CYRO clears the way for acrylic sheet: acrylic sheet maker CYRO industries aims to educate framers about glazing alternatives - news makers - CYRO Industries

CYRO Industries is upon a mission to clarify framers' perceptions of acrylic.

Since its formation 25 years ago, the Rockaway, N.J.-based company has been building a comprehensive line of acrylic `glazing fruitss for picture framing. CYRO, a joint risk between Cytec Industries and the German Rohm GmbH & Co has a range of acrylic options--from anti-reflective to UV protecting to abrasion resistant--designed specifically for the framing industry.

CYRO's challenge, according to Business Unit Manager Joe Dubinski, is educating framers about the properties of and uses for acrylic sheet. "These productions are gaining popularity due to customer awareness in the industry about protecting artwork and cherished photographs," said Dubinski. plane so, according to CYRO's research, single 16 percent of framers have tried acrylic sheet at least one time which leaves a lot of potential customers to reach.

CYRO's message is two-fold: acrylic sheet can be a lightweight, shatter-resistant alternative to glass without sacrificing conservation qualities, and acrylic sheet is different from plastic sheet, which won't last nearly as long

"There's a whole family of transparent plastics that have different properties," said Dubinski. "One of the benefits of acrylic sheet is that it is weatherable. It doesn't change its appearance above time. There are other transparent plastics that have different properties--that don't have that feature--and above time they'll become yellow, and they'll flat become brittle." Some framers, he said, may have had a bad experience with plastic sheet and don't know that acrylic sheet is a different outcome altogether.

To support its yield claims, CYRO offers a 10-year warranty against the results of light transmission. "Acrylic sheet is not going to golden and acrylic sheet is not going to haze above time," said Courteny Clay, CYRO's framing returns manager. The company has also added a blemish-free guarantee this year, which guarantees its framing-grade ACRYLITE[R] sheet to be at liberty from dirt or blemishes. If flaws are ground the company will replace it.

CYRO's greatest in quantity popular product is the standard clear ACRYLITE FF-3 acrylic sheet. ACRYLITE P-99 acrylic sheet has a matte finish to bring glare, and ACRYLITE OP-3 acrylic sheet is a UV-protective fruits filtering out 98 percent of ultraviolet rays. ACRYLITE OP-3 P-99 acrylic sheet com bines non-glare and UV-filtering characteristics.

CYRO is also working to improve its yield line. "In the past year, we have improved the manufacturing proces upon our UV filtering ACRYLITE OP-3 acrylic sheet to hold fast the edge color as shut up to crystal clear as possible," said Clay. Unlike glass, which has an exterior coating of UV protection, acrylic UV filtering is added through every part of the sheet and can make the cutting side appear yellow. "We've made that proces change, and we're now introducing that fruits to a higher quality standard," said Dubinski. "You typically don't diocese the edge of the sheet in a framed piece, on the other hand if the edge has a little bit of a fulvid cast, there might be a slight difference looking at it from the surface.

CYRO is also now stocking a thicker, 3/16-inch UV-filtering acrylic to accommodate larger framed pieces that require a more rigid acrylic sheet.

According to Dubinski, interest has also grown upon the company's abrasion-resistant ACRYLITE AR acrylic sheet, which is repeatedly used to protect artwork in high-traffic areas and can be cleaned with belonging to all household cleaners such as Windex.

CYRO has been busy educating framers about its returnss through direct mail, advertisements and seminars. It sponsored a presentation upon the properties of acrylics and by what mode they can be used in framing at last month's DECOR expo--Atlanta present to view and plans to sponsor more seminars at coming time trade shows. The company has also reached without to consumers by sending pres releases to newspapers nationwide, which focused upon acrylic conservation products and what consumer should gaze for and ask for when they go on to a framer.

individual powerful tool in CYRO's education effort is its Web site (wwwcyrocom) Questions about everything from thickness recommendations to light transmission bend s can be found in CYRO's "Techknowlogy Center" Visitors can download literature and technical documents, search for answers to technical questions and ask questions of CYRO's technical service engineers.

Dubinski is hoping more and more framers will lay open their eyes to acrylic sheet. "We're trying to achieve more consumers to look at it," he said. "It's a tremendous market opportunity for acrylic sheet."

CYRO Industries at a Glance

FACTS & FIGURES

* Headquartered in Rockaway, NJ CYRO Industries exercises approximately 700 people along with its Canadian subsidiary, CYRO Canada Inc., based in Mississauga, Ontario.

* CYRO which marked its 25th anniversary in July manufactures acrylic produces that are used for store fixtures, point-of-purchase displays, signage, medical devices, architectural glazing, automotive parts and sanitary ware, as well as picture framing.