International Home Builders Show Launches Green Building Program

February 16, 2008 - Over 92,000 building industry professionals from around the globe convened at the Orange County Convention Center, February 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. With over 1,900 exhibitors covering more than one million net square feet of exhibit space, attendees packed the aisles to see the latest in building products, services and technologies.

The four days packed full of education, exhibits and special events made International Builder’s Show (IBS) 2008 a huge success! For the first time ever, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) held Green Day, celebrating all things Green in the building industry. Green education was held throughout the day and NAHB officially launched the NAHB National Green Building Program, an education, verification, and certification program that will allow builders anywhere to build green homes. The new program, allows green builders to accrue points in seven categories: water, energy, and resource efficiency; lot and site development; indoor environmental quality; global impact; and homeowner education. The New American Home™ is the first show home to be certified in the new program. Utilizing spray polyurethane foam insulation in some areas of the home combined with other prominent features that contribute to energy efficiency and durability, the whole house energy savings is 42%!

Of the 1900 plus exhibitors, roughly twenty exhibitors featured closed-cell and/or open-cell spray polyurethane foam insulation, equipment and technology at this year’s show. Very few exhibitors displayed traditional fiberglass or cellulose insulation. Closed- and open-cell spray foam insulation is nothing new to the building industry, yet it is taking consumers, architects and builders by storm with new-found recognition for the exceptional value it offers to energy efficiency and to the nationwide “green” movement. Two nights during the show the Orlando, FL local news focused on spray foam technology as the “hottest” thing for building for energy savings!

Some of the exhibitors featuring foam insulation products include:

Foametix
LaPolla IndustriesChemical Design
BASF
Dow Construction Products
BaySystems North America
Airtight SprayFoam Marketing and Distribution Inc.Tiger Foam Insulation Kits
IDI Distribution
Corbond
Demilec
Icynene
Convenience Products
North Carolina Foam Industries
Honeywell

Next year, the International Builders’ Show moves to Vegas! We’ll see you there January 20-23, 2009!

Find Local Spray Foam Insulation and Roofing Contractors and Installers Near You

SprayFoam.com is proud to announce their all new 2008 Spray Foam Contractor Finder.

If you are looking for an SPF contractor near you, go to SprayFoam.com's redesigned regional contractor finder, currently listing all foam contractors in the USA and Canada.

If you are a foam contractor or installer yourself, you should seriously consider listing your business on this website. SprayFoam.com is the leading spray foam resource on the internet. It is far less expensive than yellow pages, internet ad words, and most all all other forms of advertising.

SprayFoam.com had over 21, 000 unique first time visitors in January 2008 alone. Most of them were homeowners, builders and architects looking for information about spray foam and all its energy saving and closed-cell foam vs. open-cell foam benefits. Once they see how great foam insulation and roofing are compared to traditonal products, they want a quote from a contractor nearby. Check out http://www.sprayfoam.com/ today.

Foam Spray Equipment - New from Gama USA

BLOOMFIELD, NJ – Gama Machinery USA, Inc. is proud to introduce their new line of standard and custom spray and pour equipment for polyurethane foam, polyurea, and in-house, OEM pour foam and injection PU molding. Gama-USA’s new line of spray guns and hydraulic proportioners fill the market’s void for custom high performance foam and coatings dispensing equipment.

Gama-USA, Inc. is a recent start-up managed by paragons of the urethane industry with over 70 years of experience. Gama USA, a subsidiary of PMC, Inc. is joined by their sister company, Gama China located in Nanjing, China and are the Master Distributors for Garraf Maquinaria S.A Spain.

In recent years, many of the products and specialty manufacturing services that the Urethane Industry had come to rely on have been discontinued or neglected. Gama products and services will be targeted to reenergize and grow these market segments.

Gama-USA is also proud to announce their new G-250 H hydraulic proportioner for spray or pour foam and coatings. The machine is positioned to replace the industry renowned H-20/35, and boasts several performance enhancements and very competitive features. Coupled with the all new Master Air Purge Spray Gun and uniquely designed heated hose, the Gama package is poised to become the industry standard.

Gama-USA is lead by Denis Commette. Commette holds many US Patents for spray equipment design and engineering and has over 35 years experience in the plural-component dispensing sector. Commette claims “our new hydraulic machine and air purge spray gun will out perform what is currently available in the market place. “We believe the equipment market has changed and demands more customized equipment and service solutions coupled with the Gama commitment to help our customers develop niche markets.” Gama-USA Gama-USA is proud to have Frank Sica heading up the distribution, sales and service operations. Sica has over 35 years in the urethane equipment business and brings strong sales and service experience and leadership to the company.

http://www.gama-usa.com/

Spray Polyurethane Foam Restores Permanent Roof for Louisiana Superdome

New Orleans, LA - The 9.7 acre-roof of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Sprayed Polyurethane Foam will help restore the permanent roof of the high-profile sports venue.

The rigid, closed-cell spray foam will form a seamless seal that grips the roof surface, including any irregular shapes or penetrations.

Traditional roofing materials often guarantee resistance to gale force winds, or sustained winds of roughly 40 mph. The new spray foam roof on the Superdome is guaranteed by the spray foam manufacturer to resist hurricane force winds. Historically, approximately 75 percent of the U.S. mainland experiences winds of 40 mph or greater, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization.

Ken Gayer, business director for Honeywell foam insulation blowing agents, said that closed-cell polyurethane has proven structural advantages under the most extreme weather conditions.
"From Hurricanes Andrew to Hugo to Frances, commercial and residential buildings sprayed with polyurethane foam have performed exceptionally well in terms of resisting short- and long-term damage from the effects of wind and flood," he said.

Honeywell Enovate is a hydrofluorocarbon that allows closed-cell insulation to be sprayed on and provides the majority of the foam's insulation properties.

BaySystems North America, a subsidiary of Bayer MaterialScience LLC, supplied the polyurethane foam system. Brazos Urethane Inc., a contractor based in Texas City, Texas, will apply the foam system to the metal roof decking of the 70,000-seat domed stadium. Brazos, who completed a temporary closed-cell spray foam roof in October 2005, expects to complete the permanent roof by September, in time for the home opener for the NFL's New Orleans Saints.

Closed-cell spray foam insulation also is used for residential wall applications. The material offers homes a wide range of advantages and benefits, including reduced air infiltration, better moisture and condensation control, better structural integrity and less energy usage for heating and cooling. Such homes also can be served by smaller heating and air conditioning units and, in most cases, a separate vapor barrier is not necessary.