“It involved seven-millimetre-thick stone bonded to aluminium honeycomb that was blast tested to the equivalent of 100 kilos of Semtex exploding 30 metres away,” recalls Andrew Harwood, the company’s managing director.

“The architect was anticipating that the veneer would shatter into a million pieces. However, the panel stayed intact – and we were all very impressed with that.”

The company, which specialises in products such as Aerolite, Aerobrik, Ultra High-Performance Concrete and Favemanc Ventilated Facades, will be bringing its expertise to Scottish Construction Now’s Scottish Construction Summit 2025 at the Technology and Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on September 17. It will be both an exhibitor and one of the event’s sponsors. 

Among significant subjects to be discussed will be the financial instability caused by late payments and the inequitable risk sharing that threatens the entire supply chain plus the exploration of how to transition to a fairer, more sustainable commercial mode – motifs that are familiar to the company, which has four decades of specialist expertise in the construction sector. 

TI Dynamic Facades operates from Glasgow and London. Harwood explains that, now an architectural specification-led business, the company initially supplied internal flooring and wall tiles but ventured into external walls in the late 1990s and has concentrating solely in that market since 2010.

Projects range from work for major retailers such as Next to student accommodation in Glasgow’s Dunblane Street and public sector buildings that include Wick Council Offices. The company, says Harwood is committed to collaborating closely with architects, developers and in upholding its legacy of craftsmanship to shape the built environment for future generations.

TI Dynamic Facades, he adds, aims to be the leading provider of innovative and sustainable rainscreen façade systems and set the benchmark for design excellence, quality, and reliability in the industry.

It’s area of specialisation that was driven largely by the internet. The firm had been founded by Harwood’s father and uncle. “My father, along with others, had distribution agreements for tile manufacturers, particularly in Italy and Spain. And with the birth of the internet, a lot of these products were going online and clients decided they could order them directly rather than going through a distributor.

“My uncle had owned a both a roofing and cladding contractor and a curtain walling contractor – and he had seen the opportunity of using these or similar materials used for floor and wall tiles to be used in  façades.

“When we began, façade suppliers like us were very limited in numbers, and despite rain screen cladding having been around for quite a while, it’s only really become a more widespread, modern method of building over the past 20 to 30, years,” says Harwood.

The company is not a manufacturer but solely distributes or works with manufacturers on a global scale. “We need to make sure the manufacturers we’re dealing with have all the correct UK accreditation certificates.”

This has become particularly vital since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 which delivered a massive reputational blow to the façades construction sector.

“We had done all our fire testing on the products and had what we were advised as the correct fire certificates – but after the Grenfell incident we lost some £1 million overnight and new demands were introduced regarding certification. We managed to get our products fast-tracked and re-tested but products after that involved a lengthy wait to complete their testing.”

One consequence is that TI Dynamic Facades is now increasingly engaged in cladding remediation throughout the whole of the UK. “Many existing projects don’t have the appropriate fire safety certification – so we currently have both the refurb market and the new-build market – with the former currently taking precedence over new build.”

The company works throughout the projects lifespan, from liaising with architects to aftercare, explains Harwood. “We will work with an architect to build a specification, then with the contractor going through the tendering process and helping them to understand our products.

“We’ll then receive our order from the installation contractor and attend on site – when possible – for every delivery, being available thereafter to ensure things are progressing in good order,” he says. 

“Aftercare involves follow up meetings with clients to see how the project has gone, establishing any areas that could be improved. If there are breakages or other issues further down the line, we can supply the material and offer replacements.”

The company, he says, has always been a national business, covering the UK, islands and Ireland. As such, it has much to bring to the Scottish Construction Summit in September.

Harwood says he is looking forward to meeting a wide range of exhibitors. “The type of people there are those we would like to meet – developers, main contractors and installation contractors. 

“We will be exhibiting as well as sponsoring and while we are in the façades market there is a lot more in the construction of a building that contributes to the success (or otherwise) of a project – and these are things we should be aware of.”