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28.06.2023

EPTA highlights contribution of pultruded composites to sustainable construction

Increasing energy and resource efficiency in the construction sector will be key to the EU’s ambition of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. By enabling the manufacture of strong, durable and lightweight products, composite materials can help the construction sector improve its environmental sustainability, as well as reduce total lifecycle costs. The latest EPTA industry briefing, Pultruded composites contribute to a more sustainable future for construction, discusses how pultruded composites answer the need for materials offering high performance, faster installation, corrosion resistance and low maintenance.

The report is available to download from the EPTA website.

Increasing energy and resource efficiency in the construction sector will be key to the EU’s ambition of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. By enabling the manufacture of strong, durable and lightweight products, composite materials can help the construction sector improve its environmental sustainability, as well as reduce total lifecycle costs. The latest EPTA industry briefing, Pultruded composites contribute to a more sustainable future for construction, discusses how pultruded composites answer the need for materials offering high performance, faster installation, corrosion resistance and low maintenance.

The report is available to download from the EPTA website.

The future of construction
As one of the largest global users of energy and raw materials, the construction industry is under immense pressure to improve its sustainability. At the same time, it must respond to demands for improved performance and reduced total cost of ownership. New materials will be needed to minimise the use of natural resources, enable a reduction of carbon footprint and facilitate circular economy practices. Choosing the optimum materials required for durability throughout the lifecycle will be increasingly important. A shift to off-site production is also forecast, where factory-controlled environments and automated processes can improve quality control, lower waste, and reduce work on site.

Lightweight pultruded parts can be pre-assembled into modules or complete structures in the factory for faster installation on site. Lightweight profiles lower energy use during transportation and installation, and a longer service life combined with minimal maintenance can deliver a reduced through-life carbon footprint. Pultruded parts such as profiles, gratings, beams, tubes and planks are increasingly found in a range of building, construction and infrastructure applications. Examples include bridge decks, fencing, stairs and handrails, train platforms, cladding, utility poles, modular building concepts, and window frames.

One application offering large growth potential for composites is bridges. Composite bridges are being designed to provide a service life of 100 years and unlike steel bridges do not require regular repainting to protect them from corrosion. Over recent years, pultruded glass fibre composite has become a highly popular choice for pedestrian and cycle bridges. Pre-fabricated ‘easy fit’ bridge decking planks, pre-assembled bridge modules and complete bridge ‘kits’ are now available. Corrosion-resistant composite bridges are ideal for use near water or on the coast, and in remote locations where regular maintenance operations would be difficult. A composite bridge can deliver the same performance as a steel structure with a weight saving of up to 50% or more. This enables more streamlined bridge designs which require less substantial supporting structures and foundations, greatly reducing consumption of materials and energy. Lightweight also results in easier logistics and simplified installation. Pultruded are more easily transported to the construction site, with lower fuel consumption, and easier to move on site, often reducing labour requirements and the capacity of lifting equipment.

A lifecycle approach
As the construction industry looks to the future, the environmental and economic benefits of composite materials linked to easier logistics and installation, durability and low maintenance are becoming increasingly valued. More projects are demonstrating the benefits of composite materials and standards covering the design, fabrication and installation of pultruded profiles are making it easier for the construction industry to use them. With ongoing development and collaboration, pultrusion has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable future for construction and many other industries. EPTA will continue to promote the advancement of pultrusion technology and its applications and foster sustainable practices within the industry.

More information:
European Pultrusion Technology Association EPTA pultrusion Composites construction industry
Source:

The European Pultrusion Technology Association (EPTA)

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17.06.2022

"Lifting Tariffs Would Cement China’s Dominance of Global Manufacturing"

Textile Groups Urge U.S. to Maintain Penalty Tariffs on Finished Products

The Biden administration should maintain Section 301 penalty tariffs on finished textiles and apparel or risk reversing once-in-a-lifetime nearshoring trends and undermining critical investments and jobs in the U.S. and Western Hemisphere, three key American textile manufacturing groups said today.

In a formal submission to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office, which is conducting a four-year statutory review of the tariffs, the associations expressed strong support for the continuation of penalty tariffs on imports from China and warned of the consequences associated with removing the tariffs.

“A key aspect of [the Biden administration’s trade] policy is the need to maintain Section 301 tariffs, absent substantive improvements in China’s pervasive, predatory trade practices,” the groups said. Lifting the tariffs “would also do nothing to achieve the administration’s goal of easing inflationary pressures, as apparel prices out of China continue to hit rock bottom even with the Section 301 tariffs,” they noted.

Textile Groups Urge U.S. to Maintain Penalty Tariffs on Finished Products

The Biden administration should maintain Section 301 penalty tariffs on finished textiles and apparel or risk reversing once-in-a-lifetime nearshoring trends and undermining critical investments and jobs in the U.S. and Western Hemisphere, three key American textile manufacturing groups said today.

In a formal submission to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office, which is conducting a four-year statutory review of the tariffs, the associations expressed strong support for the continuation of penalty tariffs on imports from China and warned of the consequences associated with removing the tariffs.

“A key aspect of [the Biden administration’s trade] policy is the need to maintain Section 301 tariffs, absent substantive improvements in China’s pervasive, predatory trade practices,” the groups said. Lifting the tariffs “would also do nothing to achieve the administration’s goal of easing inflationary pressures, as apparel prices out of China continue to hit rock bottom even with the Section 301 tariffs,” they noted.

The submission was filed by the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI) and Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) – both divisions of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA).  The associations represent the entirety of the U.S. textile production chain.

“For decades, China’s illegal actions have undermined virtually every domestic manufacturing sector and contributed to the direct loss of millions of U.S. jobs. These devastating state-sponsored practices include intellectual property theft as well as pervasive state-ownership of manufacturing, industrial subsidies, and abhorrent labor and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region,” they noted. “Cancelling these tariffs would create further unhealthy dependence on Chinese supply chains and embolden future systematic trade abuses as bad actors know that the U.S. will not hold them accountable.”

The tariffs were imposed on China beginning in 2018 in response to China’s continuing IP and related trade violations. China has since failed to comply with an agreement it reached with the United States in 2020.

More information:
NCTO Tariffs China
Source:

NCTO

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