Portakabin launches building warranty ty

The Portakabin Group has launched a warranty package for its buildings, which it thinks will raise the benchmark for the modular industry.
The companies within the group, Portakabin and Yorkon, are now offering a 20-year structural warranty and a five-year product warranty on new buildings.
The warranty package is part of a new customer charter designed to set out the group's commitment to delivering every project to the highest standards.
Portakabin Group sales director Keith Blanshard said: "We're sending out a clear message. We want to provide our customers with complete peace of mind. If we fail to deliver on the promises set out in our customer charter, our customers will benefit from an additional six months' product warranty.
"Our new warranty and customer service package demonstrates our commitment to raising awareness and changing perceptions about the benefits of offsite construction by setting a new quality and service benchmark," he added.
Portakabin also hopes the warranty will change the perception of its products.
"A big problem for us is people's perception of what we actually offer. People think we only offer temporary, single-cell accommodation, which just isn't the case. We build nurseries, hospitals, offices, shops and even flats with our Yorkon range of products," Blanshard said.
Warrender Primary School is the first customer to benefit from the new warranty package. The Hillingdon-based school needed a new classroom for its reception pupils so the existing room could become an IT suite.
Alan Taylor, a governor at the school with responsibility for co-ordinating the project, said: "The fact that the building fabric is covered for five years and the structural load bearing elements for 20 years, means that we have complete peace of mind as any problems we may encounter with the building will be rectified quickly under the warranty."
The five-year product warranty covers the external fabric of a building, including the steel structure, floor, walls and roof panels, as well as external windows and doors.
The 20-year structural warranty covers the load bearing elements of a building such as the external walls, floors, roof and columns. Both warranties are in addition to independent certification of Portakabin buildings design life from the British Board of Agrement.