What Is FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic)?
Fiber Reinforced Plastic, or FRP, is a composite material that has moved cooling tower construction beyond the limitations of steel, concrete, and wood. It combines two components: a polymer matrix, often a thermosetting resin like polyester or vinyl ester, and reinforcing fibers, most commonly glass fibers, which is why the material is also called Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic or GRP.
The fibers provide structural strength and load-bearing capacity, while the resin holds them in place, protects them from the environment, and helps distribute stress across the material. Together, they produce a material with a high strength-to-weight ratio, strong durability, and the versatility to handle demanding industrial applications.
Why FRP Is the Preferred Material for Cooling Towers
What makes FRP better than wood or metal in a cooling tower?
Cooling towers expose their structure to a constant mix of moisture, harsh water-treatment chemicals, and temperature swings. Traditional materials like treated wood and metal are vulnerable in that environment. They corrode, rot, and decay, which drives up maintenance costs and shortens service life.
FRP holds up where those materials fail. It resists rust, rot, and chemical degradation, and commonly delivers a service life of 30-plus years with minimal maintenance. It’s also lightweight without sacrificing strength, which simplifies transport, installation, and on-site assembly. Manufacturers use processes like pultrusion to produce precisely shaped structural components, such as channels, beams, and grating, that serve as dimensionally stable, one-for-one replacements for older wood or metal parts.
How Midwest Cooling Towers Fabricates FRP Components
Does Midwest Cooling Towers manufacture FRP in-house?
At Midwest Cooling Towers, we fabricate FRP towers and tower components using our own CNC milling and drilling equipment. We offer both imported FRP and our own Build America, Buy America Act-compliant FRP, manufactured at our headquarters in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Either option meets CTI STD-137, the standard that governs material specifications and properties for pultruded fiberglass structural products used in cooling towers.
The Reliability and Sustainability Case for FRP
FRP’s value goes beyond swapping one material for another. Its resistance to corrosion in an environment that quickly wears down traditional materials translates directly into fewer unplanned outages. For a power plant or refinery, an unexpected cooling tower failure can cost millions, so a virtually maintenance-free structural material has a real impact on operational continuity.
FRP is also a more sustainable choice. Its long service life reduces how often components need to be replaced, and using it in place of treated lumber removes the risk of chemical wood preservatives leaching into circulating water. Its light weight helps on the installation side too, since it needs less energy-intensive equipment to transport and assemble, and it offers better thermal insulation than metal.
Where Else FRP Is Used
Cooling towers are one of the clearest examples of what FRP can do, but the material shows up across several other industries. In water and wastewater treatment, FRP is used for tank covers, clarifier components, and structural walkways and grating, thanks to its resistance to corrosive chemicals like chlorine and sulfur compounds.
Power and utility companies rely on it for utility poles, transmission towers, and cable trays, where its non-conductive, high-strength properties offer an advantage over wood or steel. In infrastructure and construction, its strength-to-weight ratio makes it a fit for modular pedestrian bridges, bridge deck panels, and architectural facades. And in aerospace, marine, and wind energy applications, including wind turbine blades, FRP composites deliver the strength and durability needed to withstand constant flex and harsh conditions.
Talk to Midwest Cooling Towers About Your FRP Needs
Whether you’re replacing worn wood or metal components, planning a new build, or sourcing Build America, Buy America-compliant materials, Midwest Cooling Towers can fabricate FRP components to spec at our Chickasha, Oklahoma facility. Contact us to talk through your project.
