Samsung Electronics had plans to open a 1.6 million-square-foot wafer plant for the fabrication of NAND flash memory chips. The company wanted to start producing memory chips by September, 2007 and demanded that the construction schedule be on a fast-track. The front and sides of the plant consisted of four-sided structural window systems. The window fabricator, Win-Con Enterprises, was using Proglaze II Structural Silicone Sealant, a two-component sealant, because of its high performance properties and reduced glazing/sealing production time. When mixed through a pump with the curing agent, snap time is as low as 30-60 minutes and windows can be moved to the jobsite the next day. Three-quarters of the way through the job, though, the pump broke down. Fixing the pump could take several days, a backup pump would cost $30,000, and standard silicone sealants could take up to 21 days to cure.
To keep the job and production on schedule, Win-Con Enterprises substituted Proglaze SSG Structural Silicone Glazing Sealant for the Proglaze II. Designed for the most demanding two- or four-sided structural glazing applications, Proglaze SSG is a one-part silicone sealant so no pump is required. It not only offers unsurpassed strength and flexibility for the highest level of protection, but its quicker green strength also allows units to be moved much faster, expediting construction schedules.
With this alternative silicone, work could continue without significant delays in in-plant production. Because this product had already been tested for performance and curing, Win-Con had confidence in the solution and could keep the field glaziers and shop personnel moving to meet the Samsung A2 building production dates. In the field, Spectrem 2 Silicone Sealant was then applied in the field as a weather seal and at the metal panels and perimeters.
