Hybrid Material Provides Alternative to Wood - Westech Building Products - Facility Management Product Release

Westech Building Products
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Westech Building Products, a Westlake Chemical company, recently secured the specification to a new corporate project with Panera Bread eateries where TruGrain made with Resysta will be installed on the façades of several locations in North America.

This specification reflects the market trend of exploring alternative materials to wood, and supports the growth of this fiber reinforced hybrid material. The hospitality category, where aesthetics and technical performance are equally crucial, represents particular opportunity for TruGrain.

TruGrain made with Resysta products are made of a highly durable and sustainable fiber reinforced hybrid material. Although it looks like wood, it is produced from rice husks, common salt, mineral oil, and synthetic plastic polymers. Not only is the product environmentally friendly, it helps reduce deforestation of tropical timber and uses rice husks, which are classified as agricultural waste. It is weather resistant, requires minimal maintenance and care, looks and feels like tropical hardwood, and is impervious to insects and fungi.

Originally developed and sold in Europe as a substitute for unsustainable rainforest woods, Resytsa offers sustainable innovation in agricultural waste that would otherwise be discarded. Incorporated into the Westech brand portfolio in the United States, it serves as the basis for the TruGrain line of products.

TruGrain made with Resysta is 100% waterproof, 100% recyclable and 100% WPC-free. In addition, the product is UV-resistant, sandable, stainable and sealable, and comes in a multitude of color shades that are finished in environmentally friendly, water-based stains. Although the colors last for over 15 years, they can be easily refinished.

“When designers and architects come across TruGrain made with Resysta, they often think it is too good to be true,” says Glenn Syrowitz, General Manager. “Since it provides the look and feel of exotic hardwood, but with none of the maintenance, it presents itself as an attractive material for outdoor projects.”

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posted: 10/5/2016