Having received the accolade of the ‘Best Building Enclosure Products Manufacturer’ for 2021 in the USA, MaxLife Industries will use its new flagship product to inspire innovation in the building materials industry. The newly launched ArmorWall Plus Fire-Rated Structural Insulated Sheathing product brings a contemporary update to one of the oldest trades; and it’s about time, too.
The company behind the industry’s most innovative building enclosure system, MaxLife Industries, is a building materials manufacturing company consistently defining and refining what good product manufacturing practice looks like. Its flagship products are part of an entirely new construction materials category referred to as structural insulated sheathing panels or SIS panels. Under the brand name ArmorWall, these panels have become widely used in commercial, multifamily, healthcare, and other building types all over the country. In essence, the company has created a product that enables both building designs of times past that are no longer easily attainable due to modern codes, and innovative designs of the future.
The ArmorWall Fire-Rated Structural Insulated SheathingTM panels contain a combination of layers working in tandem to be a far more fire-resistant solution, passing NFPA 285 testing without the need of additional protective cladding. One of these components is a half-inch layer of Magnesium Oxide (MgO) sheathing, which grants it a one-hour fire rating on its own, and a two-hour rating when a second layer is used on the interior face. This allows ArmorWall to boast industry-leading durability and strength. Utilizing MaxLife’s patented Fusion Technology, the MgO board is fused – not glued or laminated – to the second component, a poured polyurethane insulation layer. Because it is fused, there is no opportunity for the layers to delaminate or pull apart. MaxLife’s Fusion Technology sets it apart from its competitors.
The ArmorWall line of products provides customers with a wide range of solutions that each address a different challenge one might face on a construction project, allowing its clients to pick the ArmorWall product that is best for the task at hand. The varieties of ArmorWall include: Non-Coated, Plus, PermaBase®, and Below Grade, each of which lends itself expertly to fit a breadth of different client needs and requirements. By providing a variety of options, MaxLife ensures that customers can treat it as a one-stop-shop for the building enclosure system. Constructing wall systems in commercial and multifamily buildings used to require four or more trades and multiple installation revolutions around a building; with ArmorWall, one labor crew performs the installation in one revolution. In addition, new product types will be available in early 2022.
In 2020, MaxLife released a new variation of ArmorWall called Symmetrical Panel, which offers up to two-hour fire-rated assemblies by using two layers of MgO sheathing; one on the exterior, and one on the interior face. These and other industry-leading benefits combined make for an ArmorWall product line that is innovative, effective, and free of overcomplications. MaxLife has worked hard to ensure that all its products are united in being incredibly streamlined, containing only elements that will directly benefit the structural integrity or safety of construction with nothing superfluous in sight.
MaxLife’s sales are growing as Architects are increasingly specifying ArmorWall products in many building types across the country. Despite being in such high demand, the company has continued to invest in innovation and process improvement in its North Carolina manufacturing facility in order to further improve quality and maintain low production costs. Doing so allows MaxLife to implement a ten-year limited warranty for ArmorWall panels when approved components are used on a project, such as ArmorSeal sealants, coatings, fasteners, ArmorBoard, and ArmorBoard returns. Reaping the rewards of this warranty are architects and design professionals, installers and general contractors, and building owners. This last group, building owners, receive piece of mind and comfort in knowing that their building has been built to last with ArmorWall.
MaxLife’s expert technical staff commits a wealth of time and energy to educating the architectural, engineering, and construction industry about the newest developments in building codes, safety, and efficiency, which the company believes will lead to a new paradigm of high material standards and design practices. To this end, its contemporary solutions teach an old field new tricks, improving the education of a market with a tendency to mire itself in the past and rely heavily on traditional methods. MaxLife also hopes to lead by example when it comes to setting and abiding by new code standards and regulations. Company staff are active participants in establishing new national standards for the new SIS product category and MgO panels. In addition to providing industry-best education and technical resources on its website, MaxLife’s technical staff and independent product representatives located across the country are available for hands-on educational meetings and on-site installation demonstrations.
MaxLife’s product representatives are an integral part of the company’s education and sales channels, serving as the customer-facing element that enables the company to achieve its goal of increased education and innovation about SIS panels. These architectural product experts plan outreach, conduct education efforts, design promotional and teaching materials, and work with both the wider market segment and existing customers. With this hands-on service in place, MaxLife sees even greater innovation opportunities within its industry, backed up by the very product it promotes and sells. MaxLife’s product representatives include product samples in their outreach campaigns, enabling customers to see and test for themselves the many ways in which ArmorWall is a much different building enclosure product than what they are accustomed to.
The most prominent and beneficial innovation offered by ArmorWall is that it combines four traditional installation components into one, creating a well-rounded product that is fire-resistant, structurally strong, air and water-resistant, and provides a multifamily or commercial building with high-performance continuous insulation all year round. ArmorWall allows projects to meet and even exceed continuous insulation needs, working to and above the standards of state and national building codes and green certification programs. This not only makes it an environmentally sustainable product; it allows a client to save both time and money; a factor made even more exemplary when you consider that ArmorWall only takes one installation revolution around the building. In contrast, traditional insulation solutions take four revolutions.
ArmorWall is also insect, mold, and mildew resistant, containing no biological elements that are the usual causes of such growths in insulation or wall materials. Furthermore, MaxLife uses only insulation components that carry a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1, the lowest rating on the current market, in addition to an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of 0. Using ArmorWall’s poured polyurethane insulation method instead of the usual tactic of spraying the insulation on-site makes for substantially less off gassing at the location and a far lower carbon footprint. Moreover, its manufacturing process is equally green, as ArmorWall is produced in a nearly zero-waste plant in North Carolina, USA.
Every staff member working at MaxLife, from its plant workers to its product representatives, contributes to the overall success of the firm, and has been a critical part of its path of success. MaxLife recognizes the efforts of its staff and partners to ensure that the company’s products offer high standards of quality, and that customers receive a consistent message of customer service throughout the specification and installation processes. Throughout the pandemic, MaxLife has remained committed to its staff and its customers. Despite challenges such as material supply shortages, pricing volatility with raw materials, and staffing shortages nationwide, the company has remained focused on workplace safety and customer service, allowing it to survive and thrive through the pandemic. As a final word, MaxLife Industries promises clients that its dedication to innovation is ongoing. Customers can expect to see many more ArmorWall developments in the very near future, as MaxLife pushes towards a better and brighter future for the architectural, engineering, and construction industry.
For further information, please contact Eryn Koty or visit www.maxlifeindustries.com
