In the largest non-woven durable goods market, roofing and building materials are a key part of the structure of houses and buildings. Non-woven materials provide durable and cost-effective solutions for housing and building exterior packaging, roof liners, waterproofing membranes, flooring, insulation materials and other products.
Despite the economic uncertainty brought about by the new crown epidemic last year, non-woven fabric suppliers in the roofing and construction markets are still optimistic. In the early stage of the epidemic, some major cities and regions closed construction projects, but the market began to pick up.
1. Bijan Mansouri, chief engineer of Typar's construction engineering department at Berry Global, said that at the beginning of the epidemic, everyone was worried about the economy, and the information from customers was mixed. "But what surprised us was that three to four months after the epidemic, we actually received more orders than we thought. In 2020, we are having a pretty good life, and the days in 2021 and beyond look very promising. Hope. The construction industry is indeed booming."
Mansouri added that the epidemic has encouraged people from densely populated areas to move to sparsely populated areas, which has increased the building area a lot. "Low interest rates have also encouraged many people to buy houses."
In the construction industry, Berry Global produces polypropylene spunbond products under the Typar brand, including Typar BuildingWrap, Typar MetroWrap, Typar DrainableWrap, and Typar waterproof tape and tape. Another brand called Surround VR was used as a synthetic roof liner. "We provide the entire building envelope in the construction industry," Mansouri said.
Typar BuildingWrap provides a vital protective barrier to help protect the house from the intrusion of air and moisture. BuildingWrap also eliminates draught on the walls, which helps reduce energy costs.
At the same time, Typar MetroWrap is used in commercial projects such as multi-family housing, light commercial projects, and large commercial structures. According to Mansouri, MetroWrap can withstand more weathering erosion. The six-month UV protection provided by BuildingWrap has far exceeded most products on the market, while MetroWrap has 12-month UV protection. He explained: "Our product is one of the thickest products in construction packaging materials, but MetroWrap is about 30% thicker. In terms of water holding capacity, we are already four times higher than our leading competitors, and MetroWrap is about six times higher. ."
Non-woven materials bring many beneficial effects to the roofing and construction industries. Mansouri said that one of the unique properties of nonwoven materials is its durability. "In particular, non-woven materials tend to cover more areas. They tend to appear in different forms, different diameters, and different shapes, so they can provide the durability required for construction packaging."
Typar is a very unique product because it consists of two layers-one is a non-woven material and the other is a special coating on top-a microporous coating that gives it excellent water retention Performance, air efficiency and breathability.
2. Freudenberg Performance Materials Group develops and produces high-tech non-woven fabrics and composite materials for roofing and construction industries. In the roofing material market, Freudenberg offers a variety of asphalt and polymer coating membranes, non-woven fabrics and three-dimensional winding composite materials for roof ventilation, anti-condensation for non-insulated metal roofs, and green roof systems and components. High-performance carrier material. Solutions for the construction industry include products for soundproof floors, geotextiles, geogrids for strengthening roads and railways, products for drainage of buildings and soil, and many other products for protecting buildings and infrastructure.
Most of its non-woven fabrics are made of 100% post-consumer recycled PET. These materials help reduce the consumption of natural resources and reduce the impact on the environment. There are also non-woven fabrics made of polymer-based yarns and fibers. "We have a very broad technology platform to provide innovative materials," said Frank Heislitz, CEO of Freudenberg Performance Materials Group. "In addition to the one-step production process, we can also use a unique two-step process solution to produce polyester nonwovens, which makes us more flexible." Thanks to our most advanced technology, our experts are able to create features The powerful material can even meet the demanding requirements. "
According to Heislitz, the construction industry is one of the industries that can make greater contributions to the conservation of natural resources by improving the energy efficiency and use of buildings throughout the life cycle, using environmentally friendly products. He added: “Frudenberg is helping to improve sustainability around the world by minimizing its carbon footprint and maximizing carbon fingerprints.”
Freudenberg's non-woven fabrics are made of recycled polyester from used PET bottles, helping to conserve natural resources. In turn, this means less carbon dioxide emissions, less waste and less water consumption. Today, Freudenberg can convert approximately 7 million post-consumer PET bottles into polyester non-woven fabrics every day. "At Freudenberg, we are always trying to find new ways to make our processes and products more sustainable. This is part of our corporate DNA." He said.
Affected by the epidemic, construction industries everywhere are facing difficulties and challenges. "Nevertheless, in past crises, thanks to the "derivative" effect that can create job opportunities, the construction industry has also experienced countercyclical and multiplier effects, thus contributing to the recovery of the local economy and tax incentives. ." Heislitz said.
Thanks to the promotion of the vaccine, Freudenberg expects to achieve a rebound in 2021, which is closely related to the projects that have been frozen during the lockdown in the past few months and the investment in public buildings.
He continued: "There is no doubt that people will pay more and more attention to sustainable development and environmental protection projects. This is considered a strategic trend aimed at reducing energy consumption and environmental impact, and developing more and more environmentally friendly products. "Despite the existence of economic uncertainty and the different economic conditions of countries around the world, the non-woven market continues to develop products that can add value to end users."
3. Lydall Technical Nonwovens produces many building material components, including roofing flannel. This flannel is a reinforced needle-punched polyester fiber non-woven fabric, specially designed to be compatible with PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) resin compounds. This flannel can be used as a reinforcing material for waterproof systems, membrane systems and surface systems.
According to Lydall, in the United States, construction managers are using PMMA cold liquid roofing systems to solve roofing problems. PMMA roofing systems have been popular in Europe and the East Coast of the United States for many years, but the company has found that sales of the system are growing nationwide. Usually, PMMA waterproof board is installed between two layers of PMMA polymer encapsulation as a composite structure of reinforced polyester material. PMMA can be attached to the most common building materials, including concrete, masonry, metal and plastic. Its fast curing and ease of use can complete a very fast seamless reinforced waterproof terminal. Lydall said that several US manufacturers are now producing their own PMMA resin, which will increase the US demand for roofing flannel.
Lydall also produces sound-proof floor underlayment, called Ecoduo. This soundproof non-woven fabric is made of the highest quality recycled polyester fiber on the market. Ecoduo has a moisture-proof layer, which can meet the industry requirements for moisture-proof floors and is mold-proof.
According to Lydall, in the flooring industry, there is no better sound insulation product than carpets. With the decrease in the use of carpets over the years, the demand for solving the noise problems related to hard floor materials continues to increase. As the hard floor market continues to grow, the pressure on standard-setters and owners continues to increase, and they need solutions to reduce noise. Now, they have many ways to solve this problem, from the choice of building materials and space design to the enhancement of acoustic ceilings, textured walls, and floor and subfloor systems. The company said that the use of sound-absorbing non-woven cushions can help reduce noise.
Over the past 30 years, Beckmann Converting has been engaged in the production of laminates, and the roofing and construction industries are part of its customer base. Since mid-2020, the company's activities in this area have been increasing rapidly, and many new large-scale projects are expected to be put into production before the end of 2021. Since materials often involve special products, making them into laminates poses unique challenges.
Ray Piascik, Marketing and Sales Manager of Beckmann Converting, said: “The more common multilayer laminates in the roofing and construction industries are difficult to bond using ultrasonic bonding technology. One or more layers are usually thicker than the materials used in other applications. , Harder, which may cause problems."
Piascik explained that the harder material is more like a board than soft textiles when passed through an ultrasonic device. If not handled properly, the energy will be dissipated instead of focusing it on the protrusions of the anvil roll to create specific bonding points. Beckmann's team can adjust the process to achieve sufficient adhesion between layers without causing other problems (such as pinholes). He added: “The challenge is worth the effort, because if successful, the finished product usually brings high-value benefits in terms of performance and sustainability.”
Except for the various layers in the design, the ultrasonic bonding process does not introduce any other materials into the laminate, including adhesives or other chemicals. This makes ultrasonic bonding a true "green" lamination process. In addition, since the bonding points account for a small percentage of the total area of the final product, most of the materials in each layer can still be used to provide the desired performance.
Beckmann Converting found that the development of new products by its customers in the roofing and construction sectors has increased dramatically. After the halt affected by the epidemic, construction projects are expected to rebound, which seems to prompt product manufacturers to improve their products. "As the epidemic becomes a reality, the construction industry is one of the first industries to be'suspended', but it is also one of the first industries to reopen," Piascik said. "The economic uncertainty of construction projects still exists, but it seems that the industry We are preparing for the road ahead."
