News & Media


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2012-2014 Media Coverage

News & Feature Stories about ACH Foam Technologies & the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Industry

United Connects
October 2014

Recent eff orts in California, Chicago and New York to ban EPS (expanded polystyrene) products such as packing peanuts and foodservice items are being challenged by environmentalists and industry experts who argue that the bans will do more harm than good.

While EPS foam was once thought to be environmentally unfriendly, a new study “Impact of Plastics Packaging on Life Cycle Energy Consumption & Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the US & Canada Substitution Analysis” proves otherwise. Data from the report, which was compiled by Franklin Associates for the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, shows that replacing plastic packaging with alternative materials would result in 4.5 times more packaging weight based on figures from 2010, as well as an 80 percent increase in energy use and 130 percent more global warming potential.

Architectural West
September/October 2014

In this decade of emerging technologies that seek to decrease our carbon footprint, structural insulated panels, or SIPs, have come of age. More and more architects and builders are designing with SIPs and are creating beautiful buildings that approach net zero energy use. Students of green design are taking note. Start.Home, built by Stanford students with SIPs, won first place in affordability and third place for market appeal at the U.S. Department of Energy's 2013 Solar Decathlon, held in Orange County, California, last October. ACH Foam Technologies provided the R-Control SIPs for the winning home.

American City & County
August 2014

When it came time to build flagship fire station #5 in Manhattan, Kan., city officials and contractors opted for more cost-efficinet prefabricated panels from ACH Foam Technologies. According to Mike Gibson of Murray & Sons Construction, unless you know that ACH’s R-Control structural insulated panels (SIPs) were used to build the fire station, you would have no idea by lookingat the finished design that it was constructed with pre-fabricated panels.

ASHE Scanner
August 2014

ACH Foam Technologies, Denver, has provided EPS geofoam for several construction projects in the Windy City—among them, Millennium Park, Soldier’s Field and most recently—the Gary-Chicago International Airport roadway expansion and the Metra 35th Street train station accessing WhiteSox U.S. Cellular Park.

As part of the airport’s roadway expansion, a two-span steel bridge had to be built over the EJ & E railroad tracks that bisected Airport Road near Chicago Avenue. This was project number six of 18 work segments that comprise the Gary-Chicago International airport expansion—scheduled for completion mid-September of 2014.
Read More.

Municipal Sewer & Water
July 2014

Geofoam can be effective in mitigating the effects of shifting, settling, and seismic activity on infrastructure to improved pipeline performance during large ground deformation. There are two main advantages that geofoam has over traditional earth cover materials. First is geofoam’s low mass density, which reduces the vertical and horizontal stresses on buried utilities and compressive soils. This reduction in loading and deformation will likely improve the performance of a pipeline during and after a major seismic event along the fault area.

Concrete Homes
May 2014

EPS board insulation products manufactured by ACH Foam Technologies, are now listed in the Division 7 section of Masterspec to help specifiers select the best insulation for each project.

Most notably, all of ACH Foam Technologies' insulation products are listed as the basis-of-design in Division 7 under specific Foam-Plastic Board Insulation categories.
Read More.

Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News
April 2014

A report on expanded polystyrene recycling shows an increase in overall recycling, but notes differences when comparing the amounts of post-consumer and post-industrial pounds recycled. According to a press release by ACH Foam Technologies, the EPS Industry Alliance's 2012 bi-annual recycling report shows a modest decrease in the number of post-consumer pounds recycled and a substantial increase in the number of post-industrial pounds recycled based on data received from fifty-one EPS manufacturers and independent recyclers in the United States. The EPS-IA reports that post-industrial and post-consumer EPS recycling increased from 71.3 million to 93.7 million pounds
Read More.

Plastics Recycling Update
February 2014

Considered elusive just five years ago, the recycling of foodservice items and packaging made from expanded polystyrene has recently taken some large steps forward. Walmart and Best Buy, for instance, have initiated EPS foam packaging recycling programs, and fast-food restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A is beginning to recycle its EPS cups. The shift in mind-set relative to EPS recycling didn't just happen. Dart Container Corp., EPS-IA and the American Chemistry Council all worked diligently to explain to communities, governments, and businesses that EPS can be recycled.

School Construction News
January/February 2014

A multimillion-dollar Center for Student Life now serves as the focal point for students at Augustana College in Rock Island since it debuted in time for the fall 2013 term. The new student center is perfectly situated in the center of the campus; however, the location also presented serious construction challenges because of its location on a hillside. "The use of geofoam allowed the design team to implement the college's vision without compromising the program, function or anesthetics. Without geofoam, a major redesign might have been necessary," said John Whitlock of BLDD Architects.

CE News
January 2014

ACH Foam Technologies provided EPS geofoam for several construction projects in Chicago including Millenium Park, Soldier Field, and most recently, the Gary-Chicago International Airport roadway expansion. The bridge was built over two existing rails as well as two future rails. There was a potential problem with the quality of soil where the bridge was located. Analysis found that geofoam was the preferred alternative material.

Midstream Business
November/December 2013

Who says big solutions can't come in lightweight packages? Earthquakes and soil movement are potentially big problems for a pipeline. There are several methods for mitigating the effects of seismic activity on infrastructure, one of which is EPS Geofoam, a polystyrene geotechnical product used in fill applications where a lightweight material is required to reduce stresses on underlying soils or lateral pressures. It forms a seismic buffer for buried structures and rigid retaining walls.

CE News
September 2013

There are several methods for mitigating the effects of seismic activity on infrastructure, including the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam as a seismic buffer for buried structures and rigid retaining walls. Six years ago, Canadian engineers Richard Bathurst, Saman Zarnani, and Andrew Gaskin showed with shaking table testing and numerical modeling that geofoam could reduce the seismic forces on rigid retaining walls (Bathhurst, et al., 2007). The lightweight EPS blocks used with highway embankments, green roofs, and landscape fill are growing in popularity for seismic and other buried applications.

Geosynthetics
August 2013

About 30 miles east of Salina, Utah, nestled in the western bituminous region of Sevier County, is Convulsion Canyon, home of an underground coal mine. In the fall of 2012, the mining company determined that it would be advantageous to construct a storage building above the underground tunnels. But the haulage tunnel, which was buried an average of 12ft below the existing grade, was not adequate to support the necessary loads. Several options were evaluated to support the load of the storage building but only one option could provide the most flexibility for the positioning of the building: geofoam.

Turf Design Build
July 2013

Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., wanted to build a 25,000-square-foot, multimillion dollar building to serve as the centerpiece of academic life beginning this fall. The college knew of a perfect location to maximize its use but it was situated on a steep slope. Backfilling the soil wasn't an option. Enter the use of geofoam.

Architectural Roofing & Waterproofing
Summer 2013

Structural Insulated panels (SIPs) typically consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings, such as oriented strand board (OSB). Their rigidity and insulating properties can benefit a multitude of roof and wall applications, as illustrated by three different projects in Kansas: a church, a single-family home, and a fire station.

Professional Roofing
June 2013

Badger State Fruit Processing Plant, Pittsville, Wis., recently added a new 186,000-square-foot cold-storage facility to house 200 million pounds of cranberries from its 1,100 acres. The cold-storage facility was designed to withstand many years of operation while achieving demanding temperature-control.

About half the roof system was constructed to meet freezer conditions, and the other half was constructed for cooler conditions. ACH Foam Technologies' Foam-Control Plus+ 400 was laid on the rooftop of the freezer area and Foam-Control Plus+ 250 on the cooler area.

Government Engineering
June 2013

Geofoam protects pipelines from catastrophic effects of seismic shifts. According to the US Geological Survey, there are 14,000 earthquakes worldwide each year that have a magnitude of four or greater-700 of which occur in the US and Alaska. There are several methods for mitigating the effects of seismic activity on infrastructure, including the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam as a seismic buffer for buried structures and rigid retaining walls.

Modern Contractor Solutions
June 2013

Mike Gibson of Murray & Sons Construction was the contractor on the Manhattan, Kansas, fire stations 3 and 5. He appreciates that the owner and architect on the project had the foresight to specify SIPs (structural insulated panels) for what he calls a “flagship community building.”

“This is as cool a design as we’ve ever seen,” Gibson quips. “People often have a preconceived notion of what a SIPs building looks like. What’s super cool about this is that, unless you know that SIPs were used to build the fire station, you would have no idea by looking at the finished design that it was constructed with prefabricated panels.”

North American Oil & Gas Pipelines
May 2013

EPS Geofoam Protects Pipelines from Earthquakes. On Dec. 26, a gas pipeline blast followed by a mild earthquake struck Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. According to the US Geological Survey, there are 14,000 earthquakes worldwide each year.

Today the spotlight is shining on geofoam as the material with great potential for protecting pipelines. "If an earthquakes occurs, high-pressure gas lines are one of the most important items to protect," claims Steven Bartlett, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Utah.

Wine Business Monthly
May 2013

ACH Foam Technologies, maker of WineLoc thermal summer wine shippers, has reconfigured their design to offer added packaging options and increased protection of bottles during transit.

ACH developed the WineLoc® package system to provide wineries and distributors a constant stable temperature for approximately 72 hours—allowing wines to be shipped in the hot summer months. Tested to meet ISTA-7E temperature standards, the 2-, 6-, and 12-pack EPS foam units are contained within a corrugated cardboard outer carton and utilize specially designed pockets that hold frozen gel refrigerants and allow internal airflow. These refrigerants are designed specifically for the maximum amount of wine possible in the package, keeping the wine at or below 80°F for up to 72 hours.

Walls & Ceilings
February 2013
Why three Kansas community buildings were erected with SIPs.

PROJECT 1: Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Basehor, Kansas.
PROJECT 2: Kansas City Housing Authority’s YouthBuild program.
PROJECT 3: Manhattan, Kansas Firestations 3 and 5.
Read More.

Environmental Design + Construction
January 2013
Badger State Fruit Processing (a cold storage facility) finds ways to institute temperature control, manage operating cost and be more sustainable. Nearly 2 million board feet of ACH Foam Technologies’ Foam-Control flat EPS roof insulation and more than half a million board feet of the manufacturer’s new Foam-Control Plus+ architectural grade perimeter and underslab insulation were used in the construction of the new cold-storage facility this summer.
Read More.

Rural Builder
December 2012
As Butch Gardner hauls cranberries between two cold storage facilities on the Badger State Fruit Processing property in Pittsville, Wis., he gives the “thumbs-up” to plant manager Mark Konrardy for a job well done. Konrardy met three tough challenges for the construction of a new cold storage facility, built to house Badger’s 200 million pounds of cranberries with room to grow. Insulated metal panels, architectural grade EPS insulation and efficient lighting all helped accomplish that goal.
Read More.

Construction Specifier Magazine
August 2012
EPS and Polyiso R-values. Understanding the change in measuring roof insulation. Due to recent findings on the nature of polyisocyanurate (polyiso) off-gassing, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) - an impartial organization that represents the best interests of the roofing industry - has revised the way the insulation's R-value is measured.
Read More.

APWA Reporter
July 2012
In 2008, Construction Management General Contractor, Stacy Witbeck, started early reviewing the preliminary design for the Utah Transit Authority (UTA's) TRAX airport extension from downtown Salt Lake City valued at $200 million. The largest continuous section of Geofoam fill in the US was installed in two sections along the airport TRAX line.
Read More.

Packaging Strategies
June 2012
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) continues to expand its own use in shipping, where sustainability is just as critical as ensuring that containers keep their contents at the right temperature. According to GBI Research, EPS continues to increase in global demand, expected to rise from 14.9mn tons in 2010 to 23.5mn tons in 2020.

ACH Foam Technologies has long been aware of the benefits of EPS. As a manufacturer of polystyrene, ACH has used the product extensively in shipping containers. Now, the manufacturer is introducing an EPS-based wine container that can maintain temperature during the summer months which can be brutally harsh on wine products.
Read More.

Transportation Builder
May/June 2012
Light rail meets light fill: Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. and Kiewit Western Company (SWK) are partners in building the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Airport TRAX Line, a six-mile light rail project that will connect downtown Salt Lake City with its international airport. A critical part of the project presented severe settlement risks due to old Lake Bonneville clay deposits. In order to prevent the bridges’ embankments from settling and impacting existing tracks beneath and historic structures nearby, the team elected to go with a geofoam fill, which weighs one to three pounds per cubic foot—100 times lighter than soil.
Read More.

Supply Chain
April 2012
More than 71 million pounds of expanded polystyrene was recycled in 2010, according to the recently released 2010 EPS Recycling Rate Report conducted by the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR). The figure represents an increase of 3.5 million pounds over the 19.5% recycling rate in 2008. AFPR releases recycling rates every 2 years.
Read More.

Concrete Contractor
April 2012
A Hole in One for Country Club Using Geofoam EPS in Terrace Construction. In spring of 2011, ClubCorp decided to add a $500,000 renovation that would bring the outdoors in (or the indoors out, as some would have it) by building an open-air terrace and outdoor lounge with gorgeous views overlooking the 18th hole and its surrounding landscapes.

At issue was the fact that the terrace was to be situated on a side hill overlooking the golf course. When engineer Clinton Rex of Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates along with the project architects from Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, LLC studied the landscape they knew the hill would have to be carved out and a fill material installed that would prevent pressure on the downslope and create a stable foundation for the roughly 2,760 square foot terrace.
Read More.

Architectural Products
March 2012
Of course, there are many ways to optimize an envelope, and each component can contribute to the envelope’s environmental performance in its own way. In the case of structural insulated panels (SIPs), the environmental benefits are seen in two. “SIPs are typically selected first for their energy efficiency, but they do have some additional design benefits,” says Kiesecker. “For example, SIPs can span long distances, which can reduce the amount of roof trusses needed. Sometimes designers specifically want fewer trusses to meet an aesthetic look and other times to reduce costs. Essentially, the design is a bonus benefit after they’ve selected SIPs for their energy efficiency.”
Read More.

American Recycler
March 2012
The recently released 2010 EPS Recycling Rate Report conducted by the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) demonstrated steady growth in the amount of expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging recycled since the 1990s. AFPR releses rates every two years. Total EPS recycling increased to 71.3 million lbs. in 2010.
Read More.

ReBuilding America's Infrastructure
March 2012
Cost-saving approaches: Light rail bridge embankment features the largest continuous section of geofoam fill in the United States. In 2008, construction management general contractor Stacy Witbeck began early reviewing the preliminary design for the Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) $200 million TRAX airport extension from downtown Salt Lake City. The light rail extension travels along North Temple to the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Read More.

Structural Engineer
January 2012
A solid solution for retaining walls Lightweight Geofaom helps accelerate construction schedules. What do Myriad Genetics. the University of Arkansas, Biscuit Creek, and Grove Terrace have in common? Stabilization - using EPS geofoam. Underlying each of these retaining wall projects was a problem that pointed to geofoam, an incredibly lightweight material with enormous compressive strength that offers a, time-saving alternative to traditional fill materials .
Read More.

Wine Business Monthly
January 2012
The recently released 2010 EPS Recycling Rate Report conducted by the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) demonstrates incremental growth in the amount of EPS (expanded polystyrene) recycling since the 1990s. The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers releases recycling rates every 2 years. Total EPS recycling increased to 71.3 million pounds in 2010. A total of 28% of all post-consumer and post-commercial EPS was recycled in 2010, an increase of 3.5 million pounds over the 19.5% recycling rate in 2008 – one of the highest recycling rates among all plastics products.
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Federal Construction
December - January 2012
It's a weight thing. The mission is clear. The Federal Highway Administration recently issued a National Deployment Statement urging all states to consider using alternative fill materials such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam when planning fill and embankment projects. The goal, as stated on its website, reads:“By October 2010, EPS geofoam will be a routinely used lightweight fill alternative for state DOTs on embankment projects where the construction schedule is of concern. By October 2011, all states will have evaluated EPS geofoam as a lightweight fill alternative.”
Read More.