As members of all different sectors of the construction
industry walk the show floor at Greenbuild 2014, the trends are pretty clear.
Jerry Mose, director of sales at
Pennsylvania-based glazier RA Kennedy & Sons, is one of the many
attendees exploring the 750-plus suppliers and manufacturers exhibiting at the
show, along with the long list of seminars and out-of-building activities in
New Orleans.
“Energy efficiency has become extremely important to
everyone, from the owner, to the architect, to us (the glazing
contractor)—energy efficiency and thermal modeling is something that we’ve seen
a real trend, a much higher level of interest in by our customers,” Mose says,
adding that Greenbuild is an opportunity to network with the people he’s doing
business with.
“I also try and network with the people I’m not doing
business with,” he says. “I’m trying to figure out what they’re doing and who
their customers are. A lot of it is, sort of, undercover work—learning who is
doing what type of work, and where their niche is.”
Among the glass and glazing industry-related companies at
Greenbuild is Pilkington, featuring its vacuum insulating glass Spacia, as well
as its Solar-E line, which provides solar control and thermal insulation and
comes in a range of colors.
“As architects, engineers, building designers and
developers come through, we’re able to show them how our products help them
create the green building that they’re desiring,” says Michael Johnson,
regional sales and marketing manager at NSG Group. “And certainly energy
efficiency is a large green component.
“And also, because we’re working with aluminum, aluminum
is 100 percent recyclable. The aluminum billets contain recycled content, so
it’s a very green, sustainable product for use in today’s energy-conscious and
sustainability environment.”
Speaking of aluminum, Firestone Building Products is
exhibiting, showing its UNA Clad panel line among other products. In fact, its
Series 4000 system was installed on the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention
Center a few years ago and is currently helping house the company’s exhibit,
along with the rest of the show.
Exhibitor Azon USA, a worldwide manufacturer of
polyurethane thermal barriers, incorporates its product into fenestration units
to improve their thermal performance while strengthening the structural and
long-term durability.
“Of course, aluminum has high conductivity, so we
incorporate a thermal barrier into the aluminum framing to make it more energy
efficient,” says Azon vice president of sales and marketing Jerry Schwabauer.
Germany-based Schuco is featuring its ERC 50 system,
which the company refers to as a “modernization façade.” The ERC 50 comes in a
variety of colors and is installed via an outer supporting structure, so
activity on the interior of the building can go on as business as usual.
According to Schuco, its “holistic and modular approach” of adding a second
skin is an effort to increase the energy value of a given building to passive
house standards.”
Quanex, meanwhile is showing its range of products “that
not only address the glass side of thermal performance, but also the framing
material,” according to commercial sales specialist Joe Erb.
“Our industry has used aluminum-based products
extensively over the past decades, and Quanex has an innovative polymer
technology that allows us to bring all the structural elements needed for
AW-rated windows, but with a non-metallic composite approach,” he says. “And
this is really a great message for the architects who are looking for that next
level in thermal performance, occupancy comfort and long-term durability. The
product is also extremely recyclable and has recycled content, so the message
from the green perspective is very strong.”
Source: USGNN
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