TECHNOFORM, which has for years been providing thermal insulation solutions, is playing a significant role in enhancing the thermal efficiency of glass-clad buildings around the world with its high-performance and thermally-insulating polyamide insulation strips for thermal-break aluminium frames and Warm Edge insulating glass spacers.
Its insulating profiles and special profiles sections for aluminium windows, doors and facades are integrated worldwide into systems of repute and the company counts among its international customers well-known names such as Schuco, Hydro Group, Sapa Group, Alcoa Group, Alumil, Gartner, Heroal, and many more.

To cater to regional and local companies, the group set up an office in Dubai, UAE, five years ago to serve more than 15 countries in the Middle East region and recently also opened a branch in Mumbai, India. Technoform Middle East will be exhibiting at The Big 5 show next month to promote the various advantages of its products.

Technoform has been striving to address energy loss and reduce costs since its inception. “For decades, higher energy costs throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and in the Middle East, have compelled Technoform’s engineers to develop products and systems that kept building and operational costs low by boosting thermal and structural efficiency,” says a spokesman for the Germany-headquartered company.

Additionally, testing standards for thermal and structural performance – particularly in Europe – are becoming increasingly stringent. As a result, the company’s innovative technologies and designs have helped customers all over the world to produce high-efficiency double-glazed window, door, and curtain-wall systems that look good and perform exceedingly well over long durations.

“While normal aluminium profile sections conduct the outside heat into the inside, a thermal-break aluminium profile section creates a barrier to insulate this effect,” explains the spokesman. “When you have such big differences in temperatures as 40 to 45 deg C outside and 20 to 25 deg C inside, imagine how much air-conditioning energy and relative money you are losing by not protecting your building with thermal break aluminium windows, doors, and curtain walls.”

The product is complemented by Warm Edge insulated glass spacers, which help in reducing the U-value of the complete façade.

Polyamide strips
Featuring superior thermal performance and structural integrity, Technoform’s polyamide strips provide thermal break for aluminium windows, doors, and curtain-walls and the impetus to improve product quality, reduce costs and meet ever-stricter U-value, structural performance, and long-term durability standards set by international architects, consultants and municipal engineers.

“Made of high-performance polyamide 6.6 with 25 per cent glassfibre content, thermal-break strips provide greater structural integrity for curtain-wall systems than every other alternative thermoplastic available, with expansion/contraction rate equal to that of aluminium,” the spokesman states.

While keeping the overall system’s pricing competitive, the strip provides a high degree of thermal efficiency, providing window manufacturers unprecedented design flexibility to meet the demanding new thermal codes of today and tomorrow, he adds.

These polyamide strips have several advantages in terms of thermal performance, structural and technical properties and design flexibility. “They are available in depths from 9 mm to 42 mm as standards, or more for special applications, providing far greater metal separation than any other thermal-break system,” the spokesman points out. “This dramatically improves U-value and condensation resistance performance. The product has also been designed, tested, and independently certified according to EN, AAMA and ASTM standards. These tests range from air, water, and structural tests to impact and blast resistance. And, of course, thermal tests too.

“In terms of dimensional stability and tight tolerances, these reinforced polyamide thermal-break systems outperform every other thermal-break method. The bond between the strip and the aluminium frame is a true mechanical connection method. Additionally, the strip and the aluminium frame have identical coefficients of expansion. As a result, Technoform’s thermal-break systems resist the thermal cycling that occurs in actual building conditions better than any available method.

“And while all polyamide 6.6 with 25 per cent glassfibres are not created equal, Technoform employs only the highest quality specification materials for use with its product. Its patented and highly confidential in-house tooling ensures even distribution and optimised three-dimensional orientation of the glassfibres in the polyamide, translating into consistently superior structural performance for its strips,” the spokesman points out.

Another advantage is the numerous profile and design possibilities that Technoform strips offer. Even its standard strips are available in more than 200 standard extruded profiles. What’s more, Technoform offers custom design and prototyping capabilities, including flat, C and T shapes, gasket holders, screw bosses, multiple hollows and curtain-wall spacers to meet all profile system designers worldwide. Furthermore, Technoform strips allow a more flexible and efficient way to make windows and curtain-wall with two-colour aluminium finishes.

The strips offer superior resistance to heat because polyamide’s melting point is 250 deg C. This best suits the Middle East region, where façades can be subjected to temperatures in excess of 45 deg C.

The product is backed by proven field experience. For over 40 years, window manufacturers worldwide have embraced Technoform polyamide strips as the predominant structural thermal-break solution. The company maintains total control over the production process used in all its global plants that exclusively produce polyamide strips for window and curtain-wall customers to ensure the strictest quality control with tolerances of 0.05 mm.

As the industry’s leading global supplier of thermal insulating strips, Technoform offers a comprehensive network of industry specialists that assist customers with product concept and design, thermal simulation and testing support, rapid prototyping of custom insulating strip profiles, production layout and equipment specification, start-up technical and production assistance and establishing and monitoring quality control at the production line – all at no additional cost.
Furthermore, Technoform strips are available with free permanent laser marking that can be used for product, project, or manufacturer-specific purposes. It is available in coils and as straights, with and without glue wire, providing flexibility and cost reduction opportunities.

Also, the company’s thermal calculation and simulation equipment enables it to give customers the technical and thermal properties of their new window, door or curtain-wall systems in advance, before dies for the aluminium and for the insulating strips are produced.

“Our in-house lab in Germany with free Hot-Box testing can give the exact U-value of our customer’s system and allows us to discuss suggestions for improvement to ensure it exactly fits requirements. We can also simulate tests on knurling, strip insertion, shear strength and coating at our facility. Our customers do not need to interrupt their production for any of these tests, which can all be done by us free of charge,” says the spokesman.

It delivers exact lengths as required by its customers, ensuring short delivery times.

Warm Edge spacers
Technoform Warm Edge insulated glass spacers have become an essential asset in double glazing units. This product features a unique hybrid design and offers superior warm-edge performance to manufacturers of commercial and residential IG units as measured by independent laboratory testing. Additional performance benefits include exceptional argon retention; aesthetically-pleasing sightlines; and several colour options. These spaces are used in all insulated double-glazing units, including structural curtain-wall and point-fixed spider systems.

“The TGI Warm Edge spacer delivers superior sightline temperatures, condensation resistance (CRF) and U-Factors available as proven by independent labs. It yields greater thermal comfort and lower energy costs. Additionally, with its unique patented design, it combines the benefits of high-performance polypropylene plastic – which is known for its low thermal conductivity – and thin stainless steel, setting a new performance standard for the IG industry,” says the spokesman.

The continuous stainless steel back provides an excellent surface for sealant adhesion, and an ideal working surface for fabrication equipment. Using standard primary and secondary edge-bonding like butyl and polysulfide, polyurethane or silicone, the TGI Wave Spacer exhibits very good adhesion properties between the sealing compounds and the stainless steel surface of the spacer. The filling of the spacer comprises traditional desiccants and can be processed without any restriction.

And having successfully passed the toughest argon certification test in the world – the European standard EN1279 Part 3 – the TGI spacer with a continuous metal back and a good bead of PIB keeps argon loss to less than one per cent per year, even on custom tempered units with varying glass surfaces, the spokesman says.

The spacer offers commendable structural power and durability as proved by years of independent tests at leading European, US, and global testing labs. Plus, it’s easy to handle, even with the largest IG units. “In addition, the spacers integrate easily into most existing IG lines. In fact, most fabricators in the Middle East already have the equipment needed to produce spacer frames with TGI Spacer. This means the cost of conversion is minimal,” says the spokesman.
Also, the spacer is easily bendable in a cold state and is suitable for special shape IG units as well. It features a straight sightline and a smooth matte finish, which blends in naturally with the window or curtain-wall frame. It is available in grey, white and black, and a wide range of colours, which enhances its design versatility.

Builders in the Middle East can achieve similar performance with their own systems and meet stringent benchmark standards which are starting to be implemented in an increasing number of municipalities in the region.

Technoform, founded in 1969 as a manufacturer and distributor of all-thermoplastic technical profiles, today maintains four separate operating units under Technoform Holding umbrella. These are Technoform Glass Insulation, which manufactures warm-edge IG spacers; Technoform Bautec, which manufactures thermal insulating strips and specialised construction-related profiles; Technoform Kunststoffprofile, which produces complex extruded profiles for technical and industrial applications; and Technoform Extrusion Tooling, a maker of high-performance extrusion tools.

All subsidiaries within the group are certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001. Additionally, Technoform has attained environmental certification according to DIN EN ISO 14001. It has also undergone extensive testing by established European institutes such as Ift Rosenheim to confirm the quality properties of its thermal insulating polyamide strips.

The company has for years been included in the ranks of worldwide-renowned providers in the field of extrusion of plastics. It is active internationally with numerous production and marketing locations and employs about 1,000 employees worldwide, with a turnover of approximately €300 million.

Production plants are located in Germany (six), Italy (two), Spain, Japan, China (two), North America (two) and offices in Turkey, Greece, the UK, Balkan states, Russia, Singapore, India, and in the UAE since 2006.

To meet the rising demand for polyamide strips in the Middle East, Technoform has an office in Dubai to serve the Middle East region. Technoform Middle East is part of Technoform Group with headquarters in Kassel, Germany.
Technoform will be present at The Big 5 Show in Dubai at Zabeel Hall, Stand P114.