Modern buildings often incorporate long span windows and sliding doors that bring in light and create a sense of space. Effex® Dura, Stora Enso’s new material for window and door components, is the result of innovative product design that makes it possible to maximise glass surfaces and open up the view.
From customer need to innovation
The development of an innovative rigid material for long span doors and windows started with feedback from our customers. The emerging customer need sparked an ideation process with the aim to develop a material with enhanced performance.The R&D team started investigating solutions that would offer improved rigidity and fit the high standards of the door and window industry. “Ideation started with a hybrid product, LVL laminated to our finger jointed material. It soon became clear that this kind of structure would not match the high surface expectations of the industry so we had to tackle this challenge in a different way,” explains Sami Syrjälahti, Product Manager, Industrial Components.
“The solution was to use the existing Effex material, but with a different purpose. Our investigations proved that the standing year ring structure can increase rigidity tremendously while still offering a high quality surface for different kinds of surface finishes,” he adds.
Combining performance and style
The result of innovative product design and cooperation with customers is a material that is comparable to LVL S grade in bending tests and MoE and offers superior form stability and rigidity. Sami Syrjälahti highlights the importance of developing new solutions: “Responding to emerging customer needs with innovation is crucial. It’s exciting to find new ways to bring value to our customers.”
Effex® Dura is available in lengths up to 6m and opens new possibilities for windows and doors with large glass surfaces. Because producers of doors and windows require an attractive finish in the materials they use, no compromises could be made when it came to the surface. “Our Effex® Dura offers the base for easy surface finishes and can be painted, stained and lacquered easily. Personally, I love the look of translucent surface finish combined with Effex,” says Sami Syrjälahti.
Innovative product design opening new horizons
The product design process resulted in an innovative offering that is expanding known limits of window and door components. Thanks to its mechanical properties, Effex® Dura is both strong and visually appealing, removing the need to use reinforcing structures or separate visual surface layers.
However, the journey does not end with the development of the product, Sami Syrjälahti explains: “Now that we have a new product on the market, we can start customising it to specifications. We can help our customers tailor Effex® Dura to their needs by, for example, simplifying the structure or modifying the size of the end product.”