Roger Vitko of Tunze USA, based in Austin, Texas, provides the fascinating backstory to these seductive new algae-cleaning magnets that have been several years in the development pipeline:
“These are made of plantation-grown European Ash that is dyed throughout in a special process to look like exotic woods. They couple to the Care Magnet magnetically as they have imbedded rare earth magnets.
“These came out of a project that started pre-Covid—from a German company near us that specializes in sustainable wood products and was launching a wood-based plastic. We started playing with this product and knew it would need years of testing to make sure it does not degrade in water and is suitably fire resistant, etc.
“This simulated exotic hardwood is their mainstay and is used for cabinetry and interior decor in Europe, so we started exploring alternative ecofriendly wood-based materials for future projects to further our cooperation on the plastic.
“The wood-based plastic is of high interest to us as it would be a substantial improvement for the environment and it has some unique properties—notably it has a substantial sound-deadening property, but there is no way to rush long-term, saltwater endurance testing.
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