Fire sprinkler manufacturers are ready to show off their latest enhancements to their product lines at the upcoming National Fire Protection Association Expo. Manufacturers such as Globe Fire Sprinkler, Victaulic, Tyco and others will set up shop June 9-12 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Globe Fire Sprinkler Project Engineer Karl Wiegand, P.E., says his team have spent a lot of time working on products that will appeal to designers and contractors trying to cut down on labor costs.
Wiegand adds Globe Fire Sprinkler will show an enhanced line of sprinklers at the NFPA Expo. These products include the company’s 5.6K-factor concealed extended coverage sprinkler for light hazard, an 11.2K-factor extended coverage sprinkler for light hazard and an 11.2K-factor extended coverage model for ordinary hazard in both pendant and upright positions.
“These sprinklers can throw further than a standard sprinkler can throw. They can cover a larger area,” Wiegand states. “It allows for fewer sprinklers to be installed, fewer pipe lines to be installed and lower labor costs.
“A lot of the enhancements in our industry are about labor. Many of our products, and the products our competitors are coming out with, allow you to have a faster installation process.”
Wiegand says that his team has been hard at work to make life easier on the back end with their products.
“Over the last few years, we’ve been developing our 1-in. concealed sprinkler,” he says. “When you have a concealed sprinkler, one of the biggest issues is that you have a very small amount of tolerance for where it has to be installed in relation to the ceiling.
“If your pipe is cut too short or if your hangars are too short, the sprinkler won’t be sitting in the right place. It won’t be able to activate and work properly.”
Wiegand says the development of codes such as NFPA 13 is incredibly important and the company takes pride in being a part of the code-development process.
“We’re directly involved in the major codes for our industry,” he says. “NFPA 13, NFPA 13-R and NFPA 13-D are the three most important documents for us. We have a representative that sits in on one of the committees for NFPA 13 and I personally go to all the meetings for all NFPA 13. I’m allowed to speak on issues, but I don’t have a vote.”
Other scheduled NFPA Expo event highlights include:
- The general session will be capped with a keynote address from presidential historian and author Michael Beschloss. Beschloss — the son of pme and BNP Media Plumbing Group columnist Morris Beschloss— will tell stories of how all U.S. presidents have handled the pressures of the job and will put President Obama in a historical perspective among other topics.
- Kurt Schwartz, undersecretary of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, will give a featured presentation during the expo. Schwartz will review the local, regional and state planning process for the 2013 Boston Marathon. He’ll also talk in-depth about the intense response to the event’s bombing and manhunt. Schwartz will touch upon all the challenges, lessons learned and best practices of the response and recovery from the attack.
- As of pme’s press time, there are 153 educational sessions on the NFPA Expo docket.
