At the Samuel Adams Pavilion at Tuscan Village in Salem, New Hampshire, designers sought a transparent roofing solution that would provide natural light while maintaining a comfortable environment for guests. The pavilion serves as a popular outdoor dining and events space, making material choice critical to balance aesthetics, weight, heat resistance and cost.

POLYGAL® Multiwall polycarbonate sheet from PLASKOLITE was selected as an alternative to glass, meeting the project’s structural and environmental requirements while enabling on-time and under-budget completion. The material offered several advantages for the pavilion roof:

• Weight: Each POLYGAL panel weighed about 75 pounds, compared to hundreds or even over 1,000 pounds for equivalent glass panels. The lightweight design eliminated the need for cranes, allowing installation via ladders.
• Size: Panels measured 2 feet wide by 25 feet long, compared to a maximum of 8 feet for glass. This allowed for fewer framing elements, preserving clean sightlines and speeding up installation.
• UV Resistance: POLYGAL sheet transmits visible light while blocking UV rays, preventing heat buildup that would have occurred with glass and maintaining a comfortable interior temperature.
• Cost and Installation: Beyond lower material costs, the lightweight panels reduced installation time by at least two weeks and avoided crane rental expenses.
• Maintenance: Unlike glass, POLYGAL does not rely on sealants, reducing the potential for fogging and maintenance issues over time.

Although the contractor had not previously worked with POLYGAL, the ease of installation quickly dispelled any concerns. The Samuel Adams Pavilion has since become a popular gathering place for locals and visitors in southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts, demonstrating how performance plastics can enable both functional and architectural goals in outdoor spaces. www.plaskolite.com

Cope Plastics, Inc. has developed magnetic urethane patches that provide fast, tool-free repairs for worn or cracked steel chutes, liners and hoppers in grain handling systems. Using strong rare earth magnets embedded in urethane, these patches grip securely to ferrous steel surfaces without welding or adhesives, even under vibration and impact.

Available in flexible and flat styles, the patches can be installed or repositioned in seconds, reducing costly downtime during peak operations. They are reusable, FDA and EC food-grade compliant, and feature Shore 80A urethane for durability.

This innovative repair method gives operators a quick, reliable way to extend equipment life and maintain production during critical periods. www.copeplastics.com