We are very confident that the FRP industry will see tremendous growth in the coming years thanks to the various benefits associated with these building materials. In fact, following a few discussions with our Canadian distributors, a common belief is that the need for GFRP bars will increase as long as we are able to successfully educate the market, as lack of knowledge represents the major challenge against the adoption of FRP. 

Growing slowly, but surely

As GFRP bars become more and more common, we can note a high customer satisfaction. While it is not a new technology, its benefits are becoming more apparent in the long term. Following several tests and case studies, FRP is clearly a more viable option compared to steel bars thanks to its lighter weight, its ease of installation, its high durability, non-conductivity, resistance to corrosion and other chemical damages, and more. There is a notable increase in the demand for GFRP bars as they become more and more popular. It starts with word of mouth, but if we put enough effort into educating the market and making more resources available to the general public, it is sure to grow. This is exactly why SFTec focuses on creating online resources, and webinars, to share important insights related to the FRP industry to help our customers and partners easily make the switch. 

How is the experience with GFRP bars so far, in Canada?

While SFTec has only recently started expanding to the Canadian market, it has only seen positive results. From distributors, to customers, all the concrete structures built with GFRP bars have seen a significant outcome in the receiving of the building materials, their transportation, their installation, and their durability. All things that are crucial in the success of a project. In fact, many of our satisfied customers have noted a large difference in terms of installation time. It takes them almost a quarter of the time to install the bars and reduces labor costs. GFRP bars have been used in projects all over Canada and our distributors anticipate positive feedback from their clients in the next few years if we are able to communicate the advantages of FRP. It’s also important to stay aware of the different changes affecting the steel industry and the supply chain since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, due to supply chain delays and increases in the cost of Steel and its availability in the market, FRP is becoming the better economical available alternative.

Next steps

We continue our efforts to keep informing the professionals in the construction industry about FRP and its benefits through detailed resources, product sheets, webinars, videos, etc. We highly recommend checking our website and our youtube channel for frequent updates and we encourage everyone reading this to reach out to us with any questions. Whether it is on the social, economic, or environmental aspect, FRP is the better choice and we strongly believe it will revolutionize the construction industry thanks to its natural properties. SFTec invests considerably in the research and development of its branded products and we are confident it only takes a single application to  change the way you plan your projects indefinitely. 

Contact us to get an estimate for your future concrete structure project here: https://sftec.ca/contact/