The world's first circular sandwich panel is a reality!

Circular construction is on the rise. From an intrinsic motivation or motivated by government subsidy opportunities and climate-neutral energy scenarios towards 2050, more and more clients and architects are opting for a future-proof, sustainable and responsible building design. "Contractor parties are also going along with this, using non-toxic, sustainably produced and/or recycled building materials wherever possible that minimize environmental impact," says Patrick van Haaften, Marketing Manager at FALK Bouwsystemen. "As a leading supplier of insulated metal roof and wall panels, we are happy to support these contractors. For example, with our new and highly innovative CradleCore® sandwich panel, which features a 100% recyclable PIR insulation core."

Text | Lieke van Zuilekom    Image | FALK Building Systems

FALK Bouwsystemen has been manufacturing and supplying insulated metal roof and wall panels for 13 years. Some 4 to 4.5 million square meters of sandwich panels are produced annually on two high-tech production lines in Ede, Van Haaften said. "Thanks to complete production in the Netherlands, we can guarantee short lines to contractors and fast delivery times. In addition, our environmental impact due to transportation is kept to a minimum."

100% recyclable insulation core

The sandwich panels from FALK Bouwsystemen are characterized by high quality, combined with a high-quality design. The panels are constructed from a steel outer sheet and inner sheet, with a plastic rigid foam (PIR) insulation core in between. "When a building reaches the end of its life after 40, 50 or 60 years, the sandwich panels are dismantled and the steel plates and insulation core are actively separated," Van Haaften says. "Whereas the steel plates are melted down in blast furnaces and reintroduced into the chain as raw material, only a small percentage of the PIR or PUR insulation foam is pulverized for use in third-party products. By far most of the material is incinerated, which is of great concern to us. Based on the philosophy that our earth is not an inexhaustible source of raw materials, we, in cooperation with our sister company InSus, have in recent years geinvested in making our insulation core circular, with the goal that this core will continue to perform its proper functie (insulating a building, ed.) and continues to have virtually the same properties. And with success, because last summer we introduced our first sandwich panel with 100% recyclable PIR insulation core. The unique insulation core has been named CradleCore® and is now available for order."

Very low shadow price

By working with CradleCore® insulation foam, building owners benefit from a very low shadow price, which is significantly lower than the common sandwich panels of today. This benefits the building's environmental performance (MPG score). Building owners who actively pursue a low MPG score can also qualify for attractive subsidies.

Take-back or buy-back guarantee

CradleCore® sandwich panels come standard with a take-back guarantee or optionally even with a buy-back guarantee. At the end of their useful life, the CradleCore® panels can be handed in for recycling at InSus' factory in Duiven, which will take care of the complete, high-quality recycling. "The factory in Duiven is currently being realized and will be commissioned early next year," said Van Haaften. "However, we have already started collecting our production waste so that InSus will soon have ample raw materials to start recycling."

The 100% recyclable CradleCore® sandwich panel is attracting considerable interest from clients, architects and contractors. "Meanwhile, the first projects with CradleCore® have been sold. Our ultimate ambition is to work with InSus to crack the raw materials even further in the future, so that the insulation core can also be reused in a sandwich panel, creating a completely closed circle. CradleCore® is a great first step for this."