Mindelheim, Germany - BBG GmbH & Co. KG announced 23 July that it has started negotiations on the construction of the world's first production plant for polyurethane window profiles with highly effective thermal insulation.
The plant will have two manufacturing lines designed for annual capacity ranging from 200 000 to several million linear profile metres, said the Mindelheim, Germany-based plastics moulding expert.
BBG said it is in discussions with various well-known window manufacturers on the construction of such as plant for series production of polyurethane window profiles.
The company, which makes moulds, machinery and plants, and specialises in PU processing, has developed concepts for two manufacturing lines with varying output, following a research project over recent months.
Two lines have been envisaged: a fully automatic "ContiPart" one for capacities from 1.2 million linear profile metres as a continuously extruded profile, and a "SinglePart" line with smaller dimensions for an annual capacity of 200 000 m upwards.
According to BBG, the the target cost for these plants is about Euro 1.5 million for the SinglePart manufacturing line and Euro 3.6 million for the fully automatic ContiPar line
The window-producing industry is currently mainly interested the smaller option, the company said
At the Glasstec 2008 trade show, BBG said, it presented a high-performance heat-insulating window --"TopTherm 90" -- which is "particularly slender" at 90 mm width, and was offered in a triple-glazed and vacuum-thermopane version at BBG's stand.
The specialist Glasstec audience showed great interest in this product - "the world's first with a polyurethane profile core and frame," said BBG.
The window was developed over the last two years by a consortium under the research project on Hochwärmedämmende Fenster- und Fassadensysteme (HWFF, Highly-Insulating Windows and Facade Systems), headed by BBG.
Mechanical tests for impact strength and rain permeability as well as thermal tests at the beginning of 2009 have shown that PU profiles are on a par with PVC ones in terms of statics and superior in terms of heat insulation, said BBG.
PIC Chart of semiautomatic "SinglePart" line for simultaneous production of up to eight different PU window profile cores, 6m long, with a cycle time of 90 s.
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