Janicki Industries has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Global Fiberglass Solutions, Inc. (GFSI) for fiberglass recycling and developing manufacturing technologies and processes. Together Janicki and GFSI will collaborate to successfully advance and develop products with a high content of recycled fiberglass materials. They will utilize these materials in infrastructural and architectural markets.
To implement this partnership, GFSI and Janicki will identify market and product potentials for recycled materials and formulate specific material properties for these applications. One of the initial areas of focus will be large-scale noise barriers for highways fabricated in part from decommissioned utility scale wind blades.
“Recently, while touring a wind blade factory, I asked myself what happens when these 15-to 25-ton behemoths reach the end of their design life,” said Andy Bridge, vice president of industrial markets for Janicki Industries. “GFSI has a vision and the technology to reclaim fiberglass, and we are excited to develop market-based products and large-scale manufacturing processes customized for the material properties. We can grow our products and services for customers and at the same time reduce waste by recycling fiberglass materials.”
GFSI and its technical partner, Washington State University, have successfully manufactured a variety of composite products with fiberglass material taken from decommissioned wind blades. Testing conducted for the manufactured products showed overall superior mechanical and physical properties suitable for a whole range of green manufacturing applications.
“Partnering with an industry leader such as Janicki Industries can take GFSI’s patented fiberglass recycling process to a whole new level of manufacturing sustainable high-grade products,” said Don Lilly, CEO of Global Fiberglass Solutions.
— Source: Janicki Industries
