Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
November 27, 2014 01:00 AM

Group backs plastic window alternatives

Gayle S. Putrich
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Lucite International Inc.
    Plastic panels produced by Lucite International Inc. are used to protect a 1920s carousel in New York. Lucite and other companies are seeking more potential for plastics in architecture through an industry group.

    CHICAGO — A new industry working group is figuring out how to help plastic break through the glass ceiling.

    Literally.

    The Plastics Glazing Working Group, under the umbrella of the American Chemistry Council's plastics division, is pulling together members to dive into U.S. and international building codes — and the building and construction market — to make a case for plastic windows.

    The biggest barrier of busting into building codes is that “We're invisible,” said D'Lane Wisner, an ACC consultant and the lead staffer on the building and construction committee, who is spearheading the new group.

    “As a material, we're the newbies. These codes have been built up around glass and other materials. There isn't even a definition of plastic in the building codes that we know of,” Wisner said.

    The working group, introduced at the International Association of Plastics Distribution annual Convention and Plastics Expo in Chicago in November, already has Evonik Industries AG, Sabic Innovative Plastics, Bayer MaterialScience AG, CPI Daylighting Inc., Eastman Chemical Co., Lucite International Inc. and PolyOne Corp. on board.

    ACC is providing staff and support in the coming year's budget, but the real work has to be done by the entire industry, Wisner said.

    “It's a classic trade organization objective, to promote and defend plastics in the building and construction market,” he said. “But we're looking for interest not only from the people who make the plastic but the entire value chain because we realize all the way through to the end product is going to need to work together.”

    The industry has been pushing for plastic glazing in automotive applications, and it has achieved some limited success with the addition of Sabic's polycarbonate windows showcased in the ultra-lightweight electric car concept developed by a BMW-led Visio.M Consortium. Another encouraging sign for the construction-focused effort is that North American flat-glass demand is growing as the sector starts to bounce back from the Great Recession.

    On top of that, ACC and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) have finally agreed to come to the table to talk about plastic and green building standards.

    “It took two years of knocking on that door, and now that door is open,” Wisner said.

    Making buildings easier to build, offering more natural light, being energy efficient and gathering up as many points as possible in a system like USGBC's LEED certification are all concerns, said Hector Cabrera, building and construction product marketing leader for Sabic IP, who is on board with the working group.

    “USGBC is a big organization, but they're not the only one advocating for more sustainability. The International Code Council is progressing toward more stringent energy efficiency,” Cabrera said. “We believe that plastics can contribute in all of these fields, especially in the energy consumption. This is a great moment to look at this industry again and how we can make plastics possible for glazing applications.”

    The first step is driving change in the model building codes and creating necessary product standards, said Tom Niziolek, architectural segment manager for Bayer MaterialScience.

    “It's not about applications. It's about finding our way through the building codes,” Niziolek said.

    The new group is trying to move fast — another timing factor is that building codes are on a three-year cycle of consideration for the International Code Council, with the first round of proposals due in January.

    Once the codes are cracked, making room for plastic glazing will be an ongoing battle, Wisner believes, between evolving building codes and educating building professionals on plastic.

    “What this is really about is growing the market together. It really needs to be done together, all the way from the resin producers to the end-market value chain because there's expertise there, there's sweat equity there, and there's a drive there,” he said.

    The work will be worth it, Cabrera believes.

    “What is the potential? If plastic glazing were just to get just 9 percent of this market, that's 90 billion square feet by 2016,” he said. “That's very compelling and worth our time and effort if we just take the initiative.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Auto lighting supplier ZKW invests $108M to further expand Mexico plant
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Production outages push PP prices higher
    2
    Florida beats out Las Vegas, Chicago for NPE through 2033
    3
    MAPP announces 2023 Innovation Award winners
    4
    Holcim adding capacity, looks for growth in roofing sector
    5
    Illinois molding company owner arrested on child pornography charges
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified