25 years of lifesaving expertise
The company responsible for the fire protection in many of the landmark buildings in North East England, including the Metro Centre, St James’ Park and Sage Gateshead, is celebrating 25 years in business.
Isoler, based in Team Valley, Gateshead, provides a comprehensive range of building integrity services to the public sector and the construction industry. It offers an expert consultancy and installation service for fire protection, fire stopping, air sealing and acoustic separation to new and existing buildings.
Managing Director John Gilstin recalls that when Isoler started in 1992 he had a temporary office in an ensuite bathroom, but as he says “great oaks from little acorns grow”. Now 25 years later, Isoler employs a core of 36 site workers and 8 office staff, and is highly regarded as a specialist business at the top of its game. As well as being an essential part of major construction projects, such as the University Hospital of North Durham, Isoler has also been solely responsible for fire protection in 200 schools in recent years.
John Gilstin said: “Over the last 25 years in our industry there have been some important advances but many of the basics have not changed. Preventing the collapse of buildings by protecting the structural steel remains a major part of our work but now there is also an emphasis on compartmentation to stop the spread of fire. We provide expertise that can save lives.”
In 2006 Isoler was acquired by Northern Bear plc and became part of a group of building services businesses. “This has been very good for Isoler,” said John Gilstin. “Northern Bear has seen us through hard times. I doubt we would have survived the downturn following the financial crash of 2008 without the backing of Northern Bear.”
