Vaughan Sound overcomes intelligibility problems for eCube with Primacoustic treatment…
eCube is a leading global company specialising in aircraft storage, disassembly, and transition services. Delivering unmatched levels of re-use and recycling in the industry, eCube has bases in the United States, the EU and in the UK at a facility in St Athan Aerospace Business Park, South Wales, formerly part of RAF St Athan.
Although exceptionally well-equipped and positioned for eCube’s primary functions, the arched, heritage architecture in which the company’s meeting rooms are housed, was creating problems for clear internal and external audio and video communications.
eCube’s Global Head of IT Darren Farmer explained: “We moved into a new office space around two and a half years ago, and we immediately struggled with poor acoustics in our meeting rooms. The combination of high, curved ceilings and our custom winglet board tables, created excessive sound reflection. Despite trying various technical solutions within our budget, nothing made a significant difference.”
Realising that a different approach was needed, Farmer reached out to audio specialists Vaughan Sound of Llanelli for expert guidance and to explore ways of improving the acoustics within the site’s main meeting room to resolve the issue.
Martin Draisey of Vaughan Sound visited the site: “The main meeting room was around 8m x 6m, the focal point of which is a large glass-topped table made from a repurposed aircraft wing! This added significant sound reflection to the already reverberant space, which was characterised by hard surfaces and an arched ceiling responsible for some horrible sound ‘gathering’. All in all, it wasn’t an environment conducive to good communication, particularly group video calls, and was in need of effective acoustic treatment.”
Draisey recommended a Primacoustic solution. Primacoustic manufactures a variety of customisable acoustic treatments for a range of environments, using the highest quality sound absorption materials. He was confident of a successful resolution as a result of previous experience:
“I’d first used Primacoustic products in an acoustically challenging and highly reflective room at Gower College in Swansea. That was after speaking to Stuart Russell at POLAR who recommended them very highly. The job there yielded great results, so when the eCube challenge arose, I knew immediately what to use.”
For the walls of the main meeting room at eCube, Draisey deployed a Primacoustic London 10 Room Kit in white, comprising 12 x scatter blocks and 8 x Control Columns, supplemented by 4 x Primacoustic Altos 48 panels suspended from the ceiling. The results were instant:
“I used Primacoustic’s online PrimaPro Room calculator to assist with the design and choosing exactly which products were optimal for the space, and once installed, the outcome was fantastic. The before and after speech intelligibility in the room was night and day.”
Having seen such a dramatic improvement in the main meeting room, the team at eCube were subsequently keen to make the same impact in another smaller meeting room. Here, Draisey used a London 8 Room Kit in white, comprising 8 x Scatter Blocks and 4 x Control Columns, supplemented by 4 x Altos 36 panels suspended from the ceiling.
Draisey concluded: “The kits come with all the necessary mounting hardware which makes life easy – in fact the only issue we had with the install in the main room was the high-level working above the glass-topped aircraft wing table which couldn’t be moved! This presented us with a huge challenge, so we commissioned and built bespoke access equipment, complying with health and safety requirements, which enabled us to install the ceiling panels exactly where we wanted for maximum benefit.”
The team at eCube are delighted with the outcome, according to Farmer: “Martin provided valuable advice on the right acoustic solution, ensuring the panels matched the look of the room whilst delivering real results. Since the installation, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Our boardroom is now actively used, and we’ve had no further complaints. For anyone facing similar challenges with unconventional building design and sound issues, I highly recommend Primacoustic products – they’ve made a world of difference for us.”
