ANDY Swift, national sales manager of ISO-CHEMIE, is optimistic that the UK foam sealants market in 2017 will see growth despite cost pressures and uncertainty in the wake of Brexit.
While trading conditions are always challenging, the outlook for the next 12 months is ‘very promising’, says Andy Swift, whose company supplies foam sealants for public and private sector projects alongside window and door installers.
The market place will continue to recover from the turbulence of the last few years, with growth being driven by product innovation and increasing applications for foam tape sealants, he says. The desperate need for housing both in the private and public sector to high standards of airtightness and energy efficiency will also boost growth.
“We are definitely buoyant about the outlook for sector growth in 2017 and there is a considerable amount of confidence among specifiers and customers based on several key factors,” says Andy Swift. “New products such as our thermal insulating and load bearing bracket system WINFRAMER and the advanced foils to replace EPDM type seals are seen to be at the forefront of simple yet effective solutions for sealing windows and doors against the elements. They are gaining increasing traction among architects and specifiers, who see the benefits as intuitive solutions to air loss and poor energy efficient current methods.
“This is also backed up by the introduction of expanding foam tapes included for the first time in the British Standard BS8213-4:2016. This is an upward move to ensure that a window is energy rated around the frame as well as the frame itself.”
He adds that greater awareness and understanding of these and other products is also leading to installers increasingly using foam sealant technology to close more sales and develop new business opportunities.
“With more focused sales and technical teams and an aggressive marketing strategy in place, 2017 will be a fruitful year,” he says.
ISO-CHEMIE is one of Europe’s main producers of impregnated foam sealants, specialising in the manufacturer of foam products from polyethylene (EPE), polypropylene (EPP) and polyurethane (PUR) using the latest production techniques.
Photocaption: ISO-CHEMIE’s Andy Swift looks forward to a buoyant market for sealants in 2017
