Midland firm Beakbane has been striking deals in high places after designing and manufacturing what is thought to be the highest weatherproof seal in the country.

The Kidderminster-based company fitted the seal to the distinctive mast at the top of the Heron Tower in London.

Beakbane was able to provide a bespoke fabricated neoprene-coated nylon seal ready to install in just two weeks.

The 28m-tall cylindrical mast that crowns the tower rises to 230m above sea level at its highest point and was manufactured in two parts to allow it to flex. The Beakbane seal is designed to protect the joint between the two sections from the weather and move with the joint as it flexes.

Beakbane’s customer was JELT Constructive Building, which was responsible for providing the weatherproof membrane on the roof, and other weatherproof detailing, on behalf of main contractor Skanska.

JELT’s managing director Eamonn Smith said: “We took advice from Beakbane on the best material for the job and they came up with the bespoke design we needed to weatherproof the joint in the mast.”

The Heron Tower project was the first time that Beakbane has provided an exterior seal of this kind to the construction sector, but it does have a long track record of supplying bespoke and standard bellows and flexible connectors for interior applications. Typically these are used on heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, where flexible connectors are used to compensate for misalignments and eliminate vibration, particularly between the fan and the ducting.