Custom-made insulating, heat-resistant, and sustainable solutions

Rising temperatures and the growing demand for more sustainable solutions are placing new demands on the profiles used in overhead doors and sunshades. CF Plastic Profiles, based in Gramsbergen, is responding to this trend with a broad product line for both industries—ranging from side seal and glass clamp profiles for doors to custom solutions and material selection for outdoor applications in the sunshade industry. Senior Key Account Manager Arjan Bosch explains the factors that play a role in these decisions.

For garage doors, sectional doors, high-speed roll-up doors, and overhead doors, CF Plastic Profiles offers a wide range of profiles: from side seal and glass clamp profiles to bottom rail profiles and end posts for a clean, finished look.

A significant portion of the insulation benefit also comes from the side seal. By using co-extrusion to add multiple soft lips to PVC and ABS side-seal profiles, a pocket of still air is created within the structure. “This has a positive effect on the door’s insulation value and seal,” Bosch explains. “By adding extra chambers to the profile design, we improve the insulating performance even further.”

Light is evenly distributed

In the sunshade industry, too, customization plays a major role. “We can work with the customer to develop a profile that perfectly matches their product and application,” says Bosch. For patio covers, for example, CF supplies plastic profiles such as covers for LED lighting, which snap into an aluminum frame and distribute the light evenly across the cover. In addition, the product range includes mounting strips and clamping profiles for attaching shade sails and roof structures.

Heat-resistant

Higher temperatures place new demands on the material’s properties. “Together with our raw materials supplier, we are developing plastics with a higher VICAT value and improved flame-retardant properties,” says Bosch. “We have variants that can withstand temperatures up to 95 degrees Celsius and can add additional flame retardants upon customer request.”

There are also various options available in the area of circularity. CF Plastic Profiles can incorporate 30 to 100 percent recycled material into its products according to customer specifications, without compromising on properties such as impact resistance and UV resistance.

In-house tool shop

Custom solutions are supported by the company’s in-house tool shop, which houses more than 6,000 molds, approximately 4,000 of which are custom-made for specific clients. For the sunshade and door industries alone, the company develops about twenty to thirty new molds each year. “Because we make our own tools, we can respond quickly as soon as demand changes,” says Bosch.

At the R+T trade show in Stuttgart in February 2027, the company will present its latest innovations in overhead doors and sun protection.