Scott Bader paper on 'Fire Retardant Building Fibreglass'

At the invitation of Composites Association of New Zealand, Scott Bader along with Chemical Specialties Ltd., the official distributor for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, is attending, speaking and demonstrating at the association’s annual conference, which this year takes place from 11-13 October in Auckland.

On the first day of the conference, Mr. Biju Krishnankutty, Technical Service Manager for Scott Bader Middle East is giving a technical presentation titled ‘Fire Retardant Fibre Glass in Buildings’.  This technical presentation will cover over 40 years’ experience of Crystic fire retardant (FR) fibreglass systems in use, primarily in buildings, but also in transportation and marine sectors; insights into Scott Bader’s FR technologies, as well as a variety of structural fibreglass application case studies will be included. 

The aim is to inform and update composites designers, specifiers and manufacturers based in New Zealand about the performance capabilities of the latest specialty gelcoats, topcoats, advanced resins and structural adhesives products available.

Linked with practical demonstrations being given later in the conference programme, this technical presentation will highlight Scott Bader products developed for building and construction applications relating to building repair and cladding, protection against earthquakes and fire resistance. 

This will include Crestapol 1212 acrylic resin, which can be heavily filled with up to 200 phr aluminium trihydrate (ATH) to achieve a stringent ASTM, BS, ISO, DIN and French NFP/NFF fire, smoke and toxic fume (FST) standards for building and mass transportation applications. 

Crystic Fireguard 75PA Excel, a proven intumescent FR topcoat for over 30 years, will also be covered. It has been specified in many internal applications which must meet BS 476 Part 6 Class 0 or BS 476 Part 7 Class 1 fire test standards, including interior parts in buildings, rail and other public transport vehicles.  According to Scott Bader test data, Crystic Fireguard 75PA Excel can withstand a direct flame at a temperature of 700°C for over 60 minutes without the laminate behind catching fire.

In between formal conference programme events, representatives from both Chemical Specialties Ltd. and Scott Bader Middle East will be on hand in the expo area, where conference attendees can view exhibits and ask questions about the wide range of Crystic resins, gelcoats, flowcoats, tooling products and bonding pastes, the full range of high performance Crestapol acrylic resins available, plus the Crestabond and Crestomer ranges of Scott Bader structural adhesives, which are all distributed by Chemical Specialties across New Zealand. 

On Saturday 13 October, conference attendees will get the opportunity to visit The Centre for Advanced Composite Materials (CACM) located on The University of Auckland’s Tamaki Innovation Campus.  CACM brings together expertise from engineering, science and medical faculties to undertake fundamental, applied and industrially focused research.