Project Details: 
Name: Rubbermaid, Inc. – Goodyear
Dates: Installed in July, 1994
Location: Goodyear, AZ U.S.A.
Project Story:
The sun is a powerful force to be reckoned with in the southwestern United States. Unrelenting high temperatures, extreme U.V. exposure, and monsoon winds batter any surface exposed to the harsh elements. FiberTite® Roofing Systems by Seaman Corporation have been proven to perform in even the harshest environments. When Rubbermaid Corporation decided to double the size of its 500,000-square-foot facility in Phoenix, the architectural firm of Deutsch and Associates was assigned the task of designing this fast-track construction project. Luckily they had to look no further than the existing building for their roofing specification.
“We specified FiberTite on the initial installation in 1986 and knew the Rubbermaid corporate group was sold on the product,” said Flo Belo, project manager for Deutsch. “We also felt this would be a good time to see how the original system had held up. When we walked the roof, I was absolutely amazed. This roof was almost 15 years old, and it looked as strong and pliable as a brand new membrane!” The impressive performance, however, was more than aesthetic. Samples of the existing roof were taken and submitted for lab analysis. Test results confirmed that after 15 years in the middle of the desert, FiberTite’s tensile and tear strength were still stronger than the competitions’ “as manufactured” values. The reasons for this are clear. FiberTite does not rely on liquid plasticizers and fillers to maintain flexibility. Instead FiberTite combines 60 years of Seaman technology with a proprietary weave of polyester fibers and Dow ELVALOY™ Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE) coating, creating a roofing membrane that resists the harshest environmental conditions and withstands the effects of ponding water and chemical attacks.
“The FiberTite system obviously has excellent performance criteria and what we feel is a very comprehensive warranty,” remarked Bob Smith with Deutsch. “But the real test is time. In what is arguably the toughest roofing environment in the country, FiberTite continues to show remarkable endurance. We’re extremely impressed.” With more than one million square feet of roof in place, the Phoenix Rubbermaid facility remains the most visible example of long-term roofing performance in the desert southwest.
ELVALOY™ is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow.
