The Rastra Building System is the result of over thirty years of engineering, design and manufacturing experience in the US and overseas. The general licensor and original developer of the system is Rastra A.G., a Swiss company. Rastra ® is widely used in Europe and has been licensed for manufacture in the Middle East, Asia, China and the Americas. The product has undergone extensive testing and research during its thirty year history, resulting in formal recognition in the United States by the International Congress of Building Officials (ICBO) and Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBCCI) and numerous other organizations.
Rastra of the Americas is excited to have made arrangements for the manufacture of Rastra ® building elements in the United States. The prior experience with sublicensees manufacturing in Mexico proved unsatisfactory in many respects. The company will now have the elements manufactured to US standards and subject to strict quality control measures, supervised by representatives of Underwriters Laboratories. The Rastra ® building elements currently are being manufactured in facilities in Arizona and soon New Mexico. Rastra of the Americas has entered into agreements to open additional plants in other Western States in the coming months and projects for the Eastern States are under implementation. The company hopes that the proximity of these facilities to the primary Western and Southwestern markets, along with the absence of unpredictable and time-consuming border crossings, will help lower the costs to end-users. Rastra of the Americas is also confident the new American manufacturing facilities will ensure production of Rastra ® building elements of a more consistent quality.
Rastra of the Americas is anxious to avoid confusion in the marketplace, apparently being fostered by Trilogy/PerformWall representatives and dealers. False rumors that have been circulated include statements that Trilogy has "acquired Rastra", that "Rastra has gone out of business" and that the Rastra ® product has been renamed to PerformWall™. In addition, Rastra ® residential and commercial buildings which predate the existence of PerformWall™ by several years are commonly being misrepresented in widely circulated advertisements as being PerformWall™ projects. Rastra ® will continue to be the preeminent insulated concrete form on the market. Rastra virtually created the industry and has set the standard for recycled polystyrene-concrete forms. Other knock off or copy-cat products should be regarded with caution and skepticism.
Rastra of the Americas intends to take appropriate steps to maintain its intellectual property rights by protecting the Rastra trademark and license rights. If you have any questions regarding Rastra ®, please contact the company at (877) 935-3545.
Karl Holik, President, Rastra of the Americas, LLC
