Buildex®. One of the worlds leading manufacturers and suppliers of self-drilling screws and fasteners.

One of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of self-drilling screws and fasteners.

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Real World Testing

Only Buildex® uses Real World outdoor exposure Testing to develop superior coatings.

Buildex® has pioneered real world testing to measure actual corrosion performance of both Buildex® and competitor products.

Outdoor test sites expose the fasteners to the combination of corrosive influences that exist in the real world including salt spray, humidity, ultra-violet light, acid rain and compatibility with roof sheeting.

The majority of the Australian population is located in coastal regions. Coastal climates are generally highly corrosive and can extend tens of kilometres inland, depending on the prevailing winds and topography. Being located in the Southern hemisphere and surrounded by the worlds largest ocean regions, means that Australia is exposed to more chlorides in the air than countries in the Northern hemisphere.
Corrosion dramatically affects the performance of fasteners over their lifetime, subsequently affecting the long-term structural integrity of any construction.
As a result, Buildex® fasteners must be able to withstand the corrosive action in order to achieve a reasonable service life.

Our customers expect it!

Outdoor exposure

Real World Test Sites

In order to test the actual corrosion performance of our products, Buildex® operates and supports a Research, Development and Testing Program. Buildex® pioneered the use of “real world” outdoor exposed testing, operating since 1994. These stations are built in known corrosively aggressive locations around Australia, in order that Buildex® can obtain the test result quickly. The severe conditions at these sites will give an indication of the product performance after approximately one year. Unlike traditional “accelerated” laboratory testing only outdoor test sites expose the fasteners to the combinations of corrosive influences that exist in the “real world” eg:
• Chlorides (Marine)
• Humidity (Condensation)
• Acid Rain (Industrial)
• Ultra Violet (U.V.)

Panels representing sections of roofing, complete with screws, are exposed to the elements and the results are monitored regularly.
From theses results Buildex® can pinpoint which coatings perform best, regularly putting out new panels with new coatings, as well as panels for checking the consistency of our existing coating process over time. We also put out comparative panels of competitor products on a regular basis.

Real World Tested

Are your Class 4 Fasteners up to Standard?

Buildex pioneered the use of “real world”, outdoor exposure testing for fasteners commencing in 1994. Two outdoor sites currently operate, in the corrosively aggressive locations of King Island (TAS) and Newcastle (NSW). Unlike traditional accelerated laboratory testing, only outdoor test sites expose the fasteners to the combinations of corrosive influences that exist in the “real world” eg:

• Chlorides (Marine)
• Humidity (Condensation)
• Acid Rain (Industrial)
• Ultra Violet (UV)
• Compatibility with roof sheeting being fixed


Each outdoor site contains two exposure racks. The open rack simulates conditions on a roof.		The sheltered rack simulates under-roof and non-rain washed situations

Buildex has nearly 20 years experience with real world testing. Many of our products have been developed and improved as a direct result from what has been learned during the testing.

These photos of Buildex and competitors screws are from an exposure panel which been taken from the outdoor test site at King Island (TAS). All screws on the panel came from a sheltered rack at the test site, and were exposed for a 16 month period between August 2005 and November 2006.

The photos clearly illustrates that many competitor fasteners which pass laboratory testing, have failed miserably when exposed to “real world”, outdoor exposure testing. This even includes competitor fasteners that have claimed to have achieved “deemed to comply” via Table 2 , Part 2 of the Standard AS3566.2 – 2002.

Buildex Roof Zips (Class 4)