Banham Zoological Gardens (previously known as Banham Zoo) is today home to more than 2,000 animals. Opening to the public in 1968, Banham Zoo began as a collection of pheasants and parrots. In 1971, it acquired a colony of woolly monkeys and became the ‘Banham Zoo and Woolly Monkey Sanctuary’. Earlier this year, the Zoo changed its name to its current form.

The zoo specified laminated glass in its animal enclosures to provide better viewing facilities for visitors and also making more attractive enclosures for the animals to live in.  The downside, however, was keeping the glass clean. The Zoo’s Director said: “Glass is fine for visitors and animals, but does tend to create something of a headache for our keepers who have the unenviable task of keeping our glass clean. This can be some undertaking when you consider the combination of children’s sticky fingers on one side and an animal’s muddy nose on the other!”

In 1998, Ritec was commissioned to protect the public safety barrier glass surrounding its sea lion enclosure and also laminated panels in its snow leopard enclosure. The award-winning ClearShield System® was therefore used to renovate the existing glass, making it as good as new, before applying the ClearShield® protective treatment. This made the glass ‘non-stick’ and easy-clean, so any contaminants on the glass were significantly easier to remove. The glass would look cleaner for longer too.

The end result? “It was the general opinion of the zoo staff that we should write to you and praise your product!”, wrote the Zoo’s Director in a testimonial letter to Ritec. “We can happily report that the benefits have not only been in our clean glass and clear viewing for our visitors but also in much less time being spent by our keepers on general cleaning.”

This outcome clearly demonstrates the many benefits of ‘non-stick’ ClearShield® glass surface treatment: cleaner-looking glass, better visibility and clarity and also ease of maintenance. For more information about our glass renovation and protection solutions, visit www.ritec.co.uk.

A Ritec On-Site Applicator just renovated and protected rooflights on a South London property with the ClearShield Eco-System®.

Domestic rooflights are becoming more and more popular, letting more natural light into rooms. This in turn means less need to use artificial lighting so can help reduce energy bills.

Ordinary, unprotected glass is a reactive material and permanent surface damage can occur if contaminants are left on the surface for prolonged periods of time. Thankfully, at Ritec, we have a unique system that renovates, protects and maintains glass, making the surface both ‘non-stick’ and non-reactive: the ClearShield Eco-System®.

In this instance, the rooflights had cement dust and other construction material residues on the surface. With the ClearShield Eco-System®, our Applicator removed these contaminants with specialist renovation products, getting it looking as good as new. He then protected it with award-winning Ritec ClearShield® ‘non-stick’ glass surface treatment upgrading it to ClearShield Eco-Glass®. This makes future cleaning much easier and typically reduces cleaning frequency by half. ClearShield® also makes the glass look like new for longer between cleaning cycles and resists the adhesion of contaminants.

ClearShield® protection has been used on glass in all kinds of environments and has over 40 years of proven performance.

So if you have rooflights that need protecting (or any other glass for that matter!), contact us and ask for ‘non-stick’ easy-clean ClearShield® treatment!

Rising to a height of approximately 127 metres (417 feet), this 33-storey tower is the tallest building in Bologna, Italy and serves as the headquarters of Unipol Group, a banking and insurance giant.

Designed by local architectural firm OpenProject, Torre Unipol incorporates various environmental innovations that achieved the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification.

Although a number of low-maintenance glass surface treatments were initially considered, ultimately durable ‘non-stick’ Ritec ClearShield® was selected because of its proven performance based on many years of track records.

Ritec’s experienced Marketing Partner in Italy, AST (Advanced Surface Technologies) carried out the on-site renovation and protection work in 2013. ClearShield® protection ensured easier cleaning, saving time and effort, and also kept the glass looking like new for longer.

For more information about Ritec’s glass renovation and protection solutions, visit www.ritec.co.uk.