Las Vegas — Materials maker Avient Corp. has developed a flame-retardant (FR) composite sandwich panel for modular construction walls, flooring and ceilings.
The producer of compounds, concentrates, composites and protective fibers introduced the addition to its Hammerhead product line at the 2025 International Builders' Show.
This is the first thermoplastic composite panel to integrate flame retardance and eliminate the need for additional FR sheets or coatings, which often require time to dry and cure before construction can resume.
Hammerhead FR panels are manufactured to meet ASTM E84 Class A standards for flame spread and smoke density as well as all NFPA 286 corner room burn requirements.
Avient's FR technology is not halogenated or phosphorus-based, and is made with benign ingredients at low concentrations, making it an environmentally friendly option, a company product overview says.
"This is an industry first. We don't know of any thermoplastic composite sandwich panel that can provide fire performance to the level that we provide with the use of inert material," Navraj Heer, Avient senior research and development engineer, said at IBS. "We do not have any [volatile organic compounds] in our panels. We do not have any sort of out gassing and there is no toxicity, no environmental concerns during the life of the material and also during a fire scenario."
The panels enable rapid assembly, which reduces construction time and costs. Once installed, the panels resistant rot, moisture, chemicals, UV, and corrosion.
The panels are manufactured in Denver with an extrusion-pultrusion process using fibers saturated with different resins depending on the application, Mike Mosley, Avient's general manager of Advanced Composites, said at IBS.
"Through the collaboration of a cross-functional team, we harnessed Avient's materials science and product development expertise to develop and incorporate proprietary flame-retardant technology into the panel material formulation," Mosely said.
The panels can replace gypsum, drywall and framed assemblies with a lightweight product that has structural integrity and is emerging as a faster and more efficient building method, Mosley said.
Avient predecessor PolyOne Corp. introduced Hammerhead-brand composite panels in 2017 as a weight-saving alternative to plywood for marine applications.
The panels then were used for transportation applications and now construction.
In one commercial project, Hammerhead FR panels were used in the kitchens and bathrooms of high-rise units for "a completely wood-free interior system," Mosely said.
"We've been there in the back of the value chain, but we're just now moving toward the consumer," Mosely said. "That's why we're here."
Hammerhead FR panels are available in widths up to 10 feet with customized lengths for indoor and outdoor applications.
The panels come in thicknesses of one to four inches, offering some insulative properties, and they can be finished with a veneer or film to look like wood.
Avient's portfolio of composite materials for building and construction projects also includes Polystrand for decking, lumber, flooring and structural reinforcement; GlasArmor and ThermoBallistic panels for residential and commercial protection against projectiles, such as bullets and explosive fragments; and Glasforms rods, tubes and profiles for concrete reinforcement and infrastructure repair.