The Colt Group is a family owned business, founded in 1931, that designs and supplies climate control,

smoke control In the event of a fire, a smoke control system is used to keep a building's escape routes and access routes free from smoke, assist fire-fighting operations and delay or prevent flashover, thereby reducing the risk that the fire will escalate. I ...

natural ventilation Passive ventilation is the process of supplying air to and removing air from an indoor space without using HVAC, mechanical systems. It refers to the flow of external air to an indoor space as a result of pressure differences arising from natural ...

, solar shading, as well as providing service and maintenance for these systems. The company is present in over 75 countries around the world through subsidiaries,

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

and

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

agreements. The Colt Group's headquarters are in

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The Group has manufacturing sites in the UK, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Saudi Arabia and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It has approximately 1000 employees and an annual turnover of GBP 180 Million (2017).Colt Annual Review 2017
/ref>

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

is Mark Oliver.

History

Colt was founded in 1931 by Jack O’Hea in London. In the 1930s Colt's principal business activity was the development of ventilators for industry. During the Second World War Colt developed a series of blackout ventilators to ensure

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...

could take place in blacked out buildings.''The Sky's the Limit'', Nigel Watson In 1945 the UK Government started a massive rehousing programme using

prefabricated houses Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

. These houses were designed without

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

s to save space, which created the need for an alternative source of ventilation. Colt designed its Constant Flow ventilator to meet this need. The

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

years also saw the reconstruction of the British

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

industry and the erection of new

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

buildings across the country. At this time, Colt designed the Sloping Roof ventilator, which lay along the roof slope, reducing installation and maintenance costs. Colt also designed the Clear Opening ventilator for industrial buildings such as

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. This ventilator design ensured cooler working conditions and natural

daylighting Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, other openings, and Reflective surfaces (climate engineering), reflective surfaces so that sunlight (direct or indirect) can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention is ...

inside the factories. In the 1950s, the advent of large single-storey industrial buildings in the automotive sector required a new approach to

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

. In 1954 Colt designed and installed the world’s first smoke ventilation system at the

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

factory in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, UK. Colt has since sponsored and participated in research programmes to develop the science of smoke control.''Breath of Fresh Air''
Families in Business magazine, Nov/Dec 2006 In the 1960s Colt began to expand operations to continental

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, initially through a

in the

. In the following decades the company has continued to expand into many new markets. In 1978 the O’Hea family gave Colt shares to establish the Colt Foundation,Colt Foundation
/ref> a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

that funds research projects in the field of

occupational Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a co ...

and

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...

, especially those aimed at discovering the causes of illnesses arising from conditions in the workplace. In its first 33 years of operation it has awarded more than £13.5 million in

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

to over 200 projects and supported around 220 students. In the 1980s Colt adapted its ventilation products to

commercial buildings Commercial property, also called commercial real estate, investment property or income property, is real estate (buildings or land) intended to generate a profit, either from capital gains or rental income. Commercial property includes office b ...

and entered the solar shading market. In the 1990s the company invested in research in the control of

levels and

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

. This led to the design of Shadovoltaic, a combined solar shading, daylighting and

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

generating system for facades and roofs of buildings. In 1990 Colt designed, built and installed the distinctive

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

on top of the

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

One Canada Square One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It was completed in 1991 and is the third tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground levelAviation charts issued by the Civil Aviation Authority containing 50 storeys. On ...

in Canary Wharf. In 2007 Colt purchased Bomin Solar, a company specialising in sunshading and daylighting systems. Colt participated in the design of the world's first microalgae-based bioreactor facade."The world's first algae-powered building"
Inhabitat.com, 03/05/13 Its installation at the BIQ house
/ref> at the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg was completed 23 March 2013. This is part of pilot project to showcase a bioreactive façade and is the result of three years of research and development by Colt based on a bio-reactor concept developed by SSC Ltd and design work by Arup with funding support from the German Government's "Forschungsinitiative ZukunftBau" research initiative. The photo bioreactive façade won the

Zumtobel Group The Zumtobel Group is an Austrian company specialising in lighting headquartered in Dornbirn. Zumtobel engages in the development, production and sales of lighting, luminaires, lighting management and lighting components for indoor and outdoor ap ...

Award 2014 in the Applied Innovations category. In 2014 Colt expanded its range of evaporative cooling systems with the launch of a new rooftop that combines cooling, heating, heat recovery, air filtration and ventilation. The company also invested in increasing production efficiency at its manufacturing facility in China and extended the range of products manufactured at the plant to serve customers in China, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

Recent awards

*Red Dot: Best of the Best Award - 2017 - for Colt’s Coltlite Ventilator. *BAKA Low Energy Systems Award - 2015 - for Colt’s ClimaTower. *Zumbobel Group Award - Applied innovations - 2014 for Colt’s bioreactor facade *ROSPA President's Award - 2014 - Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (UK) award in recognition of Colt having won the ROSPA Gold Medal Award for 10 consecutive years.www.coltinfo.co.uk
/ref>

Products and services

*Smoke control (including fire ventilation, smoke extraction, car park ventilation, corridor ventilation, staircase ventilation, pressurisation systems, smoke containment) *Climate control (including

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

systems and acoustic louvres) *Natural ventilation *Solar shading (including sun protection louvres,

brise soleil ''Brise soleil'', sometimes ''brise-soleil'' (; ), is an architectural feature of a building that reduces heat gain within that building by deflecting sunlight. More recently, vertical Brise soleil have become popular. Both systems allow low-l ...

, glass louvres, aluminium louvres) *

Cladding Cladding is an outer layer of material covering another. It may refer to the following: *Cladding (boiler), the layer of insulation and outer wrapping around a boiler shell *Cladding (construction), materials applied to the exterior of buildings ...

and performance louvres *Design support and

project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...

*Servicing and maintenance *Training

References

{{reflist

External links

www.coltgroup.com Official Colt Group websiteColtinfo.uk: Colt Co. info
Design companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Design companies established in 1931 Manufacturing companies established in 1931 Renewable resource companies established in 1931 Privately held companies of the United Kingdom