Cellular PVC-U Group

The Cellular PVC Group represents the interests of all those involved in the production of PVC-Ue roofline and cladding products.

At present the group is focused on the technical issues facing the industry and is active in influencing both British and European Standards and has close links with the likes of BSI and BBA, as well as with our European Trade Association counterparts.

The Group has produced a downloadable Construction Guide

Download a pdf copy of any of our other Buyers Guides.

Download Plastics in Construction Guide Guide

Benefits of Membership

The group's members also participate through a range of other BPF Committees and Market Sector Groups, benefiting from invaluable networking, shaping policy or simply maintain a watching brief of developments relevant to their business.

Regular bulletins, keep Members informed of key issues and BPF news.

Members have the opportunity to interact with major end-users discussing the changing approaches to plastics in the supply chain at business workshops (e.g. Partnership in Plastics workshops, Polymer Innovation Network (PIN) seminars etc).

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The BPF works to ensure that members are in the best possible position to benefit from Government schemes. Working closely with bodies such as the Construction Products Associations, BSI, BBA and The Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Cellular PVC Group continues to go from strength to strength and is able to have an increased presence and increasing influence in many areas of the construction industry.

About the Material

Cellular PVCue has been designed to cope with applications under constant attack from the weather. The process produces a light and durable product with the performance of denser traditional materials. Roofline maintains the roofs integrity by closing the eaves and supporting guttering, the roofs water carrier. Cladding provides a water resistant weatherproofing to all forms of construction.

To understand more about PVC as a material, please click here.

Cellular PVC Cladding products listed within the latest Building Research Establishment (BRE) “Green Guide To Specification” achieves the highest rating of ‘A+’, confirming its position as one of the best performing materials on the market currently. Coupled with the fact that PVC-U Cladding achieves a reference Service Life (RSL) rating of at least 35 years, as recognised by the BRE, confirm that cellular PVC products are providing a cost effective, an increasingly sustainable and durable solution to many areas of the construction industry.

For further information on the “Green Guide To Specification”, please click here: www.thegreenguide.org.uk.

Products installed at the inception of the industry in the 1970’s are still performing to the required standards, with very little maintenance required.

Resource efficiency and lifetime minimisation of embodied impacts is achieved by recycling. Products which eventually become available via demolition or style induced replacement can be readily demounted and fixings removed. BPF member firms are committed to the Vinyl 2010 and Recovinyl programmes, aimed at increasing manufacturing efficiency and recycling of PVC products. Manufacturing waste is almost all recycled with very little going into landfill.

Cellular PVC roofline and Cladding products are designed for precise applications. Resource efficiency is maximised by designing around standard shapes and sizes to avoid cutting and site waste.

Not only are PVC products available in white, a whole suite of colours is offered by BPF members, ranging from white to black and from oak to mahogany.

Of critical importance to the PVC sector is the maintenance of a high profile for the benefits of the material vis-à-vis competing products. The BPF launched a successful PVC Communications Campaign in 2007, hosting a series of 5 seminars across the UK, in prestigious locations right from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London, right up to the Whisky Heritage Centre in Edinburgh.

The BPF’s engaging with both the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and English Partnerships has allowed essential dialogue between the Vinyl’s, Windows and Cellular PVC Groups with these organisations. Briefing sessions have helped facilitate discussions around sustainability and helping staff understand the PVC industry and sustainability more fully.

Governmental policy will be a key driver for the future of the UK profile industry, with targets currently set to build ‘eco-towns’. The UK Government is considering building 5 of these towns with an estimated population of 100,000 each. PVC products will have a role to play in these large scale products, with energy efficient products, such as PVC cladding and PVC windows, especially in the range of colours which are available currently.

On-going technological developments mean that on top of the inherent recylability of cellular profile, reductions in noise and heat can be achieved during the production process, meaning greater efficiency through-out the entire production process.

The UK has a strong Research and Development base and with several major universities with a competence in plastics including Loughborough. Loughborough University, through their Institute of Polymer Materials and Materials Engineering (IPTME), internationally recognised as a leader in PVC research and development.

The Cellular Group has also recently produced a "Code of Practise for the installation of Cellular PVC-U Cladding Systems", which can be downloaded free of charge

Source: CMAI
Consumption of PVC worldwide.

Through the BPF’s Group structure, the Vinyl’s, Windows and Cellular PVC Groups will continue to promote the uses of PVC products, through its entire lifecycle. We will continue to encourage dialogue with the entire supply chain, encourage continuous professional development, whilst promoting learning outside the PVC industry. The PVC industry now also has a dedicated Sector Skills Council under the leadership of Cogent. Training is vital to our competitiveness and now we have an infrastructure to provide the skills which our sector needs.

It is the “management of materials” throughout the life cycle of a product that is important. Provided that the PVC industry can continue to both lower its environmental footprint and continue to develop recycling then we can demonstrate our progress towards sustainability – upon which we will be judged. The focus of attention on PVC has accelerated the pace of change within the PVC industry and the same rigour must also apply for competing materials. We are entering a period where price by itself will not be the only factor in the buying decision.

There will be an increased demand for quality, increasingly sustainable products, as well as products in a range of colours and designs. As the UK Government continues to set increasingly ambitious house-building targets, it is essential that UK industry, as a whole, follows suit and develops the technology, and products, to match.

Useful Documents for the Cellular PVC-U Group

	Download the Cellular Group Code of Practice for Cladding
	Download the Cellular Group Code of Practice for Roofline

Group Members

BCE Cellular Extrusions Ltd	Celuform	Swish Building Products Ltd
Kestrel Building Products	Eurocell Profiles Ltd	Ineos
Chemson Ltd	Baerlocher UK Ltd	LB Plastics Ltd

The Cellular PVC Group are keen to promote the benefits of PVC useage - one such delivery tool is not only the main www.bpf.co.uk website, but also suppoting the Windows group in developing the www.pvcaware.org website, in promoting PVC useage in construction. The PVC Aware brand is developing and is one which will be used more and more to promote the benefits of PVC.

Contact Information

Cellular PVC Group Chairman: Dave Osborne, Swish Building Products.

Cellular PVC Group Executive: Francisco Morcillo, BPF
Tel: +44(0) 20 7457 5037 | Fax: +44(0) 20 7457 5045 | Email: fmorcillo@bpf.co.uk

Francisco is responsible for the plastics in construction interests of the BPF, responsible also for the Windows Group and the Sheet & Coated Fabrics Group, looking after shared interests, whilst promoting the interests of plastics in construction to a wider audience.