Government legislation, new innovations and cost of materials are all affecting how installers go about their day-to-day work.
Installer spoke to Frank Schneider – CEO of FRÄNKISCHE and Remi Volpe – Managing Director of FRÄNKISCHE UK – to find out more about the opportunities this is creating for tradespeople.
MLCP
Multilayer Composite Pipe (MLCP) is growing in popularity with installers. Well known for MLCP and innovation in its home country of Germany, FRÄNKISCHE launched the world’s first street elbow for MLCP in 2026, and is bringing expert knowledge to UK installers.
“There are lots of benefits of MLCP for heating engineers,” Frank explained. “The price of copper is increasing so right now, MLCP is around half of what you’d spend on the equivalent copper pipe. It’s closer to the cost of plastic, and may even be more competitive.
“As the UK is transitioning to heat pump systems, and low temperature heating, MLCP has lots of advantages. It comes in 50-metre coils lengths and point-to-point connections can be made, making it much easier to transport and fit in tight areas. It works with higher pressures and higher temperatures, and has superior flow rates. That’s why we invented the world’s first street elbow for MLCP. Instead of a 90 degree turn, the street elbow allows installers to optimise flow performance, which is essential for the most efficient heating systems.
“There’s been a huge adoption of press fittings in the UK and installers know the benefits that it offers compared to soldering, so they’re used to this technology. MLCP offers all these advantage and comes with a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee, but that system will be good for 50+ years. What we’ve found with a lot of installers is once they try it, they don’t go back.”
Frank Schneider – CEO of FRÄNKISCHEMVHR
Ventilation is becoming more important in UK buildings. Insulation, tighter building envelopes and hotter weather increase the risk of mould and overheating, and Awaab’s law has come in, which enforces the importance of clean, healthy air.
Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) solves potential air quality issues, while making heating systems more efficient.
“MVHR is a huge growth opportunity for installers,” Remi explained. “With a big focus on heat pumps, installers are looking to minimise heat loss in buildings, and design the most efficient heating systems as possible. MVHR is a fantastic addition to these systems, ensuring the heat generated in buildings is not lost, while improving the quality of the air.
“profi-air® is our complete system for MVHR. There is a bit of a myth that MVHR is tough in existing buildings but can also be suitable for retrofit. A big advantage of the profi-air® system is that it’s ducting is semi-rigid, which makes it much easier and faster to install. It can cut time on site by up to half. Our new new profi-air classic carbo-line is also made from recycled material including bottle caps, which offers CO2 savings of up to 59% per running metre. We definitely see MVHR as the next big industry focus, like heat pumps are now.”
Remi Volpe – Managing Director of FRÄNKISCHE UKEngaging with installers
Adopting these new technologies requires a close relationship between manufacturers and installers. While a relatively new name for UK installers, FRÄNKISCHE has over 120 years of manufacturing history, and produces everything in its own factories, ensuring performance.
“We are known for our quality German engineering,” Frank said. “ FRÄNKISCHE Group generates sales of €675M a year and have over 5,000 employees. Whilst we have a No1 position in our home market of Germany, we’re also strong in countries like France, and we’ve recognised that the UK has the potential to be a huge market for us.
“We want to engage with installers here to help them understand the benefits of innovations like MVHR and MLCP for them and their customers.
“We offer training and customer support from our dedicated reps, but we also have initiatives like our design service where you can send your plans and drawings to us, and we’ll design the MVHR system for you. We also offer direct-to-site MVHR delivery and have strategic partnerships with manufacturers like Stiebel Eltron, to ensure the MVHR and heat pump systems are integrated and performing as efficiently together as they possible can.
“We’re always keen to talk to installers, so if you are interested in anything that we do, please head to the website and we’ll be in touch.”
