The Sustainability of Steel

In a world of seemingly limited resources, steel is a highly sustainable metal with the possibility for infinite recycling with no downgrade in quality.

Seen as vital to the development of modern economies due to increasing global demand and its environmental credentials, here we take a look at steel’s place in design and construction, particularly its applications to steel window and door manufacturing.

How steel is made

Steel is traditionally made using either the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) or the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) method; however, while the BOF route can only accommodate 35% recycled steel, the EAF method can accommodate 100% recycled steel.  In the UK, the infrastructure is not available to meet the demand for recycled content above 35% so steel is instead sourced from Europe.

Steel is one of the most recycled materials in construction, requiring recycled steel in the production process of all new steel materials.  The recycling process for steel is relatively uncomplicated.  It is processed by magnet and melted down, removing complicated separating procedures and the processing element generally produces very little waste.

Steel is inherently strong and can be recycled infinitely without losing this innate quality.  At the end of its life cycle, a steel product can be recycled and made into new products that are of an equivalent standard to the original material.

At Clement we care about quality and sustainability.  That is why all the hot rolled steel used in our windows and doors comes from Montenstahl in Switzerland and is made using the EAF method.  The company is committed to sourcing its raw material at prestigious European mills that comply with high levels of recycling and where profiles in the form of hot rolled steel billets are manufactured with a very high amount of recycled scrap metal (typically around 98%).

Private residence, Surrey

Sustainable steel in construction and design

We talk a lot about the strength of steel and the flexibility it provides to create our premium, bespoke products.

Because of the multipurpose nature of steel, it can easily be recycled, remodelled and manufactured again into a wide variety of shapes and sizes and thus it has a wide range of applications, from white goods to cars and of course, steel windows and doors.  Steel is ideal for construction and design and brings the added bonus of an impressive sustainable element.

View our Gallery of Steel Window and Door designs.

The benefits of using steel for windows and doors:

• Strength and security – Inherently strong, steel offers a secure frame for windows and doors, helping you to feel safe in your property.
• Little maintenance requirement – Correct maintenance is the key to the lifespan of most window frames. Although steel is extremely strong, we would recommend checking over frames and fixtures after unusually harsh weather conditions or in the case of an attempted intrusion or malicious damage.
• Flexible to suit many different home styles – Easily engineered to various shapes and sizes, steel is extremely resourceful and can fit the aesthetic of your home, whether it is a period style property or a contemporary new build.
• Slender frames – The slim frames only possible with steel will let in more natural light.

All our products are made to a very high quality in our very own ISO 9001 approved factory, to ensure we are able to guarantee the durability and reliability of our bespoke products and materials.  Hot dip galvanised to EN ISO BS 1461 and available in a choice of Akzo Nobel polyester powder paint colours, our steel frames provide an average paint coating in excess of 100 microns (the industry standard is 60 microns) meaning they will last for many years.

Find out more about our steel windows and doors here.

For more information about our bespoke products, please arrange a meeting with the team by calling us on 01428 643393 or email us at info@clementwg.co.uk.