Briefings

Manufacturer news

Polyglass® USA opens headquarters

Polyglass USA Inc., Deerfield Beach, Fla., opened its corporate headquarters in Deerfield Beach July 30. The move brings together key functional areas of the business in one location for the first time. The new headquarters also will house a research and development laboratory.

Polyglass USA will maintain its manufacturing facilities in Fernley, Nev.; Hazleton, Pa.; and Winter Haven, Fla.

"Until now, the Polyglass management team and their related departments have been spread across the U.S.," says Andrew Hastings, Polyglass USA's chief executive officer. "The consolidation to a central headquarters will allow improved cross-functional synergy, propel Polyglass' accelerated growth and expansion, and better serve the needs of our customers."

ATAS International employee is honored

Lee Ann Slattery, CSI, CCRP, LEED AP, Allentown, Pa.-based ATAS International Inc.'s national sales manager, has received the President's Award from the Construction Specification Institute's (CSI's) Allentown chapter. The award recognizes Slattery's contributions in the administration of the CSI Allentown Chapter's affairs; this is the second time Slattery has won the award.

Slattery, who has worked at ATAS International since August 2006, joined CSI in 2002. She has served as a director of the Allentown chapter's board, chaired the organization's hospitality committee for many years and been a member of other CSI Pennsylvania chapters.

"Much of my industry knowledge, growth and professional networks are a direct result of my involvement in CSI," Slattery says. "One of the best benefits of being actively involved in a CSI chapter is the friendships I have formed with other people involved in the construction industry."

Tremco acquires product line

Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance, Beachwood, Ohio, has acquired the BioTray™ product line from Rana Creek, Carmel Valley, Calif.

BioTray is a natural, biodegradable, modular system for vegetative roofs. The modules consist of 17- by 17-inch square trays composed of natural latex and coconut coir, a fibrous, rapidly renewable product derived from coconut husks. Unlike traditional modular systems, the coconut fiber decomposes over time and the BioTray module is converted into growth media.

Dow partners with DOE

The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Dow Building & Construction, Midland, Mich., to lead a multiyear project that will combine research and residential in-home testing to develop enhanced home energy efficiency retrofit solutions and best practices.

Dow Building & Construction will work in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, as well as Michigan State University, East Lansing, and Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich., with select contributions from Duke Energy, Charlotte, N.C.; DTE Energy Corp., Detroit; and Exelon Corp., Chicago.

"Today, we know how to build an energy-efficient new home, but there are still 76 million homes in America that were built prior to modern energy codes," says Carol Eicher, Dow Building & Construction's business group vice president. "It is critical to establish new product solutions and application practices for retrofitting these homes, and what better partner than Habitat for Humanity, which is committed to making home ownership affordable and serves as a benchmark in this industry."

Companies receive recognition

GAF-Elk Corp., Wayne, N.J.; Dow Building Solutions, Midland, Mich.; and ABC Supply Co. Inc., Beloit, Wis., have received David Weekley Homes' Partners of Choice Award.

The award is based on David Weekley Homes' National Trading Partner Survey, a quarterly review of about 150 suppliers. The ratings are provided by nearly 600 David Weekley Homes Team Members from all levels within the company. Suppliers are rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Each company's scores are averaged and then ranked with all others that participate.

CertainTeed joins partnerships

CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, Pa., has partnered with NJR Clean Energy Ventures (NJRCEV), a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, Wall, N.J., to complete a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) project in Berlin, N.J., that will generate more than 870 kilowatts of clean, renewable energy.

As part of a 20-year lease and concurrent power purchase agreement with CertainTeed, NJRCEV is installing a roof-mounted PV system using 300,000 square feet of space atop CertainTeed's Berlin distribution facility. The roof will feature UNI-SOLAR® thin-film solar laminates and is designed to provide almost 90 percent of the building's electric needs and eliminate more than 800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The roof system was developed with Rochester Hills, Mich.-based United Solar; it is expected to be operational by January 2011 and will create up to 25 direct and indirect jobs.

In addition, CertainTeed's roofing plant in Shreveport, La., has partnered with RK Hall, a Texarkana, Texas-based paving company, to recycle almost 100 percent of the plant's manufacturing waste. According to CertainTeed, the partnership will divert about 15,000 tons of material from landfills each year. RK Hall uses the waste material to produce asphalt pavement for highways and bridges.

Several other CertainTeed roofing manufacturing facilities are developing similar recycling programs designed to eliminate dependency on landfills. In addition, the company's research & development team in Blue Bell, Pa., is exploring technologies that potentially will convert waste shingles and shingle tear-off material into commercially acceptable grades of raw material that can be reused in the roofing industry or as part of highway paving programs. In the Philadelphia area, CertainTeed has launched Roofing Responsibly,™ a shingle recycling program that provides contractors with an environmentally friendly option for shingle disposal.

GAF Materials appears on television

GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J., recently participated in a segment of Designing Spaces, a television series that teaches viewers how to make their homes more beautiful and functional. The program aired nationally on the WE network at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 1, 2 and 13; additional airings followed throughout August and September.

The segment in which GAF Materials participated addresses the many aspects of roofing and important factors homeowners should consider when making decisions about their roof systems. The segment is posted on the company's website, www.gaf.com, and on its corporate YouTube channel.

In addition, GAF Materials has partnered with EagleView™ Technologies, Bothell, Wash., to promote EagleView Technologies' 3-D aerial roof reports to GAF Materials' steep- and low-slope roofing contractors throughout North America.

"We are happy to be working closely with GAF," says Chris Barrow, EagleView Technologies' president and chief executive officer. "We feel the partnership brings two very strong companies together for the benefit of the contractor and ultimately the consumer."

Owens Corning names advisory board members

Owens Corning,™ Toledo, Ohio, has named eight charter advisory board members to its Platinum Preferred Contractor program: Blake Gillette, president of Christian Brothers Roofing, Grand Prairie, Texas; Ryan Guinn, president of NRCA member Findlay Roofing, Marietta, Ga.; Chad Nikkel, president of Colorado Roofing & Exteriors LLC, Denver; Trevor Pfeifer, president of NRCA member Pfeifer Roofing Inc., Salem, Ore.; Rob Poettgen, general manager of Bordner Installation Group, Kansas City, Mo.; Gary Radonich, owner of Los Gatos Roofing, Los Gatos, Calif.; Dale Tadlock, president of Dale Tadlock Roofing Inc., Tallahassee, Fla.; and Nick Yadron, president of M & M Home Remodeling Services, Crete, Ill.

The advisory board is composed of active market leaders who represent respected roofing contractor companies.

"The Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Advisory Board members were chosen based on their proven market and industry leadership," says Jeff Carpenter, Owens Corning's contractor development leader.

Sika Sarnafil hosts solar exhibit

Sika Sarnafil, Canton, Mass., is hosting a solar project at its facility in Canton. When completed, the project will generate electricity and serve as a solar park that demonstrates four photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

Phase I of the project consists of two 12,500-square-foot PV arrays. Both arrays were capitalized, designed, engineered and installed by Middleton, Conn.-based Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC, a solar system integrator, using a solar power purchase agreement. Phase I will displace about 37 percent of the facility's electricity use and 82 percent of its peak power requirements.

The first array uses 325 Sharp monocrystalline silicon modules that are expected to produce 87,766 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in the array's first year of operation. The second array consists of 450 Solyndra thin-film modules and is expected to produce about 95,000 kWh annually.

"Energy savings is an important issue with many of our customers, and that often involves the consideration of solar generating technology," says Peter Bonavita, Sarnafil Service's general manager. "Our solar park will enable us to show our customers, firsthand, the capabilities and benefits of multiple solar technologies so that they can make more informed decisions about solar technology for their buildings."

In addition, Sika Sarnafil has introduced 25- and 30-year warranties for certain Sarnafil brand roof systems.

According to the company, the warranties' availability is based on studies and independent analysis, including a 2001 study of Sika Sarnafil's oldest roof systems and an independent analysis in 2008 by the British Board of Agrément, a British organization that approves construction products.

Affiliate news

MRCA releases white paper

The Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) Inc. has released "Peel Strength of Self-Adhered Modified Bitumen Base Sheets," the first of three white papers reporting results of tests of self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen base sheets.

The paper reports on the MRCA Technical and Research Committee's test of the bond strength of six base sheets commonly used in the Chicago area. The test was designed to compare bond strength across varying temperature conditioning. A preliminary conclusion is these materials should be characterized as partially adhered membranes if installed as a self-adhered material and a more fully adhered condition results when conventional polymer-modified bitumen sheets are installed with the aid of a torch or cold adhesives.

Subsequent research papers, "Effects of Temperature Variations on Self Adhered Modified Bitumen Sheets: Observations from the Field" and "Effects of High Heat on Self Adhered Modified Bitumen Sheet," will report on other aspects of self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen base sheets and will be released later this year.

More information and the white paper are available at www.mrca.org.

Other news

RICOWI announces leadership positions

The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) Inc. has announced new membership liaison and committee leadership appointments.

Russell Murphy, St. Louis office manager of NRCA member Donan Engineering, Wildwood, Mo., has been appointed RCI Liaison to RICOWI's board of directors; Roger Morrison, president of Deer Ridge Consulting, Ararat, Va., has been appointed RCI liaison to the RICOWI Conference and Education Committee; and Lynne Lawry, forensic product salesperson for Weather Decision Technologies Inc., Jacksonville, Ore., is chair of the RICOWI Membership Committee.

Up the ladder

The Dow Chemical Co. has named Bruce Duncan national account manager for construction services of Dow Roofing Systems LLC.