How to grow up in wood-plastic industry

After ten years of independent development as a section of wood and wood materials, wood plastic composite materials  is gradually developing into an emerging industry. Especially in energy conservation efforts continue to strengthen the development of circular economy is still going strong "12th Five-Year" period, with the resources of raw materials, products can be plasticized, environmental protection, renewable and other advantages of wood-plastic composites industry to conform to sustainable development major trend highlights the increasing potential for development.

Reporters learned in a recent interview, with many emerging industries, wood-plastic composite materials industry is also faced with various difficulties of the early stages of development, less product variety and Standard imperfect customs codes to the lack of development of the industry formed constraints. In order to shape the future competitiveness of the industry, wood and plastic composite  industry there are many problems to be solved.

Areas of urgent need to open up new applications

Wood plastic composite decking is an exotic, introduced into China from North America in the late 1990s. This material not only in the performance of a collection of the dual advantages of wood and plastic, and more importantly, low-carbon environmental characteristics significantly. The data show that the use of 1 ton of wood-plastic materials, which is equivalent to 1.82 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, a reduction of 1 m3 of deforestation, saving 80 barrels of crude oil, saving 11 tons of standard coal. 

Can replace the wood high-tech materials wood plastic and come out in Tangshan

International online news (reporter in Tangshan Zhaoxi Chen, Zhang gull) Recently, this reporter found that the fence decoration is particularly noticeable on the roof of the Tangshan Wanda Plaza. It is understood that this is a treasure Wood Plastic Technology Co., Ltd. Tangshan city design and construction, the material is by its own R & D and production of environmentally friendly materials, "wood-plastic".

Wood plastic composite material originated in North America, the commercialization of more than 40 years, is an effective solution to the sharp drop in forest area, a serious shortage of timber resources, the environmental situation is grim and the production life of a large number of representative product of the contradiction between the wood products. The product is waste plastics and plant stalks and other waste as a raw material, the processing technology from a wood appearance and texture, and the use of composite materials can be recycled. Such products than the plastic hardness than the stability of the timber size, does not crack, warp, the appearance of color adjustable; similar timber processing, cutting, bonding, fixed with nails or bolts to connect coating; not afraid of insects, aging resistance, corrosion resistance, water absorption, not hygroscopic deformation; can re-use, non-polluting, environmentally friendly, low maintenance costs; a wide range of applications.

Due to wood-plastic has excellent environmental performance and processing properties of the timber, while a large number of storage products used in wood plastic floor, crates and other packaging products, decking Shop beam., Outdoor plank road boards, shelters, seats and other construction supplies, housingfloor building templates and other building supplies and automotive interiors, pipe and other products. It is understood that more than 70% of the City of Vancouver, Canada, gardens, roadside seats are wood-plastic composite materials; Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Japan Toyota, the French Citroen and other brand-name car interior substrate The degree of use of wood-plastic materials.

At present, the recycling of waste plastics in China each year over 2.5 million tons, the construction, decoration and other wood waste in the city produces every year more than 8 million tons, twigs, debris and other waste generated by forest harvesting and wood processing over 10 million tons produced annually in rural areas straw about two million tons, about 35 million tons of rice husk, these wastes are wood plastic composite decking raw materials. Produce one ton of wood composite equivalent to the felling of 1.5 in 30-year-old eucalyptus, to reduce the pollution of 60,000 discarded plastic bags, a decrease of 114 acres of farmland mulch residue hidden.

How close the relationship between the visible wood-plastic material and human life for mankind in environmental protection, while also saving a lot of wood, consumption of white pollution, protection of forest resources. Imagine, wood plastic production production and promotion, will bring us how big the market space and application space.

The issue of Composite Decking Warranty

Since this article was written we have literally had hundreds of phone calls and emails expressing horror stories as a result of people buying composite decks through builders. We get many calls from wood and plastic composite clients that are looking for replacement composite decking and parts for products that are no longer produced.

 

The issue of  Composite Decking Warranty is not being addressed by the composite companies. All but 1 composite decking manufacturer warranty that I have seen excludes the cost of disposal and labor to replace the decking from their warranty. This is the composite decking industry telling builders that they do not value their time. This is the composite decking industry pitting our clients against builders across the company. If you are a builder recommending composite decking to a client, you are putting yourself in a potentially dangerous financial position of potentially being libel for damages, ie. you may be bound to supply your labor for free to replace faulty composite decking. Lets face it--if you make composite decking that is faulty, you cannot ignore the fact that to make the client that purchased the composite decking whole, you need to cover labor and disposal of the defective decking. These composite decking companies are relying on slick marketing rather than reputation. 

Evergrain (Tamco), actually offers a 5 year warranty that includes replacement costs--Not Disposal of Faulty Decking Product though, which I find strange. Why not go all the way? Thouugh with anything, you need to do research before buying. I didn't  find many complaints about Evergrain, when I searched, but you should do your own searches before buying any composite decking. When you buy a man made wood plastic product like composite decking, you need to weigh all the factors. Most builders like the product, but how many of them have that decking that they recommend on their own home and are still happy with it. Unfortunately most deck builders never return later to see how the decks they build look 5-10 years later. I see this warranty change as a serious positive in the world of wood plastic composite floor. 

Composite Decking News

Wood plastic composite decking has lost ground vs wood in the past year, which is a reversal of trend. I won't bother suggesting why, however I'd like to believe that we reap what we sew. When it comes to local lumber yards, most have stopped carrying composite decking. Most of the builders I know are apprehensive to install composite due to the now omnipresent rumours of failures and unhappy clients.

Composite Decking vs Kiln Dried and pre-finished red cedar, or Composite Decking vs Tigerdeck, (a 40 year rated, sustainably grown tropical hardwood), for price is a match. (for top names in composite decking--like Azek).

It is becoming apparent that after a few years no composite decking looks like it did when it was installed. The color fades and cleaning with the harsh chemicals they recommend leaves the composite decking chalky and porous. Many of the pre-finished wood plastic composite

material

 and pergolas found in our gallery were 5 years old when they were photographed, and look much like the day they were installed. Timbertech has had some serious color fading issues and one local deckbuilder had 2 failures within 1 year, (large decks).

As a solution, they tried a new product designed to bond to composite decking. I will be having a look at the coating this summer to see how it is lasting and if it is successful, we will tell you all about this coating system for composite decking. Trex composite decking remains the leader in wpc decking failures, though most are a couple of years old and it doesn't reflect the recent product changes. With about 75% of the market, it does make sense we would hear the most complaints about their products. We have had about 15 phone calls and a few emails in the past year from clients that need warranty service, had contacted Trex and were getting the run around or just no response.

You have to keep in mind that this is the composite decking company with the most alienating warranty service, and has been for many years. Class action lawsuits have twice been initiated, and one was completed that found them libel for damages to thousands of clients. They also had a voluntary broad scale warranty issue stemming from flawed composite decking from a now defunct plant. You really have to temper their composite decking promises due to their history. Trex has since come out with a version of their decking which is wrapped with a coating to address the mold issue.

WHAT ARE WOOD PLASTICS COMPOSITES?

The term "wood plastics composites - WPCs" refers to a new range of materials that resemble wood. It combines the advantages of wood with those of plastics.

There are three great attractions of wood and plastic composite:

 

• It can be extruded to make continuous profiles of any desired cross-section with great dimensional constancy and accuracy and very little waste, unlike real wood. WPC can also be injection moulded, and some development work has been done using rotational moulding.

 

• Outdoor maintenance requirements for wood plastics composites are very low, although it can be machined and worked in the same way as wood. Painting is not necessary but paint can be applied to WPC, if desired for aesthetic reasons, much more easily than to most plastics. Outdoor durability of WPC is better than that of softwood, and lifetimes of 25 to 30 years are expected.

 

• WPC possesses some important environmental advantages that make it attractive to those who have opposed the use of wood plastic composite floor in building.

Technological advances now allow very high quality wood plastics composites to be made from waste wood and a resin binder. The waste wood comes from felled or damaged trees and from conventional woodworking operations, while the resin is often recycled material.

There is a bright future for wood plastic composite wall in construction and in furniture applications as well as other sectors.

Hackwell Group publications and services enable you to make the most of these opportunities.

Firm growth forecast for wood plastics composites in Europe despite financial woes

From a slow start around 40 years ago, in the automotive sector, European production of wood plastics composites has both diversified in its applications and grown rapidly over the last five years to reach 193,000 tonnes by 2010.

A new report (the third on this subject by Hackwell Group) forecasts continuing growth to almost 360,000 tonnes by 2015, which represents -- average annual growth of 13%, but nevertheless a slowing in growth compared with the 2005-10 period, as a result of the continuing difficulties in European economies.

Decking is by far the largest application area with 75% of (non-automotive output), but the arguments for using wood plastic wall in other exterior and interior applications are strong. Much of the predicted growth is still expected to be in construction applications, most of which will be extruded. Important end-uses within the construction sector, besides decking, include siding or cladding, fencing and window applications.

Germany, France and Belgium are amongst the most significant wood plastic fence producing countries in Europe and what these manufacturers anticipate most eagerly are other high-volume applications besides decking. Injection moulded products have been successfully used in diverse end uses including paper manufacturing applications and musical instruments, as well as vehicle and shoe parts, whilst various other processing technologies have been adopted in the automotive sector, which takes 30% of output. Furniture components offer considerable potential for WPC in the medium term and a number of products has already been successfully marketed.

In addition to European manufacture, imports of wood plastic door from both the US and Asia have become increasingly important, particularly in the construction sector. The study forecasts that diluting expensive resin with wood flour will become of increasing economic benefit. Furthermore, the end products are environmentally friendly, largely free from rot and do not need painting. They are also machinable like wood and have many practical advantages including competitive whole life costs. For more information and to order your copy of the Hackwell Group' slatest WPC report, just check the European Wood Plastics Composites Market (2011).

innovative and environmental friendly wood polymer composite pellets

Suitable for application in architecture,gardening,decoration,logistics,automobile,airplane,and military industries. There are more than 20 models of our new type wood plastic product in the market, which can be applied in all kinds of flooring, balustrade, kiosk, bridge, staircase, hallway, handrail of courtyard, flower cabinet, terrace of villa, different size of packing tray and case for exporting and shipping use, indoor & outdoor establishment for moisture-proof & anticorrosive purpose etc. Furthermore, the materials of WPC in different colors, various outdoor table and chair, rubbish bin and so on are also supplied. 

l Looks and feels like real wood and plastic composite l Durable, firm due to its high densityl Highly resistance to pest, mold, moisturel No cracking, no toxic chemicals or preservativesl High degree of UV and color stabilityl Weather resistantl Easy to install

Material(69% wood powder, 23% PVC, 5% CACO3, 3% others)---- 
A new, innovative and environmental friendly wood polymer composite pellets which could be widely used as a revolutionary green environmental friendly high-tech material instead of real wood products. 

These panels can be installed on your own easily. Easy to screw into an existing wood plastic composite floor frame and a new aluminum frame system is pretty straight forward to install, an aluminum system will set up very similar to the wood frame systems.(More costly but will last a much longer time than pressure treated wood fencing systems) You will still need all the normal tools to set up a wood frame system plus a drill & compund mitre saw with a metal cutting carbide blade, a file and instead of large deck screws, nails and lag bolts, use nuts and bolts and metal tapping screws.