PROSOCO Inc., a Lawrence, Kan.-based manufacturer of construction chemicals, has acquired Construction Tie Products to expand its product offerings in the new construction and restoration masonry markets.

Since 2005, Construction Tie Products, commonly known as CTP, has manufactured high quality masonry restoration anchors and wall ties. With staff members possessing more than 30 years of masonry construction and restoration experience, CTP has successfully marketed its system of products to architects, engineers, contractors and owners.

CTP's operations, products, staff and branding will continue with no interruptions in service to customers.

This acquisition gives PROSOCO a more complete system to offer to masonry and restoration contractors who already use PROSOCO's cleaners and protective treatments for restoration and new construction.

Additionally, it further rounds out PROSOCO's suite of products required to complete energy retrofits of existing buildings: PROSOCO's R-Guard air- and water-resistive barriers for the building envelope; PROSOCO's Sure Klean cleaners and protective treatments for masonry veneers; and anchors and ties from CTP.

The compatibility of both companies' market strategies and core values was clear from the very first discussions, according to David Boyer, president and CEO of PROSOCO.

“Both companies promote construction of new and preservation of existing masonry buildings,” Boyer said. “This acquisition expands PROSOCO's technical expertise and product offering in both market segments.”

“This industry is about people. Since its inception in 2005, CTP has established a reputation by providing customized solutions for difficult challenges on a project-by-project basis. That parallels much of PROSOCO's reputation in the building restoration, conservation and retrofit industry. Sharing a similar level of dedication to quality masonry construction is very important to us. We strive to do business with like-minded companies.”

For Steve Getz, owner of CTP, the similarities between the two companies mattered.

“In addition to both being family-owned, PROSOCO and CTP have very similar core values,” Getz said. “We share the same interests in building and restoring masonry structures with high-quality products. We are proud of the business that we have grown, and excited to watch it continue to thrive as it moves forward under PROSOCO's leadership.”

Licensed by Unifire AB

Replacing combustible cladding in a tall building can generate excessive costs.

The AFS System reduces the risk associated with combustible cladding. It is engineered to rapidly identify and autonomously fight fires on the exterior of tall buildings with combustible cladding and to provide fire suppression at any height beyond the reach of firefighters.

CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO – Arriscraft, manufacturer of naturally-made products that emulate quarried stone, has expanded production capabilities in Cambridge, Ontario to produce Stack™ thin stone (previously known as ARRIS.Stack). Arriscraft is the stone products group of General Shale, the North American subsidiary of Wienerberger AG and a leading manufacturer of brick, one of the world's oldest green building materials.

“Our newly developed, production line allows us to produce our popular Stack thin stone in Canada,” says Marta Zonneveld, Marketing Manager. “Before this, our ARRIS.Stack product came exclusively from our Georgia plant. Now our Canadian and Northeastern U.S. customers have better access to our thin stone line, with a great selection of colors.”

Stack delivers the aesthetic of full bed stone (with return corner units) yet offers the ease of thin stone installation (applied with adhesive to a suitable substrate). A ledger style stone, Stack features an authentic, split face finish and random lengths (from 4" to 12") in three face rises (2-1/8", 3-5/8" and 5-13/16"), which are conveniently pre-blended to create an ashlar configuration. The new color selection, exclusive to the Cambridge facility, includes a broad color range and six standard colors: Blackcomb, Byward, Granville, Inglewood, Ville-Marie, and Yorkville.

Arriscraft's Natural Process technology uses only natural materials (plus color pigments) and replicates how stone is created in the earth. This proprietary process creates stone with the natural aesthetics and durability of quarried stone, plus the convenience of standard installation and unlimited supply.

CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO – Arriscraft, manufacturer of naturally-made products that emulate quarried stone, has expanded production capabilities in Cambridge, Ontario to produce Midtown thin stone. Arriscraft is the stone products group of General Shale, the North American subsidiary of Wienerberger AG and a leading manufacturer of brick, one of the world's oldest green building materials.

“Our new thin stone production line, in Cambridge, now produces our popular Midtown,” says Marta Zonneveld, Marketing Manager. “Before this, all thin product came exclusively from our Georgia plant. Now our Canadian and Northeastern U.S. customers have better access to our thin stone line, which continues to grow in popularity.”

Midtown thin stone gives designers creative freedom; one size or any combination of sizes can be laid in a coursed fashion or two or three sizes can be combined in an ashlar configuration. Mortar joint installation and return corner units complete a full bed aesthetic. Midtown comes in random lengths and three face rises (2-1/8", 3-5/8" and 5-13/16"), in a natural, split face finish. The new color selection, exclusive to the Cambridge facility, includes a broad color range and six standard colors: Blackcomb, Byward, Granville, Inglewood, Ville-Marie, and Yorkville.

Arriscraft's Natural Process technology uses only natural materials (plus color pigments) and replicates how stone is created in the earth. This proprietary process creates stone with the natural aesthetics and durability of quarried stone, plus the convenience of standard installation and unlimited supply.

Bossier City, La. — Strong design scoffs at limitations. Confined to designing a 2,500 square foot residence on a narrow 20-foot by 60-foot lot in a dense urban neighborhood, David W. Nitchkey, principal at CORE Architects of Pittsburgh, designed his own unique three-story home with the use of exposed fastener panels from McElroy Metal.

“My wife and I both wanted to live in a contemporary urban home, reflecting a modern design on both the exterior and the interior,” Nitchkey says. “We chose metal to create the contemporary industrial aesthetic of the exterior. Beyond aesthetics, the exposed fastener metal panel system provided an economical solution and the material is basically maintenance free. After maintaining a large 1950s era suburban home for 14 years, we were ready to spend less time on exterior maintenance and more time enjoying the benefits of living in a city neighborhood.

“Building a contemporary home in an urban neighborhood of mostly 100-plus year-old houses presented challenges, but we never second-guessed the selection of metal for the exterior. Metal has played a historic role here and its influence comes from the steel industry in the Pittsburgh region.”

The design of the home is defined by the long narrow lot and is basically a three-story rectangular box with a simple shed roof. Color on two profiles of metal panels was key to the design goals.

“As a designer, I looked at the exterior cladding as an exercise in graphic design,” Nitchkey says. “The dimensional profiles, direction of the panel patterns, panel sizes and seaming, and exposed fastener colors, all became part of the layers of the design. Conceptually, the first floor horizontal U-Panels in a Charcoal color, provide a dark base to ground the structure and create a platform to support the silver Galvalume volume of the second and third floors, clad in vertical U-Panels. To provide a visual interest, 'the wedge' utilizes horizontal Mega Rib panels in Regal White. The added depth of these panels contrasts nicely against the shallower U-Panels. I am still fascinated by the way the Galvalume panels change color depending on the weather, sunlight, shade and shadow, all playing a role in creating a dynamic, ever-changing façade.”

Abreez Contracting of Pittsburgh installed the McElroy panels: 1,140 square feet of U-Panels in Charcoal, 3,408 square feet of U-Panels in unfinished Galvalume, 360 square feet of Mega-Rib panels in Regal White and 162 square feet of Matrix soffit panels in unfinished Galvalume.

“It is a unique design that had its challenges,” says Roger Wuenschel, owner of Abreez Contracting. “Working with Dave as the designer and homeowner was very helpful. The McElroy panels, profiles and patterns seemed to blend together effortlessly to create a unique look to the exterior of the home.”

Jon Farrer, sales manager at Brock Associates Exterior Metal Products in Pittsburgh, along with Brock detailer Jeff Raymond, worked with Nitchkey throughout the design process. “Never having utilized the exposed fastener metal panel system in my designs, they were extremely patient and provided me with a wealth of knowledge in understanding how to best utilize these materials to achieve a striking design,” Nitchkey says. “Since this initial collaboration, I have continued to work with Brock Associates in completing the design of five additional projects utilizing McElroy Metal's exposed fastener panels. One of the most humbling compliments that I receive regarding this design is when someone asked me how long it took to renovate our home. For me, that means that this newly constructed home with its contemporary metal skin, still manages to fit into the fabric of the historic neighborhood as a home that has always been there.”

Metl-Span provides cost-effective solutions for award winning Florida fireworks warehouse, retail center

LEWISVILLE, Texas – The owner of Superior Fireworks in Orange Park, Fla., put his trust in his design/build firm and ended up with a new facility that met all of his needs and came in at budget. The new facility houses a retail outlet as well as a large warehouse and shipping area, so aesthetics was an important consideration. The owner was seeking a stucco look on the exterior of the building. Insulated metal panels (IMPs) from Metl-Span provided the desired finish at a lower price.

“Insulated metal panels ultimately gave us everything we wanted and needed for this project,” says Kyle Crisp, vice president of Kendale Design Build of Jacksonville, Fla. “Honestly, this was the first time we've ever installed insulated metal panels. We do a lot of pre-engineered metal buildings and that was what was originally proposed for Superior Fireworks. We’ve seen the insulated metal panels before with a metal building structure and because we're a design/build operation, once we ran the numbers, we led the charge to make the change to insulated metal panels.”

Kendale installed insulated metal panels, with three exterior textured finishes, to help achieve the stucco look the owner was after. The new Superior Fireworks facility houses offices, a retail outlet and a large warehouse that handles a lot of online orders.

“It's about dollars,” says John Allmand, AIA, LEED AP, AP BD&C, of JAA Architecture in Jacksonville, Fla. “I love insulated metal panels. They have a great look and really, they're easy to construct. They save time and dollars.”

The bulk (9,763 square feet) of the IMPs featured the Tuff-Wall exterior finish. Just more than 5,000 square feet of IMPs had a Snow White exterior finish and almost 2,500 square feet had a Weathered Zinc finish. All exterior panels were 22-gauge Galvalume. The interior panels were all 26-gauge Galvalume with the Igloo White finish. All IMPs were filled with a 2-inch urethane core.

“We worked with the owner on this project for about three years, so we had a lot into it,” Crisp says. “He's a young guy, creative and he was very involved. We knew it was going to be a cool building all along.”

Like any other project, there was a budget. The original site selected for the building called for about $600,000 worth of fill to be brought in before construction even started. Crisp says locating a new site and saving that money allowed for flexibility and upgrades to the building, including an aluminum screen on the front of the building with bright color-changing LED lights.

“We constructed sleeves through the IMPs so we could attach the screen to the metal building structure,” Crisp says. “That was a unique challenge, but we ironed out all the possible problems during the design phase.”

Crisp says he received a lot of guidance on this project from Cary Whittier at Metal Building Consultant and Supply LLC of Jacksonville. Whittier is a dealer for Mesco Building Solutions and provided the metal building structure for the project. Mesco presented Whittier and MBCS with a Best of the Commercial Category award for work on Superior Fireworks.

“It took a while for me to come around on using insulated metal panels,” Crisp says. “But once we ran the numbers it made sense. We got a better system for less money. We got rid of the stucco guy and we got rid of the drywall guy, so we had a more cost-effective building with a cooler look and better R-value. It definitely helped speed up construction and it required fewer contractors onsite. And with less contractors onsite, you reduce your chances for problems.”

Acquisition Unites Market Leaders in Transaction Windows

Quikserv Corp. (“Quikserv”), a leading North American manufacturer of transaction windows, drawer systems, and window security solutions based in Houston, TX, is pleased to announce the acquisition and integration of Easi-Serv Products (“Easi-Serv”), based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

With over 40-years of customer service, Easi-Serv brings decades of industry knowledge and a highly-regarded vertical lift window line to Quikserv. The merger combines the industry's leading suppliers for transaction windows in their respective markets and will optimize synergies in sales, marketing and engineering to further strengthen Quikserv’s position in the North American market.

“We were drawn to Easi-Serv's reputation in the market, both in Canada and beyond,” said Jason Epps, President of Quikserv Corp. “The integration perfectly aligns with Quikserv's strategy to broaden our product lines, customer segments, market reach and spur our overall company growth. We're very pleased to have Easi-Serv on board.”

“Easi-Serv is excited to join the Quikserv family,” said Brian Hanson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Easi-Serv. “Quikserv is widely known in the pass-thru industry for their customer service and quality craftsmanship. Their manufacturing capabilities will open numerous opportunities for us to better serve our customers.”