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Conference Focuses on Expanding Color Options for Vinyl Windows and Other Building Products
Charlotte, N.C.—Technology is improving to meet growing market demand for color in plastic building materials, according to speakers at Profiles 2007, held here last week. Coming to North America for the first time, the two-day event was organized by Applied Market Information Ltd., a UK-based market research company that has hosted previous editions in Europe.
Profiles 2007 attracted approximately 150 people, including window and numerous other building product manufacturers, extruders, resin and additive suppliers, extruders. In addition to the numerous presentations, the two-day event also featured a tabletop exhibition. Among the products being showcased were laminates and paints for window and other profiles, new devices for quality control measurement of profiles, a new color inspecting device and equipment for applying texture to profiles.
John Swanson, Window & Door editor/associate publisher, led off the program, reviewing recent trends in the window and door industry. Noting vinyl’s high level of market penetration, he predicted that “more manufacturers will begin exploring color options as well as alternative materials to differentiate themselves.”
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Color was not only the focus of talks, but also of many tabletop displays at Profiles 2007. |
ADDING COLOR
Offering an overview of inorganic and organic pigments, as well as dyes, James Rediske, a color specialist with Lanxess Corp., emphasized that manufacturers have many issues to address when adding color. The ability of a basic polymer matrix to hold up structurally, its resistance to weathering exposure and various processing issues can all be challenges. Still, he emphasized, given the range of pigments and materials available, color “is a value added feature that doesn’t have to add significant cost if properly accomplished.”
Building product manufacturers are seeing steadily increasing demand for colors, reported Kathryn Brannon of the Shepherd Color Co. Not only are more colors wanted, but darker colors are more in demand too. Pointing to the siding industry in particular, she said there’s also a steady trend away from coloring the entire profile to just using color on the exterior. Manufacturers in general are going to thinner and thinner capstocks and films.
Focusing on inorganic pigments, she explained that there are new heat-reflective products that can control the heat, but also warned manufacturers to use a great deal of care in choosing them. Noting the trend to exterior surface applications, she pointed out that visual opacity does not predict infrared opacity and this is one of many issues a plastics profile manufacturer needs to consider when developing color products. Due to exposure to the sun, UV, temperature extremes, moisture and pollutants, she said, there are many interactions “that may not be obvious, but we have to deal with them.”
Roman Hawrylko of PolyOne Corp., reported that new products from his company could expand the color palette offered by window manufacturers, based on testing done in Arizona, Florida and Ohio. Among existing products, he noted, weathering performance varies, with dark browns working best. Although hot desert and tropical climates are typically seen as being the toughest for vinyl colors, he reported that Northern industrial climates have proved even more difficult for many products.
Reviewing test results for new PVC alloys formulated for color profiles, Hawrylko said that dark colors are not only retained, but actually tend to darken when exposed to sunlight. The new formulations, which can be used for solid profiles or in capstock applications, also offer significant processing improvements over previous color materials, he said.
Siding manufacturers are using ASA, AES and ABS polymers to provide homeowners with more color options, reported Greg Gemeinhardt of Lustran Colors, part of Lanxess. He reviewed different options in ASA formulas for adding dark and medium colors over PVC siding. His company has also developed a new low-gloss product for use over PVC in profile applications.
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In its inaugural year, Profiles 2007 proved to be a successful forum for the exchange of ideas and information between those involved in the industry. |
PROFILE WRAPPING
One of the most widely used technologies for providing more finish options on vinyl windows is profile wrapping. Teaming up to present the latest technologies in equipment, adhesives and laminates were Siegfried Becker of Delle Vedove, Michael Ermel of Jowat Adhesives and David Harris of American Renolit. Becker discussed advances in machinery, pointing out that for glue application, suppliers are moving away from rollers to slot coaters. Slot coaters are more precise and transfer minimal heat to the wrapping material to prevent stretching, he explained. Ermel discussed the advantages of polyurethane hot melt adhesives.
Laminates have a long history of use with PVC window profiles in Europe, reported Harris. He estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of windows sold there feature a laminated exterior. The lamination process is well established in the U.S. market too, he noted, as many window makers use it to provide woodgrain interiors. New products that should open the U.S. market further to exterior laminates feature an acrylic base layer (in place of PVC), combined with a transparent layer of PVDF, making the product extremely weather resistant, he said.
FIBERGLASS WINDOWS
While much of the talk focused on plastics and polymers, Jeff Miller of Comfort Line reviewed the advantages he sees in fiberglass windows and doors, including high strength, low expansion and construction and the ability to be finished in multiple colors.
“It’s the right material for the Sunbelt—from Florida to California,” he said, because it can be used to meet impact requirements and handle the dark colors often preferred in these markets.
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Jeff Miller of Comfort Line predicted that new manufacturing technologies would accelerate the growth of fiberglass windows and doors in the coming years. |
Pultruded fiberglass products have been around for some time, and are in a similar position that vinyl was in the mid ’80s in the U.S. market, he continued. Extrusion outputs needed to be increased before vinyl could take off in the market, and pultruders need to increase the line speeds of their equipment to grow today. That, he reported, is beginning to happen, and he pointed to technology his firm developed for a sunroom product as a big step forward. He also said his company was planning to introduce a new round-top fiberglass product, as it had overcome another previous limitation associated with pultruded windows and doors.
TITANIUM DIOXIDE
A key ingredient in vinyl window profiles used to prevent degradation by UV and provide a consistent white color is titanium dioxide. The conference featured three speakers on the subject, including Andrew Feng of DuPont Titanium Technologies, who reported on a recent weather study performed by his firm. Like PolyOne’s Hawrylko, he noted that Northern industrial climates—near Shanghai in his company’s tests—also proved to be one of the most challenging for vinyl appearance.
Tom Rachal of Tronox emphasized that not all TiO2 products are the same, even those billed as “equivalents.” The use of one product in place of another may not be disastrous, but it’s certainly not optimum and he reviewed the impact of different TiO2 products on the color of various vinyls.
Marty Paisner of Millennium Chemicals reported on new, ultra-fine TiO2 products that should help in the development of dark color profiles. He cautioned, however, that they could offer some processing challenges.
Paisner also looked at how different segments of the building products industry have defined “color hold” to date, reviewing ASTM standards and how they are used in certification programs created b y the Vinyl Siding Institute and the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, and the Plastic Lumber Trade Association.
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES
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Cincinatti Extrusion's Hans Matthesius discussed advances in co-extrusion technology in Europe. | Not all the discussion in Charlotte focused on materials, with a number of speakers looking at new developments in profile equipment. Hans Matthesius of Cincinnati Extrusion reviewed co-extrusion technology, focusing on its history in Europe. He said co-extrusion is used to produce profiles for different colors, however much of his discussion focused on how window producers are using profiles combining a core made of recycled materials and co-extruded with a visible layer of virgin material. This approach, he explained, emerged following the rise of the anti-PVC movement in Europe, which spurred the industry, in turn, to make a concerted effort to use more recycled content.
This type of co-extrusion is demanding from a capital investment perspective, requiring high-end tooling. It also makes die tuning in production more challenging he commented. Matthesius said this type of co-extrusion would be suitable for the U.S. market if pressures from the environmental movement grow. He also noted that there are advantages, including potentially lower material costs.
Peter Zut of Krauss-Maffei focused on a new extruder screw design that allows water to cool the screw internally. The screw barrel is longer, he noted, and provides a larger processing window, delivering higher output, enhancing flexibility and improving quality.
Robert Perrault of Pallmann Machinenfabrik, reviewed new lines for taking in-plant vinyl scrap and reducing it to powder so it can be used again in profiles. Handling waste vinyl can be manpower intensive, he said, and previous equipment options for recycling content have required workers to manually feed scrap pieces or have been too large for a typical window manufacturing plant. New recycling lines, sized for window manufacturers, now allow loading of scrap from bins, enabling one person to load and operate the entire recycling operation, he reported.
Geared toward producers of all types of building products, the program also included discussions of materials for flexible profiles and wood/plastic composites used in decking and other applications. Gorell Windows’ Tyson Schwartz was also on the agenda, offering a look at how vinyl products are finding growing demand in regions with impact-resistance requirements.
At the end of the event, John Nash, a director with Applied Market Information, noted that with the strong turnout for the first-time North American event, the company is planning to host a similar event next year in the U.S. JGS
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