Al Wahda City 1 consists of three striking tower blocks providing offices, a luxury hotel and apartments at the heart of the UAE’s second largest city. Folcra Beach Industries, the Abu Dhabi company which fabricated the aluminium façades, specified Cotswold’s HD22 Self Balancing Friction Stays as the best quality, best value solution for the towers’ large top hung windows.

Al Saifee Glass Hardware, Cotswold’s distribution partner in the UAE, was able to meet the project’s tight delivery schedule, supplying around 2,500 pairs of HD22 SB Stays from Cotswold’s UK production facility in less than six weeks. Vincent D. Costa, Procurement Officer at Folcra Beach, says proven product performance and an efficient local service made Cotswold the obvious choice for the prestigious contract. He comments: “We have been delighted with Al Saifee’s service throughout and their highly competitive pricing strategy, which the other hardware manufacturers that we considered simply couldn’t match.”

Cotswold’s Heavy Duty Friction Stays are a ‘one type suits all’ hinge that satisfies different opening requirements.

The 22-inch (558mm) Self-Balancing option selected for the Al Wahdha City 1 development is specifically designed to accommodate large commercial vents up to 1,500mm high and 100kg in weight without the need for additional support arms. The hinges are manufactured from high-grade 316 austenitic stainless steel for maximum durablity, even in the most corrosive environments. Given the marine location of the towers, this was one of the key benefits of using Cotswold’s Heavy Duty hinges. The stays feature a steel/plastic slider for strength and smooth operation and are tested to 50,000 cycles. In addition, effective weather sealing and draught proofing are fully concealed once fitted.