Demilec Open-cell Polyurethane Foam Insulation

There is a new kid on the block in the spray-in foam insulation business. Demilec, Inc., Canada’s largest manufacturer of polyurethane, is going head-to-head with Icynene (see EBN Vol. 4, No. 5) in the low-density, open-cell polyurethane foam industry. The company introduced its Sealection 500 product in the Spring of 1996 in Canada and quickly followed with a U.S. introduction. According to the company, there are currently about 20 installers in Canada and 11 in the U.S. Demilec has a manufacturing facility outside Montreal and warehouses in Vancouver, Chicago, and Dallas to serve most of North America. Further expansion is planned.

Like Icynene, Demilec Sealection 500 foam is sprayed into open wall and ceiling cavities. The product is applied in a very thin layer (almost like spray paint), and it quickly expands approximately 100-fold to fill the cavity. The isocyanate and resin components are mixed together as the material is sprayed into the wall cavity. A reaction of these components generates carbon dioxide, which serves as the foaming agent. Unlike most high-density polyurethane foam—but like Icynene—ozone-depleting HCFCs are not used. Also like Icynene, they have a formulation of the product for pouring into closed cavities—holes are drilled at the top of the wall, and a slower-reacting mixture of the chemicals is added which expands in a few minutes to fill the cavity. While Icynene is white, Sealection 500 is pink in color—apparently Owens Corning holds a patent only on the color pink as used in fiberglass insulation. (The sample EBN received was nearly white.)