Architects for the Creed Monarch Tower project in New Britain, CT were in search of the most economical choice when specifying durable and attractive metal wall panels. Morin, A Kingspan Group Company, was able to meet the criteria at a significant savings.
Creed Monarch specializes in the manufacturing of precision machined ferrous and non-ferrous alloy components. The company supports both one-piece part flow and highly automated transfer operations.
“MORIN’s panels came in at half the price of the other product we were looking at,” says Cynthia Malinowski, architectural designer at AE Design Group of Southington, Conn. “The MORIN panels were limited to 16 inches in width, so we were able to play with the colors a little more. It was a funky design, a checkerboard pattern.”
MORIN’s F-12 concealed fastener panels were installed vertically – 10 rows of eight-foot panels. To ensure the Regal Blue and Silversmith color pattern came together the way it was intended, Malinowski was onsite during the installation. The F-12 panels are 12 inches wide with a panel depth of 1-1/2 inches. MORIN offers the F-12, and most of its products, in Galvalume/Zincalume, aluminum, stainless steel, zinc and copper.
Kensington Glass of Berlin, Conn., installed the F-12 concealed fastener wall panels. According to project manager Frank Carfora, it was the first time his crew had ever installed panels from MORIN and it required no special training.
“We were called in because the east side of the tower had to be installed with swing staging and we’ve got all our own equipment,” Carfora said. “We’ve worked with similar products, but this is the first time with MORIN panels. The product came shipped properly, we didn’t have any damage so we didn’t have to re-order any extra pieces.”
Carfora said the only challenge in the four-week project came when the drawings were changed half-way through the installation to accommodate some company signage. “We had to take about 20 pieces down and move them over, but it was pretty easy. It all worked out, the owner’s very happy with it and, most importantly, it doesn’t leak," he said.