How Fiberglass products Cut Total Cost of Ownership
Fiberglass products deliver measurable savings across mining, utilities and industrial sites. Below are the top five ways fiberglass reduces total cost of ownership (TCO) — practical benefits and action steps for engineers, procurement teams and site managers.
Longer service life and lower maintenance: Fiberglass resists corrosion, rot and most chemical attack that rapidly degrades steel and timber. In chloride‑rich, acidic or wet processing environments common to potash, uranium and oil‑service sites, fiberglass components (covers, grating, panels, liners) typically require fewer repairs and longer replacement intervals. Practical result: fewer planned and unplanned outages, lower annual maintenance labor, and reduced spare‑parts inventories.
Lower weight reduces installation and foundation costs: Fiberglass components are significantly lighter than equivalent steel or concrete parts. Lighter units simplify transport, reduce crane time, and often permit lighter foundations or anchoring systems for utility pads, platforms and cable troughs. This translates to faster installation, smaller crews, and lower mobilization and civil works costs — especially valuable in remote Canadian sites.
Minimized downtime through corrosion‑resistant performance: Corrosion‑driven failures are a major cause of unplanned shutdowns. Because fiberglass does not rust, it avoids progressive degradation modes (pitting, section loss, bolt seizure) that lead to emergency repairs. Increased asset availability improves production predictability and reduces costly emergency mobilizations and overtime.
Integrated designs cut secondary materials and labor: Fiberglass fabrication enables molded or assembled parts that incorporate multiple functions — e.g., ducts with integrated channels, covers with built‑in mounting bosses, or pads with preformed recesses for anchors and cable routing. Fewer separate components mean fewer purchase orders, reduced on‑site assembly time, and fewer fasteners and sealants to manage and replace over time.
Built‑in thermal, electrical and chemical advantages: Many fiberglass formulations are non‑conductive and chemically resistant; flame‑retardant and low‑smoke options are also available. These properties can eliminate or reduce the need for additional insulation, costly grounding or special coatings, and frequent recoating cycles. In hazardous areas, anti‑static or conductive treatments can be applied to meet Zone/Division requirements without replacing whole assemblies — lowering mitigation costs and simplifying compliance.
Case snapshot: At a mid‑size mineral processing site, replacing steel cable troughs with molded fiberglass troughs reduced annual maintenance labor by 38% and eliminated corrosive recoat cycles — projected net saving of 22% TCO over 7 years.
Want a site‑specific TCO estimate or a product/spec checklist tailored to utility pads or industrial assets? Contact us with your site type and one‑line exposure description (e.g., “potash plant utility pad — chloride exposure”) and we’ll send a one‑page assessment.