Monodraught
For more than four decades Monodraught has been an industry leader in efficient environmental solutions
Engineering delivered naturally
For more than four decades Monodraught has been an industry leader in efficient environmental solutions
Operating from its modern facility located in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Monodraught has always been at the forefront of designing and manufacturing low energy, low carbon environmental solutions. Founded during March 1974, the company is a medium sized business that is today owned by the Danish VKR group, who are highly active within the fields of roof windows and skylights; vertical windows; solar thermal energy; and ventilation and indoor climate control. VKR owns several companies within these sectors including VELUX, Altaterra and VELFAC amongst others.
Monodraught provides market-leading solutions across three product groups: natural lighting; natural cooling; and natural and hybrid ventilation solutions. Innovation remains at the core of the business and Monodraught is committed to delivering highly engineered products that allow end-users to live and work in a more natural environment.
“We are proud of our history of developing products from research and development (R&D) right through to manufacture, installation and maintenance in the UK and beyond. A key sector for Monodraught is education where our products can deliver real dividends in terms of drastically lowering energy use, reduced maintenance requirements and improved environments for students and teachers,” explains Managing Director, Andrew McCubbin.
“Our products can be found anywhere from owners of residential buildings looking to increase natural light, through to high impact architectural buildings such as the Olympics Copperbox Arena and Ormiston Road College in New Zealand.”
The key objective for Monodraught is to provide clients with high quality, low maintenance solutions that can drive down building energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. The company has several varied routes to market due to the wide scope of its product set, including an online shop and sales through Amazon.46co.uk. The main route to market is via direct sales to architects, consultants, contractors and building owners.
“Monodraught are unique in the market as we manage the whole development process from design through to installation and maintenance. This means that we are in control of the entire solution and can ensure that our customers receive both high-quality customer service and a great product,” Andrew reveals. “We believe that our team also gives us a competitive edge because we have a high percentage of engineers in our workforce, which makes innovation an integral part of the company’s DNA. Our interest is not just focused on developing and launching new products, it’s more about looking at how we work in every area of our business including marketing, installation, production and finance and ensuring we are always challenging the boundaries of what is possible. We employ highly skilled staff that we endeavour to further develop to enable them to have the knowledge and confidence to be specialists in their respective areas and make the correct decisions for the business.”
As a highly innovative company Monodraught makes use of technology in all areas of the business. The company’s R&D team employs high-tech software to model future product developments, as well as a 3D printer that is put into use to build proto-types and test concepts. Monodraught recently launched a smart-screen controller, which simplifies the control model for ventilation and cooling. The screen can also provide education to end-users regarding how to use the product efficiently.
The company’s team of sales design engineers also use thermal dynamic modelling with integrated environmental solutions (IES) software, as well as preparing modelling reports and AutoCAD drawings to bring a widely acclaimed portfolio of products to market.
Post-installation, many of its products include data-logging functions, which can provide valuable information to facility managers in terms of managing ventilation and cooling strategies within the building and monitoring CO2 and temperature levels.
The company’s continued dedication to innovation, quality and new product development has enabled Monodraught to grow consistently since the company was founded. During 2016 the business was also recognised as ‘Company of the Year’ at the Buckinghamshire Business Awards, where it was commended for the fact that over 50 per cent of the company’s suppliers come from the Buckinghamshire area and its support of local causes including the charity Buckinghamshire Mind. Over the coming years Monodraught will seek to continue to build on this success and develop further innovations in a number of applications.
“We were delighted to have won the ‘Company of the Year’ award, particularly as the feedback from the judges was so positive and there was a high volume of entries from other prestigious businesses. The judges commented on the passion of our staff when they came to visit and were impressed by our innovative use of technology,” Andrew concludes. “We are pleased with our current business model and each year we introduce new and innovative products that continue to drive the growth of the company. Although we supply into many market sectors, we see education as a key sector for the future. Our hybrid product solutions in lighting, cooling and ventilation will also continue to be important growth engines for our business and our investment in these sectors will continue to increase.”
Monodraught
Services: Natural lighting, natural cooling and natural and hybrid ventilation systems