12-19-2012 SGL Group at BEX Asia: ECOPHIT Products on the Advance in Asia SGL Group shares a joint stand on eco-buildings with the Singapore Green Building CouncilWiesbaden/Singapore, December 19, 2012. From October 10 to 12, 2012, SGL Group The Carbon Company was at Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia 2012 in Singapore, showcasing its range of graphite components specially developed for use in eco-buildings.
In the expanding Asian metropolises, resource-conserving and energy-efficient buildings are playing an increasingly important role. This was the impetus behind SGL Group's first ever participation at this trade fair, where it shared a joint stand with the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC). Visits from a number of political guests of honor underlined the major importance of sustainable buildings. Among the esteemed visitors discovering the potential applications of the highly innovative material ECOPHIT was Grace Fu, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs in Singapore and Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and SGBC President Tai Lee Siang.
ECOPHIT materials are groundbreaking because they improve the efficiency and eco-friendliness of building air conditioning systems thanks to the exceptional thermal conductivity of the expanded natural graphite. Compared with conventional air conditioning systems, energy savings of up to 40% can potentially be achieved. In addition, radiant panel heating and cooling systems equipped with ECOPHIT improve the indoor climate by natural means and take up less space in rooms thanks to the low installation height of the elements.
Together with partners in Singapore, SGL Group developed special panels for use in tropical and humid climatic zones: These ECOPHIT panels comprise a metal construction and ECOPHIT grid premium board, and are labeled ECOPHIT EQUIPPED. The unique properties of the graphite rapid and uniform heat distribution along with exceptional thermal conductivity enable the panels to offer user-friendly, reliable, and efficient temperature regulation, even in tropical climates.
SGL Group is the first manufacturer of carbon products to use these in radiant panel heating and cooling systems for buildings. Drawing on its many years of experience in the field of graphite and carbon materials, SGL Group worked in close collaboration with customers to develop ECOPHIT, a patented material made of expanded natural graphite for use in radiant panel temperature systems.
Description of ECOPHIT Expanded graphite is manufactured from well-ordered crystalline, scale-shaped natural graphite. It is a naturally occurring mineral which, like diamond, is an inorganic modification of carbon. In the production process, these scales are subjected to a volume increase of a factor of 200 to 400. This causes the natural graphite to expand and loose small worms are created which can then be further processed in many different ways (e.g. grinding, compounding, pressing, impregnating, laminating, or calendering). In addition, expanded natural graphite is light, environmentally friendly, and non-flammable and exhibits excellent thermal and electric conductive properties.
Further information on ECOPHIT can be found online at www.ecophit.de.
Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) The Singapore Green Building Council was set up in 2009 to propel Singapores building and construction industry toward environmental sustainability. It promotes green building design, practices, and technologies, integrates green initiatives in mainstream design, constructs and manages buildings, and enhances capacities and professionalism to support the wider adoption of green building development and practices in Singapore. SGBC, a member of World Global Building Council (WGBC) since 2010, launched its first Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) Certification Scheme in January 2011. SGBC is the co-organizer of the annual BEX ASIA exhibition and the International Green Building Conference (IGBC).
For more information, please visit www.sgbc.sg.
About SGL Group The Carbon Company SGL Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of carbon-based products and materials. It has a comprehensive portfolio ranging from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibers and composites. SGL Group's core competencies are its expertise in high-temperature technology as well as its applications and engineering know-how gained over many years. These competencies enable the Company to make full use of its broad material base. SGL Group's carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as very good electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strengthcombined with low weight. Due to industrialization in the growth regions of Asia and LatinAmerica and increased substitution of traditional with innovative materials, there is a growing demand for SGL Group's high-performance materials and products. Products from SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive and chemical industries as well as in the semiconductor, solar and LED sectors and in lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also being used increasingly in the wind power, aerospace and defense industries.
With 48 production sites in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network covering more than 100 countries, SGL Group is a company with a global presence. In 2011, the Company's workforce of around 6,500 employees generated sales of 1,540 million. The Company's head office is located in Wiesbaden.
Further information on the SGL Group can be found online at: www.sglgroup.com.
Important note: This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on the information currently available to us and on our current projections and assumptions. By nature, fo
