History of
ICF’s
Insulated Concrete Formwork has
been around for 50 years and evolved after World War II, when blocks of
treated wood fibers held together by cement were used in Switzerland. In
the 1940s and 1950s, chemical companies developed plastic foams, in the
1960s a Canadian inventor developed a foam block that resembles today’s
typical first generation ICF. Europeans were developing similar products
around the same time.
In the 1980s and 1990s, a number of North American companies began
manufacturing blocks and panels or planks and by the mid-1990s, the
Insulating Concrete Form Association (ICFA) was formed, to promote the
new technology and work toward building code acceptance. There were
obstacles i.e. costs were greater than traditional frame construction
because people didn’t understand the system and builders had to work
closely to get code approval, and materials were proprietary. The number
of ICF form producers slowly grew, competition increased and costs
moderated.
New companies developed variations and innovations, over time, some of
these ICF manufacturers consolidated, leading to a smaller number of
larger companies. ICF systems offered performance benefits like strength
and energy efficiency and were initially more expensive to construct,
the first target market was high end home construction. Custom home
clients were willing and able to pay extra for the premium quality. As
word of ICFs grew and innovations reduced manufacturing and installation
costs, builders began using the forms for lower cost on mid-price-range
homes.
Today ICF’s are a very
large part of the North American and European construction industry and
they are used in a wide variety applications and projects which include
residential, multi unit residential, high rise apartments, military
installations, hotels/motels, schools, retail and movie theaters.
ICF systems are now
widely used in over 20 countries with more than 80 different suppliers
of ICF systems in the USA and around 20 in Europe.
ECO Block Australia
now manufactures and supplies throughout Australia in its own right,
educating homeowners, designers and contractors to the benefits of what
is arguably one of the best walls systems in the world.
