that have been undertaken by Peterborough based casing solutions specialist, Encasement Ltd.
For almost 15 years, the company has been manufacturing and supplying column casing and wall lining solutions to a diverse range of retailers covering the grocery sector, home-wares, clothing, furniture stores, restaurants and automotive dealerships
As Encasement’s range provides architects, specifiers and designers with a wide choice of materials and finishes to choose from, as well as bespoke shapes and dimensions, it’s unsurprising that its products are used by many well known brands, including Debenhams, Porsche, Kia Motors, Tesco, ASDA, Oak Furnitureland and Greggs, as well as major retail parks and shopping centres across the UK.
Encasement’s column casings range includes ‘Circa’ and ‘Quadra’, which are manufactured from pre-formed plywood, together with the metal ‘Forma’ range, ‘Polyma’ and ‘Gypra’ casings, which are moulded respectively from glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and glass reinforced gypsum (GRG).
In addition, the ‘Metza’ range is a specialised solution that provides up to two hours fire protection. Originally designed for mezzanine support columns, Metza is also used in food retail fitted with corner protectors to resist scuffing and damage caused by shopping trolleys.
While every Encasement column casings is suitable for interior use, its ‘Polyma’ and ‘Forma’ ranges are also widely used for exterior retail projects, due to their inherent weather resistance and durability.
Available in aluminium or stainless steel, ‘Forma’ casings offer a diverse range of options and can be specified as circles with diameters from 250mm up to 1000mm and in square, rectangular or hexagonal forms, as well as unique custom profiles. The choice of finishes is also very wide and in addition to PPC coating options in any RAL colour, various brushed, anodised, embossed and textured finishes are also available, including Rimex.
Strength, durability and colour choice are also features of the ‘Polyma’ GRP range. This manufacturing process allows a high degree of design flexibility with shape; size and colour options all open to specification to meet bespoke project requirements, as well as standard profile options.
The versatility of ‘Forma’ and ‘Polyma’ makes them a common choice for retail projects and the high degree of freedom they offer enables major brands to specify colours that not only adhere to their brand guidelines, but also add to the customer experience.
However, where casings are needed for interior use only, the company’s ‘Circa’ and ‘Quadra’ casings allow circular, square and rectangular profiles to be specified while also providing a wide range of finish options with the most popular being decorative laminated finishes. In addition to resisting damage, scuffs and scratches, they also provide the specifier with a diverse palette of finishes including plain colours, wood grains and metallics, as well as textured and real wood veneers.
Alongside the company’s column casings, its ‘Vecta’ system provides a high quality solution for interior wall linings, bulkheads and reveals and is widely used in supermarkets, automotive retail, restaurant and food brands including Tesco, Prêt a Manger, Mini and Greggs.
Encasement’s Managing Director, Martin Taylor, explained:
“By offering six different column casing ranges and the ‘Vecta’ decorative wall linings system, specifiers are able to source a range of specialised interior finish products from a single company, supported by high levels of experience in this sector.”
He added:
“Column casings provide a perfect mix of practicality and aesthetics and we’ve taken a lot of care to ensure our range meets both of these key criteria. We also have our own contracting arm, which enables us to offer a full supply and install service to support contractors.”