To help create the strongest and lightest composite infrastructure materials, Dow Polyurethanes has introduced VORAFORCE TP 1200 series to the North America market. The novel polyurethanes solution enables fast, energy-efficient pultrusion composite fabrication with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.

Dow’s new solution supports the fabrication of strong composites for a number of applications, including building profiles such as pilings and panels, window manufacturing, electrical infrastructure such as utility poles and civil engineering. VORAFORCE has such versatility it can be used to create heavy-duty polyurethane pallets for logistics and transportation applications, as well as ladder rails for consumer use.

“This technology is another example of how advancements in material science and innovation are continually improving manufacturing around the world,” said Avery Watkins, new business development manager for Dow Polyurethanes. “As an alternative to traditional materials like aluminum, polyester or epoxy we’ve created a more cost-effective solution to help fabricators deliver superior strength and durability to structural profiles.”

The new VORAFORCE technology enables the same toughness as traditional composite materials but requires less resin to fabricate, thus making it a more cost-efficient solution than polyester or vinyl ester resins. The Dow pultrusion system, previously released to the EMEA market, also provides especially low pull forces during processing and enables higher productivity for fabricators. In addition, this new polyurethane technology offers a number of sustainability benefits such as emitting lower amounts of VOC during the pultrusion process, the ability to lightweight to create thinner composite profiles, as well as improve transportation and logistics efficiency.