Bio-attributed PVC by Kömmerling - A milestone on the way to more sustainability
With the use of bio-attributed PVC in projects of its profile brand Kömmerling, the profine Group is setting a milestone on the way to more sustainability.
At the beginning of June 2023, a project by the Dutch construction company Royal BAM Group was launched in Steenwijk, in which 19 social rental apartments from the 1970s are being modernized into zero-energy houses.
Another project that is currently being realized with bio-attributed PVC profiles by Kömmerling is the ecological housing settlement “SmartCity” by the company Viebrockhaus, which is currently being built in Harsefeld, Germany. Here, the Kömmerling partner Heinrich Meyer-Werke Breloh supplies highly thermally insulating elements of the Kömmerling 88 centre seal system.
Lower carbon footprint
Bio-attributed PVC is a new development in which fossil raw materials are 100 percent replaced by a renewable alternative, i .e . second generation feedstock that do not compete with food chains.
The "bio-attributed PVC by Kömmerling" is based on a pine oil-based raw material instead of petroleum in the production of ethylene. This allows a CO2 reduction of up to 90% compared to conventional PVC - and corresponds to two kilograms of CO2 savings per kilogram of material used.
In terms of quality, the profiles with the corresponding label are identical to the brand's regular PVC recipe, and they are also completely recyclable.
profine has certification according to the RSB standard (Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) from the raw material to the finished profile. The system house provides its customers with a project-related verification certificate for each product delivery.
Pioneering pilot projects
In the current project in the Netherlands, a total of 113 windows and doors from the Dutch profile series K-VISION Trend are being installed, with frames in a cream colour typical of the country, and multiple dark green foiled casements and high-quality triple glazing.
The responsible window manufacturer Kumij and the Royal BAM Group share the vision of providing sustainable solutions that go beyond current standards and at the same time require no compromises in the realization of the highest quality standards.
“We are proud of this project. It is a first in our window industry and we consider it an important step in the development of sustainable building materials. This innovation alone saves around 6,000 kilograms of CO2 in the project,” says Jelmer Bijlsma, Manager for Sustainability and Innovation at profine in the Netherlands.
“We are working here with what we believe to be the most convincing future product on our market. By using this innovation, we can reduce our dependence on fossil raw materials and increase the sustainability of the plastics industry,” adds Freddy van der Werff, CEO of Kumij.
By the end of 2023, two more projects with bio-attributed profiles by Kömmerling should be completed in the Netherlands: a high-quality new housing estate and the renovation of 73 residential buildings. Other projects are also being planned in Germany.
Sustainable cycle
Dr. Peter Mrosik, owner and CEO of profine, summarizes the strategic aspect of the innovation: “The consistent focus of our Kömmerling brand on sustainability is a holistic task that begins on the product side with the raw materials used. We are therefore proud to be the first in the industry to use bio-attributed PVC-U profiles in projects together with our partners. Our goal is a sustainable cycle for high-quality synthetic materials, and we want to be a role model here. That is why we will continue to work on sustainable product solutions in the future.”
Further information can be found under these links: to the BAM/ Kumij project in the Netherlands and to the SmartCity of Viebrockhaus.
