100% circular plastic window frames for Laakse Tuinen

In Amersfoort Vathorst, the new neighborhood Laakse Tuinen is emerging. System supplier Profine, the company behind the K-VISION window frame brand, and Europrovyl are contributing to this with the unique circular K-VISION ReFrame window frames made of 100% recycled plastic. In Garden 9, 38 homes are equipped with these frames, contributing to developer Heijmans' sustainability ambition.

The Laakse Tuinen are inspired by Hillegersberg, a green and water-rich 1930s neighborhood in the north of Rotterdam. The project is characterized by quiet streets, with lots of greenery and water. In total, the project consists of 22 different 'Gardens'. Developers Heijmans is responsible for Garden 9, which includes 8 semi-detached houses and 30 single-family homes.

"We have been working with Heijmans for many years," said Jan Slagman, director of innovation and sustainability at VHZ Group, which includes Europrovyl. "As a developer, Heijmans has the goal of building completely circular from 2023. That is a very ambitious goal and a huge task. To achieve that, the builder relies on subcontractors and suppliers such as Europrovyl."

Passion for sustainability

Jelmer Bijlsma is manager of sustainability and innovation at system supplier profine. "Together with partners such as Europrovyl, we are working towards a sustainable Netherlands," he says. "Sustainability is one of the most important themes in construction and business. Together with VHZ Groep, we want to lead the way in sustainability. In our opinion, cooperation is vital here." To this Slagman wholeheartedly concurs. "Sustainability is my passion, just as it is with Jelmer. We have been working with Profine since 1971 with great pleasure and success."

Profine has been active in the Netherlands since 1969 and has been the number one in plastic window frames for professionals for many years with its K-VISION system. Circularity, sustainability and innovation are at the forefront here. Bijlsma: "We were already using recycled material for our window frames, but in 2020 we made the step to the first window frame made of 100% recycled material. This is finished and protected with the innovative color system proCoverTec." When profine developed the K-VISION ReFrame window frame, Europrovyl was able to offer it to Heijmans. "We always think along with our partners and were now able to offer Europrovyl this innovation."

New construction pilot for ReFrame

Bijlsma: "We first sat around the table in May 2020. After that it went fast, because exactly one year later we could take pictures. This was the first new construction project with ReFrame that we did together with Heijmans, so it was a real pilot." 38 homes were fitted with these innovative window frames. According to Slagman, it is important to be involved in new construction at an early stage: "This helped to build as efficiently as possible, which is also Heijmans' aim. Europrovyl and Profine sat down with Heijmans at an early stage to look at the choices and bottlenecks together."

A factor in this was that ReFrame was a brand new product, explains Bijlsma. "This product requires a custom way of producing; we had to look closely at what was possible. The number of profiles and choices were still limited at that time." Slagman: "The great thing is that Heijmans is open to adjusting designs when necessary, which allowed us to still deliver the ideal solution. All parties are satisfied with the result and Heijmans has already identified a follow-up project. We continue to learn and improve." Bijlsma: "For example, we are also working on an intermediate step: window frames with 50 or 60% recycled material."