Ahlsell's new head office in Alnabru, Oslo, has beehives on the roof and the market's most powerful washbasin faucets in the washrooms. This makes it one of the most sustainable logistics buildings in the Nordic region.

A green roof with solar cells, rainwater reservoir and beehives. Locally produced energy, fast chargers on the loading ramps. Built on a fossil-free construction site, environmentally certified as Excellent on the BREEAM scale. Ahlsell's new logistics and warehouse building in Oslo is a showcase of sustainability, recycling and the smart use of new technology. Every day, thousands of pipe components are packed by the efficient warehouse robots. On the roof, bees produce Ahlsell honey and rainwater is collected in reservoirs and used to water the roof during dry periods.

Reduced water consumption

Water-saving measures were one of the client's priorities and important for achieving a good environmental rating. Ahlsell has therefore installed electronic washbasin mixers in all washrooms in the new building.

The touch-free mixer faucets from Froster AS are equipped with solenoid valves that provide full control over water consumption. The water-saving solenoid valves deliver 1.9 litres per minute and thus score well above the required score of 5 for a top rating on the BREEAM scale. "We wanted to use products that gave us the opportunity to build to BREEAM Excellent and that support our vision," explains Jonas Ebbestad, Administration Manager at Ahlsell. 

He was central to the construction of the new logistics building that Ahlsell moved into last winter. "The pandemic hit during the course of the project, which led us to also focus on touch-free technology. We wanted a faucet that was touch-free, battery-powered and could regulate water consumption. The washbasin mixer faucets from Froster AS tick all these boxes, and that's why we chose them," says Ebbestad.

Solving problems

Ahlsell has installed a total of 40 washbasin mixers from the CONTI+ ultra brand in the warehouse. And one year in, Ebbestad has nothing but praise for the faucets. "It's all worked very well, we didn't have any problems. The batteries have a life span of four years, so it was an easy decision to make. But we have made some discoveries. The mixers have solved some problems that we didn't know we had. There is generally little focus on water-saving measures in Norway. But now we can see and measure how much we are actually saving."

The CONTI+ series mixers can be connected via Bluetooth to enable the programming and reading of data.

Knut Tøraasen, CEO of Froster AS, is proud that Ahlsell chose the CONTI+ series mixers for their new building. "In addition to increased sales, we also are creating synergies. Now Ahlsell's skilled salespeople can get to know the product and will be able to share their experiences with the plumbers who shop here. The CONTI+ series is sold through a wholesaler. And a good relationship between wholesaler and plumber makes it easier for the products to find their way to the end user," says Tøraasen.

"Our sales staff are people the plumbers trust," adds Ebbestad.

Four benefits of CONTI+

Touch-free washbasin mixer faucet:

+ Reduced transmission of bacteria and infection

+ Reduced water consumption due to automatic shut-off

Energy consumption:

+ Patented technology significantly reduces energy consumption

+ Reduced energy consumption for longer battery life

+ Standard AA batteries

+ Available support functions further extend battery life

1. Water turbine
2. Solar panel

Water consumption:

+ Solenoid valve selected by Ahlsell delivers 1.9 l/min. – experienced as a normal volume of water due to the customised aerator

• Meets the highest score (5) on the BREEAM scale, which is 3 litres/min. 
• Standard solenoid valve for this mixer delivers 5.7 l/min. This gives a rating of 2 on the BREEAM scale 
• The BREEAM reference for washbasin mixers is 12 litres/min. The minimum requirement for a rating of 1 is 9 l/min. 

Sustainability:

• Any reduction in consumption (water, energy, etc.) results in increased sustainability 
• The mixers are supplied with the same stem and can therefore easily be converted to all available models of CONTI+ Ultra GM10 

100 % access to spare parts (all individual components can be purchased and replaced separately)