Fall 2016 News

The Sump and Sewage Pump Manufacturers Association (SSPMA) offers a certification program to provide third-party verification.  Pumps bearing the “SSPMA-Certified” seal have been tested and rated in accordance with SSPMA and industry standards, and will perform as stated by the manufacturer. The certification is designed to supply the specifier, purchaser and/or user of sump, effluent and sewage pumping equipment with accurate performance data, and to assist in the determination of proper application and selection of this equipment.

In July, SSPMA updated and revised their listing of sump, sewage and effluent pumps that have obtained this certification. Pump companies taking part in the program are: Champion Pump, Crane Pumps and Systems, Franklin Electric/Little Giant, Goulds Water Technology/Xylem, Liberty Pumps, Pentair Water, and Zoeller Co.

The complete listing of certified model numbers can be found on SSPMA’s website at www.sspma.org/certified-pumps.

In May, VerasFlex Inc. added Kansai Paint as a distributor of its high performance polyurea protective coatings, linings, joint fillers, and repair materials.

Based in Japan, Kansai Paint is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of paint and coatings, operating in more than 50 countries. This agreement allows Kansai Paint Middle East, which covers more than 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa Region, to market VersaFlex’s complete line of high performance polyurea protective coatings, linings, joint fillers, and repair materials. These are used in wide variety of applications in the region, including infrastructure projects, oil and gas installations, water and power, and manufacturing and maintenance facilities.

We are able to find great synergy between VersaFlex and Kansai Paint,” said Todd Gomez, international sales manager of VersaFlex Inc. “We are excited to work with Kansai Paint to deliver our top quality polyurea protective coatings systems.”

Kansai Paint Middle East presently operates in eight countries, with four manufacturing facilities in production and two more under construction. In Pakistan alone, it has more than 300 dealers across 87 cities.

“We are very excited to work with VersaFlex, as they are the premier manufacturer of pure polyurea protective coatings and linings,” said Agha Zafar Abbas, director of supply chain and manufacturing for Kansai Paint Middle East. “This partnership brings great products to the region and enables us to continue to provide the best products to our customers.”

In late July, the Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association (RCMA) hosted its third  International Roof Coatings Conference (IRCC).  The event is held every two years. Organizers report that the 2016 event, which took place in Philadelphia, attracted a record turnout of more than 170 attendees, a 40% increase compared to 2014.

The conference is held in partnership with 11 industry organizations. More than 20 speakers delivered presentations on a range of topics such as industry developments, emerging technologies, sustainability, and economics. Speakers also shared research papers with meeting attendees and participated in dialogues about the future of the roof coatings industry.

Prior to the conference, RCMA members volunteered to apply reflective roof coatings on 18 row homes in North Philadelphia, part of a program to preserve affordable housing in Philadelphia by repairing and retrofitting low income homes with energy-efficient upgrades. RCMA members GAF, Arkema, Inc., Acrymax Technologies, Inc., and Palmer Asphalt Company donated roof coating products for use in the project.

RCMA will continue to host the IRCC biennially, with the next conference taking place in 2018.

Green walls continue to grow in popularity, being designed for educational, retail, office, and residential projects.

One notable recent project is the “living wall” installed at Rutgers University in New Jersey last year.  The wall is part of a new $55 million, 80,000 square foot academic building built on campus to house the Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health. More than three stories tall, it’s the largest interior living wall in New Jersey.

EcoWalls designed and installed the living wall, using 46 species of low-light tropical plants. Measuring 40’ high and 33’ long (1,320 sq. ft.), the living wall is home to more than 5,200 individual plants. Each module was pre-grown at the EcoWalls greenhouse for about eight weeks prior to site construction.

Green walls are also popular outdoors.  When Starbucks Coffee Company needed something eye-catching and unique for its new Downtown Disney location in Anaheim, designers included a green wall.  The outdoor patio is built around an old Ficus tree, and green wall designer Tournesol Siteworks complemented that feel with a 15-foot-high x 22-foot-long green wall built in the shape of a coffee cup.  The 1,000 native plants grow in recycled plastic planting modules with pre-assembled irrigation emitters, attached to stainless steel hanging rods.