Dublin-based Corcoran Products Limited is celebrating an important milestone for the business this year – forty years of importing and distributing STYROFOAM insulation to the Irish construction market.
Corcoran sold its first load of STYROFOAM to developers of a mushroom farm in the 1960s, where a controlled, regular temperature was required. Since then the business has sold an estimated 15 million square meters of STYROFOAM products to help insulate the floors, walls and roofs of countless office blocks, apartments, hotels and public buildings across the country - enough to cover Croke Park an incredible 1,200 times.
Well known Irish developments insulated with STYROFOAM products supplied by Corcoran include: the Irish Financial Services Centre; Spencer Dock; Dublin Port Tunnel; part of Trinity College’s library and the Ballymun regeneration scheme, demonstrating its versatile nature as well its ability to withstand the Irish weather!
STYROFOAM – or foamed polystyrene – was invented in 1941 by The Dow Chemical Company, and has developed to become one of the leading methods of building insulation today. Products such as ROOFMATETM, FLOORMATE and PERIMATE – all in the familiar blue of the original STYROFOAM – are now familiar sights on construction sites all over the world.
Extruding polystyrene foam generates a mass of small, homogeneous closed cells which give the final product high design loads, low water absorption and excellent insulating properties. Such features have made the material suitable for a wide range of applications, from inverted roofs to below ground insulation, and from commercial and industrial floors.
“When we began selling STYROFOAM it was the only product of its kind on the Irish market, and there certainly wasn’t the same kind of demand that we’re seeing these days for energy efficient buildings,” said Paddy McGuire, Managing Director of Corcoran Products who has had a long relationship with Dow. “That’s all changed, and not only has the market grown, so has the level of competition as others look for a slice of the action!
“What has sustained us all these years and encouraged us to stick with STYROFOAM -despite challenges from other materials - is our strong belief in the product, based on the excellent performance properties we know it delivers, as well as our relationship with Dow.”
Corcoran Products is part of Corcoran Chemicals, established in 1939 as an independent distributor of chemicals in Ireland. Today, the chemicals business is run by Andrew Byrne, grandson of original founder Joe Byrne. Dow has been supplying Corcoran Chemicals for 50 years with a wide range of products for applications including adhesives, plastics, pharmaceuticals and textiles. Corcoran Products was set up in 1999 to deal exclusively with finished products, including building insulation and packaging products.
With the Irish construction sector under extreme pressure, Corcoran believes it can weather the storm by continuing to look for new applications and diversifying where possible. As an example, Ireland’s 1.7 million pigs can expect to see upgrades in their living conditions as new welfare standards are introduced, and STYROFOAM panels are proving to be the ideal solution for construction and refurbishment of indoor pig units.
“Units constructed with STYROFOAM can be easily hosed down without taking in moisture but are also robust thanks to the high compressive strength of the product,” explained Paddy McGuire. “Whilst it’s undoubtedly tough in some areas sales are holding up well for us in agriculture and particularly in piggeries - especially for ROOFMATE RL-X.”
STYROFOAM is also being used in cold store construction throughout Ireland, supported by supermarkets which continue to look for growth opportunities where they can. Corcoran offers STYROFOAM HD 300 for such applications, as it is ideal for supporting high load-bearing floors and helps keep cool air in the building, maintaining the low temperatures required for food storage.
The range does not stop with Dow’s insulation boards. Corcoran also supplies the Irish market with FROTH-PAK™, a polyurethane spray foam kit for use as a foamed-in-place sealant for air leakage control and insulation of gaps, cracks, cavities and joints, as well as with INSTA-STIK roofing adhesive, used to adhere insulation boards and single-ply polymeric waterproofing membranes to a variety of substrates on flat roofs.
“The industry has had its up and downs and over the decades, but you get used to the need to keep calm and carry on,” added Paddy. “It’s times like this when good, solid relationships and proven, reliable products really come into their own – the Corcoran-Dow partnership has been very important to us in achieving what we have over the years and will no doubt see us in good stead for many years to come.”
For more information, email:
info@corcoranproducts.com |
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