our corporate mantra, which is ‘the proof is in the testing,’
and that mantra is what we founded the company by, and
follow to this very day.
SFM: How did you address each of the three spaces you
mentioned–wood, gypsum, and SPF?
GW: We started with a product called DC333, which is
for wood and gypsum. Most of the SPF industry does not
know a lot about DC333, but it rivals the success we have
to date on DC315. We tested the DC333 over SPF, and we
actually did okay, but it wasn’t the best. So we went back
and spent almost a year running six or seven full-scale tests
as we were developing what is now the current DC315 formulation. Once we perfected our blend, passed multiple
UL1715 and NFPA 286 room corner burn tests, and had
DC315 listed by WHI for third-party inspection and consistency, we came to market and to date have passed over
200 full-scale fire tests worldwide over SPF.
SFM: That seems like a clear illustration of IF TI’s testing
mantra.
GW: We spend millions a year on testing. We test all over
the United States and all over the world. We don’t just settle with one test; we test and we retest. We go out and test
with topcoats, with primers, with studs, without studs, over
the thickest foam–to standards that are beyond the current
codebook requirements. We put a burden of proof on ourselves that exceeds the expectations of the industry, contractors, and fire marshals.
EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK
Gary Wolfe
Executive Vice President, International Fireproof Technology, Inc.
With a full line of life safety and fire safety products, International Fireproof Technology Inc. (IFTI) has made an especially significant impact in the spray foam industry with its flagship DC315 intumescent coating. Spray Foam Magazine had a conversation with Gary Wolfe, IFTI’s Executive Vice President, about fire protective coatings and SPF.
A CONVERSATION WITH
BY RYAN SPENCER
Spray Foam Magazine: What’s your background at IF TI?
Gary Wolfe: I was there at the beginning when we started about eight years ago. Originally, I was brought in to
run the sales and marketing of what at the time was a new
company.
SFM: What was the driving factor in founding IFTI?
GW: There was a line of patented products that were being OEMed to third parties, and we looked at a bunch of
factors and said we should bring these to market under our
own name, and that’s when they brought me in to take the
product line worldwide. But we weren’t just looking to get
out there and sell “me too” products, but market leading
products, so we took a deep breath and looked at the market, and the places we wanted to be were wood, gypsum,
firestop, and SPF.
SFM: What challenges were involved in bringing these
products to market?
GW: We realized as we looked at entering the category
that there were competitive products that just weren’t at
the level of the products that we were bringing out, as far
as the testing and certification. At that time, I said, “If
we’re going to be in this category, the only way I’m going
to run this is if I know that we have the most tested and
proven product in the world, because it’s my reputation
and my conscience.” If it’s not tested, if we can’t show you
a test, if we can’t prove that it’s tested, then we would be no
better than everyone else. That’s when we came out with
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