TECHNOLOGY | WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES
Right: Oldcastle is investing in more capacity for its Mois- tureShield Elevate capped WPC products at Springdale in Arkansas, US
capacity would help meet growing anticipated demand for its WPC decking and railing. “With the outdoor living category continuing to
show strong momentum and our success to-date in converting share from the wood decking market, the time is right to further expand our capacity so that we can meet future customer demand efficient- ly and effectively,” said Bryan Fairbanks, president and CEO of Trex.
Emphasising the contribution that recycled polymer plays in its WPC activities, Trex says the company diverts nearly 400 million pounds (around 180,000 tonnes) of plastic film from landfills annually through its use of PE waste. The PE films come from both household waste (grocery bags and bubble wrap, tor example) and retail waste (primarily pallet wrap and industrial packag- ing). The company also uses reclaimed wood, meaning its product portfolio uses 95% recycled and reclaimed material.
WPC additives WPC products intended for outdoor application generally use a thin capstock layer of polymer that is stabilised with additives to improve properties such as weatherability and scratch and impact resistance. The capstock can also be pigmented and textured to give the required realistic wood- grain appearance. Teknor Apex recently introduced its Weather-
Below: Teknor Apex modifies its Weather- guard line of capstock
compounds for vinyl WPCs to suit specific customer requirements
guard line of capstock compounds and concentrates for vinyl WPC applications. Each is generally custom- ised for specific customer requirements, according to John Macaluso, building & construction industry manager, vinyl division. “Aesthetics tend to be the number one property followed closely by weatherability, physical properties, stain resistance and flame retardance,” said Maaluso. “Teknor Apex has several products well suited
for WPC substrates as well as capstocks utilised on PVC-based substrates — including Vinyl Alloys, ASA, and acrylic options — the latter of which has been further expanded through our recent acquisition of Lanier Color Company.” Greg Walby, vice president of sales at Lanier
says that while consumer colour trends change frequently, they’ve traditionally been limited to a palette of colors that weather well in WPC applica- tions. “With the introduction of highly weatherable capstocks, we’ve seen consumer preference shift to a wider palette that includes darker colors and even more toward dark variegated (wood-like) aesthetics,” he said. “In the last few years, we’ve seen a major shift in focus to outdoor living spaces creating more need for materials with greater weatherability (colour- fastness, resistance to environmental/stress whiten- ing), low heat buildup, and flame retardancy for decking, railing, fenestration and many other outdoor durable applications,” added John Hickman, building & construction business devel- opment manager, vinyl division at Teknor Apex. “Finally, the added expense over traditional wood products has resulted in consumer expectations for longer warranties and low/no maintenance.” While the capstock is critical for weatherability, the composite core may also use additives, includ- ing lubricants and coupling agents, which improve bonding between the wood fibres and polymer matrix. Matthias Stuecke, deputy general manager at
Mitsui in Germany, says that maleic anhydride (MAH)-grafted coupling agents are the “gold standard” in polyolefin-based WPC compounds. “We have received quite positive feedback from the market [on Mitsui’s coupling agents],” he said. The WPC product portfolio from Dow extends to
16 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | November/December 2022
www.pipeandprofile.com
IMAGE: TEKNOR APEX
IMAGE: OLDCASTLE APG
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