The staff at our HQ arrive at work each morning having driven past one of the most iconic sites in the area which has now received the care and expertise of the Black Box team.
Most people who use the M61 will be familiar with the sight of the flowing robes of the golden Angel Moroni. Towering 159ft above the ground atop the single spire of the temple, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Temple is the largest Latter-Day Saints temple in Europe at 69,630 sq. feet. It has a modern single spire with an exterior finish of white granite from Sardinia. The golden angel can be seen for miles around.
When the site opened in 1998, open days were held with over 15,000 visitors attending to look around the unique buildings and impressive site.
The relationship with Black Box began in 2020 when the site’s existing fire system malfunctioned. The original installer was not keen to provide support due to the age of the system and subsequent companies approached were nervous about working on a system that they had not installed.
The Temple’s Facilities Manager contacted Black Box and we visited to see how we could help. This was followed up by a three-man team spending a day working on site to temporarily resolve the problems. When the system was due for replacing the Manager contacted Black Box to quote for the removal of the existing system and replacement installation.
The 15-acre site comprises several buildings and the Temple site grounds which are used by Church members and neighbours to admire the flora, relax, play, contemplate and walk their dogs.
For the installation works, time was of the essence for the designers and engineers, particularly in the Temple building as it is only closed twice each year for essential maintenance.
The whole project took eight weeks and ten engineers to complete.
All buildings on site received a full Fire Alarm upgrade (Siemens) and the upgrade of the Intruder Alarm System (Honeywell Galaxy) to enable new central software to be installed.
In total there are 900 points, across 7 panels, on the Fire Alarm System, which includes all the smoke detectors and the red call points. The system is controlled by one central piece of software that has floor plans of the entire site and buildings, this will give the facilities management staff on-site notification if and when the system activates so that it can be controlled remotely.
The same now applies to the Intruder Alarm system, floor plans are complete with all detection and give on-site teams the ability to control them at the touch of a button.
David Barnes, Managing Director, Black Box Group said:
“This was an extremely interesting site to work on. The Temple is such a prestigious building and landmark in the North West with the iconic angel statue visible for miles around.”
“The intricacies of ensuring that the new system was designed in a way that provides complete control for the facility manager to get the works completed against a really tight time schedule was a real challenge.”
“We are thrilled that the client is pleased and feel that a long-term relationship will develop as a result of the hard work and commitment from the Black Box team.”
Client quote:
“Black Box operates with high standards of work quality and the staff are prepared to engage with clients in a manner to build confidence and trust.
“Customer service satisfaction should be at the forefront of every company that is interested in providing a service instead of just a product. I congratulate Black Box for having this vision and I wish Black Box, its Managers and Employees all the best.”
