Why Trespa’s High Pressure Laminate is the right solution for your facade
Owners of every kind of building want to have their buildings looking great for years, but they don’t want to do the onerous upkeep and refurbishment that some types of exterior cladding require. Materials like concrete last a long time but don’t necessarily look great. Other cladding materials, such as wood, look wonderful but require regular upkeep. Many architects and owners turn to a fusion of modern engineering and ancient technology: High Pressure Laminate, also known as HPL.
What is High Pressure Laminate, in general?
As far back as 4500 BC, humans figured out that heating resins to strengthen fibres made a much more durable material. It’s why this type of lacquered pot is often discovered unblemished in ancient shipwrecks all along the Southeast Asian Coast. In the 20th century, architects and designers used modern engineering to this technique and created an exterior cladding that is durable and beautifully low maintenance: the HPL panel.
What is Trespa’s take on High Pressure Laminate?
Trespa’s global journey boasts over 60 years of experience in the high-pressure laminate market. Our rich history, characterized by passion and hard work, has given us the experience to be at forefront of market innovation and the creative design process.
There are a couple of ways that HPL panels can be manufactured, but this is how Trespa produces its state-of-the-art cladding. Trespa takes it a step further by curing its decors with proprietary Electron Beam Curing, which creates a smooth surface that locks colour in whilst locking dust and weathering elements out. We use our in-house presses – including one that was the largest in the world when it was built – to combine resin-impregnated core layers based on natural fibres and colour-coated décor layers using high heat and pressure. The result is a highly dense, homogenous panel. The core uses in-house manufactured resins referred to as phenolic resins, which is why you will sometimes hear HPL panels referred to as phenolic panels. This curing combined with the in-house produced colour coated décor paper is one major difference of Trespa HPL vs other HPL panels. Entire in house production!
Why use Trespa High Pressure Laminate panels?
The main benefit of Trespa’s HPL process for architects and owners alike is that it creates incredibly durable HPL panels. Over decades, Trespa® Meteon® panels have been shown to last so long and keep their colour so well that Trespa is developing Second Life, a programme to use them for other purposes when they’re finally taken down. The panels even resist the impacts that the sun and the seaside climate can have on a beachside property. The HPL process also allows a wide range of textures and treatments, so Trespa can offer everything from light-diffusing panels to natural-appearing wood textures. All in all, Trespa HPL panels and sidings offer a unique look with little maintenance and long-lasting beauty.
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