WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES | TECHNOLOGY
Performance-enhancing formulation improvements combined with high recycled contents are helping establish WPCs as sustainable construction options, writes Jennifer Markarian
Durability and sustainability drive the appeal of WPCs
Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) — often made with recycled plastics mixed with wood fibre or flour — continue to enjoy growing demand, particularly in building and construction products such as decking and railing. Formulations and processing have been refined over the years, so much so that many of today’s WPC products are able to combine the attraction of using recycled material along with good long-term performance and appearance. In the US, many manufacturers of WPC decking and other building and construction products are expanding to meet the increasing demand for ‘outdoor living’ products. Fiberon, for example, broke ground on a new manufacturing facility at Columbia in Tennessee in May 2022 and expects to begin production of WPC products at the new site using recycled PE by the end of 2024. The Fiberon project includes an on-site recycling
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facility, which will convert baled plastic waste into pellets and will use automated material shredding and sorting systems. Fiberon also added automation to its recycling processes at its production operations in North Carolina and Idaho sites earlier in 2022. Early this year, Oldcastle APG — a CRH Company — announced that it would double its manufacturing capacity for its MoistureShield Elevate capped WPC products through the expansion an existing plant at Springdale in Arkansas. The company also said it was planning to expand its manufacturing lines for production of its capped MoistureShield Vision with DiamondDefense WPC products. Meanwhile, Trex recently expanded capacity at its sites in Virginia and Nevada and, in late 2021, detailed plans to build a new production site at Little Rock in Arkansas. This site will be the com- pany’s third WPC facility and is expected to start operating in 2024. The company said the additional
Main image: Decking producers such as US-based Trex see no let-up in demand for WPC decking from the
outdoor living sector
November/December 2022 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 15
IMAGE: TREX
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