Published 8/1/2006

Polycon Pavilion Highlights Cast Polymer Market

The combined COMPOSITES POLYCON 2006 show welcomes cultured stone and solid surface manufacturers to the ACMA fold.

Infrastructure

In February 2005, the venerable POLYCON conference, hosted annually by the Inter-national Cast Polymer Assn. (ICPA), officially became linked to the American Composites Manufacturers Assn.'s (ACMA) annual composites industry trade exhibition. The change was supported overwhelmingly by a member vote during the POLYCON 2005 conference's general session. This year, a special POLYCON Pavilion will be a key part of the Composites 2006 exhibition coming up Oct. 18-20, in America's Center, the St. Louis, Mo. convention center.

POLYCON is geared to the many hundreds of large, medium and small producers of cast polymer products, for kitchen and bath applications. The group defines cast polymer as man-made, mineral-filled polymeric materials that are molded into solid shapes that meet diverse design needs. The definition encompasses countertops, lavatories, vanity tops, shower pans, bathtubs, fireplace surrounds, windowsills, floor tiles, whirlpool baths and other niche applications. Three basic product categories exist: 1) cultured stone, formed by a polyester resin matrix highly filled with calcium carbonate and pigments, and featuring a gel-coated outer surface; 2) solid surface, made with either polyester or acrylic resin and alumina trihydrate filler, with granite-effect granules, pigments and specialty air-release additives to ensure a void-free product; and 3) engineered stone, which combines resin and natural stone fillers, usually ground quartz or marble.

While the solid surface and engineered stone segments are dominated by a limited number of national and international suppliers, the cultured stone segment — which originated in the late 1940s as an alternative to enameled cast iron fixtures and laminate countertops — is comprised of mostly small and privately held companies that supply products regionally. Demand for cast polymer products is driven primarily by the construction industry, and its health is strongly tied to the number of new residential housing starts as well as the home remodeling market. While housing starts are generally down this year, in some regions of the country, demand for cast polymer products has remained strong, supported by a robust home resale market, relatively low mortgage rates and an unprecedented 70 percent individual home ownership rate — although that picture continues to change as interest rates rise. A 2004 market study conducted by market research firm The Freedonia Group Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio) predicts that demand for cast polymer products will grow at 5 percent per year at least until 2008, to 205 million ft2 (19 million m2) of product. According to Freedonia, gains will be driven by the increasing use of cast polymers in nonresidential countertops and other applications that currently have low penetration rates, and consumer demand for durable, low-maintenance materials for the home. Demand will exceed $1 billion (USD) by 2008 for solid surface materials and should surpass $1.5 billion (USD) for cultured stone products, says the report.

On the following pages, Pavilion exhibitors and their booth locations are listed. CT advertisers are highlighted in bold. And don't miss CT's coverage of cast polymer automation, beginning on p. 50.

Advanced Plastics Inc. — 925
7360 Cockrill Bend Blvd., Nashville, TN 37209 USA
(615) 350-6500; (800) 321-0365 Fax: (615) 350-6510
sales@advanced-plastics.com
www.advanced-plastics.com

American Colors Inc. — 627
PO Box 397, Sandusky, OH 44871-0397 USA
(419) 631-4000 Fax: (419) 625-3979
www.americancolors.com

American Whirlpool Systems Inc. — 722
3050 N. 29th Ct., Hollywood, FL 33020 USA
(954) 921-4400 Fax: (954) 921-4519
www.americanwhirlpool.com

Ashland Inc. — 1018
5200 Blazer Pkwy., Columbus, OH 43017 USA
(614) 790-3333 Fax: (614) 790-3426
www.ashland.com

Bergen Materials Corp. — 419
PO Box 8, Elfers, FL 34680 USA
(727) 847-0605 Fax: (727) 847-0726
bermatcorp@cs.com

Boss Products — 619
350 Ring Rd., Elizabethtown, KY 42701 USA
(270) 769-3385; (800) 928-2677 Fax: (270) 765-2412
sales@accumetricinc.com
www.accumetricinc.com

BroCom Corp. — 824
2618 Durango Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80910 USA
(888) 392-5808; (719) 392-5537 Fax: (719) 392-5540

Buff and Shine Mfg. — 1019
2139 E. Del Amo Blvd., Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220 USA
(800) 659 BUFF; (310) 886-5111 Fax: (310) 886-5099
info@buffandshine.com
www.buffandshine.com

Caddo Pigments, Caddo Paint Co. — 919
4120 Hearne Ave., Shreveport, LA 71103 USA
(318) 631-4542 Fax: (318) 631-1659
mark@caddopaint.com
www.caddopaint.com

Cast Polymer Connection Magazine — 1122
1010 N. Glebe Rd., Ste. 250
Arlington, VA 22201 USA
(703) 525-0511 x302
www.icpa-hq.org

Composites Manufacturing Magazine — 1122
1010 N. Glebe Rd., Ste. 250
Arlington, VA 22201 USA
(703) 525-0511
www.cmmagazine.org

Composites One — 818
723 W. Algonquin Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005 USA
(800) 621-8003; (847) 437-0200 x4805
Fax: (847) 437-0664
www.compositesone.com

ESTENS — 1118
1636 Dogwood Ct.,
Fort Collins, CO 27250 USA
(970) 484-5444 Fax: (970) 484-9472
estens_msn_usa1@msn.com

FAMA Industries Corp. — 1124
7 - 15050 54A Ave.
Surrey, BC V3S 5X7 Canada
(604) 574-0885; (800) 527-2366
Fax: (888) 527-2366
info@famaindustries.com
www.famaindustries.com

Franklin Industrial Minerals — 921
612 10th Ave. N, Nashville, TN 37203 USA
(615) 259-4222 Fax: (615) 726-2693
www.frankmin.com

Gisco Inc. — 621
8193 Lemont Rd., Darien, IL 60561 USA
(630) 910-3000; (800) 31 GISCO Fax: (630) 910-3500
gisco@giscoinc.com
www.giscoinc.com

Gruber Systems Inc. — 819
25636 Ave. Stanford, Valencia, CA 91355 USA
(800) 257-4070 Fax: (661) 257-4791
sales@gruber-systems.com
www.gruber-systems.com

Huber Engineered Materials — 719
1000 Parkwood Cir., Ste. 1000
Atlanta GA 30339 USA
(800) 451-1034; (678) 247-7300 Fax: (678) 247-2797
hubermaterials@huber.com
www.hubermaterials.com

HydraBath Inc. — 718
2100 S. Fairview St.,
Santa Ana, CA 92704 USA
(800) 854-8680; (714) 556-9133 x228
Fax: (714) 751-8652
www.hydrabaths.com

IMERYS — 518
100 Maunsell Ct. E, Ste. 300
Roswell, GA 30076 USA
(770) 594-0660 Fax: (770) 645-3384
www.imerys.com

Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc. — 525
140 E. 22nd St., Bayonne, NJ 07002 USA
(201) 823-9000; (866) 536-7424 Fax: (201) 823-0691
sales@4kenrich.com
www.4kenrich.com

Reichhold Inc. — 1120
PO Box 13582, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA
(919) 990-7500; (800) 431-1920 Fax: (919) 990-7749
phil.bridges@reichhold.com
www.reichhold.com/composites

Superior Fiberglass and Resins — 519
304 W. Raymond St., Indianapolis, IN 46225 USA
(317) 781-4400; (800) 553-5480 Fax: (317) 781-4480
SOCHQ@superioroil.com
www.superioroil.com/fiberglass

The Marble Master — 822
8 Passage Lane, Salem, SC 29676 USA
(864) 944-1253
www.themarblemaster.,com

Upland Fab Inc. — 427
1445 W. Brooks St., Unit L
Ontario, CA 91762 USA
(909) 986-6565 Fax: (909) 986-0495
mail@uplandfab.com
www.uplandfab.com

Utility Composites Int'l Ltd. — 723
2704 A Meister Pl.
Round Rock, TX 78664 USA
(512) 255-8525; (800) 460-6933 Fax: (512) 255-8709
info@raptornails.com