Content about Plastics

A group of plaintiffs seeking class action status have filed a lawsuit against decking manufacturer Fiberon over its Portico wood composite line. The lawsuit, filed March 14 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Hagens Berman, a Seattle-based firm, claims that the decking has a defect that results in the growth of mold, mildew and other fungal growth. Furthermore, the complaint claims that Fiberon refused to repair the decks under its 20-year warranty.

Demand for wood-plastic composite and plastic lumber, used in decking, railing, trim and other building materials, is projected to rise 13% per year until 2015, according to a report from The Freedonia Group.

Choosing material for a new deck used to be a simple proposition: There were pressure-treated lumber, which most people used, or fancier woods such as cedar, redwood and mahogany. Then came Trex, and a bunch of other composites, and the alternative decking market exploded. Cellular PVC, capped versus non-capped, decking made from recycled nylon carpet, special fasteners, not to mention all those railing systems.

New London, N.C.-based Fiberon, a manufacturer of composite and PVC decking and railing products, hired Greg Reed as a Fiberon product specialist for the Northern California territory. He will be responsible for increasing and managing the network of decking contractors in his market.

AZEK Building Products, a manufacturer of PVC-based molding, trim and decking, has entered into a strategic alliance with VAST Enterprises, a maker of composite masonry products. Under the agreement, AZEK Building Products has purchased an interest in VAST and will make the VAST brand available to AZEK's distribution network. AZEK and VAST will collaborate on sales and marketing initiatives to drive brand awareness among architects and contractors, according to the announcement.

The North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA) and Habitat for Humanity have begun a formal relationship to promote Habitat's ReStores.

Although many NBMDA members already support Habitat through local or national partnerships, NBMDA is encouraging all of its members to join the effort by donating materials and products to the Habitat ReStore in their trade area.

Habitat promotes the reuse and recycling of building materials through its efforts to build homes for low-income families.  

RockSolid Floors Polyurea Floor Coatings are taking the cans out of the equation for a more environmentally friendly product plus better product handling, according to the Minneapolis-based company.

The multi-layer Polyurea floor coating systems now feature advanced pouch technology. The kits still feature the same Polyurea floor coating formulas, providing 20 times the durability of epoxy floor paints.

Listening to a company’s quarterly earnings conference can be the equivalent of watching a CEO read a PowerPoint presentation, followed by a group of analysts grilling him on EBIT margins, payout ratios and basis points. Or it can be like panning for gold, with nuggets surfacing about store openings and closings, new products launches, new accounts with retail customers or “terminated” relationships with former customers. Competitors even talk about each other — sometimes by name — with a little prompting from analysts.