Monday, November 09, 2009

Contact: Karen Miller
VantEdge Corp.
828-883-8362, ext. 303
e-mail: karenm@vant-edge.com

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(PITTSBURGH, Pa., Nov. 3, 2009) – ACCELERATED Building Technologies (ABT) today announced the relocation of its manufacturing operations to a larger facility. Located in Leetsdale, Pa., near the company's headquarters, the new manufacturing facility will enable ABT to expand its capacity quickly to meet fast-growing demand for its accel-E™ Steel Thermal Efficient Panel (S.T.E.P.), according to ABT President Al Alayon.

"Our larger Pennsylvania manufacturing facility offers a number of advantages over our previous location – enabling us to support our strategic growth initiatives over the coming years," said Alayon. The company's manufacturing operations had previously been located in a prototype facility in Kentucky. The new facility is completely company-owned, providing manufacturing efficiency, logistical and supply chain advantages.

"As a western Pennsylvania company, we also were eager to contribute manufacturing jobs to the local economy," Alayon added. "But the biggest advantage is the capability we now have for rapid expansion, and ready access to the team of material and process experts from our parent company, SYNTHEON Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NOVA Chemicals Corporation for the building and construction industry."

The accel-E™ S.T.E.P. wall system is an innovative construction technology that fuses cold-formed steel framing members and expandable polystyrene (EPS) insulation into lightweight composite panels. By combining framing, insulation and sheathing into a single system, the S.T.E.P. design enables greatly improved energy efficiency, reduced construction costs and a dramatic reduction in onsite waste.

Because the S.T.E.P. system is thermally resistant, strong, lightweight, energy efficient, and simpler to install than traditional wall systems, the company has seen rapidly growing demand for the technology, even in the midst of the slow economy.
"Our new facility will position us for continued growth to respond to this demand," Alayon said, noting that the new plant's current annual capacity is twice what it was in the previous facility and can be further expanded as demand increases.

The move was completed in October, and all manufacturing equipment has now been installed and commissioned, he added. All new product orders are now being manufactured at the Pennsylvania facility.

ACCELERATED Building Technologies, LLC, was formed by two leading building materials manufacturers, combining the talent, resources and knowledge of Dietrich Metal Framing and NOVA Chemicals. ACCELERATED Building Technologies maintains ownership under SYNTHEON, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NOVA Chemicals, Inc., for the building and construction industry, and utilizes Dietrich Metal Framing as its exclusive steel components provider. For more information, contact Jeff Peskowitz, director of marketing, at 412-490-5037; or visit the company's Web site at www.accbt.com.

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