Polycarbonate Sheet Makes Backboards Virtually Unbreakable

Just as their very name suggests, the world’s leading manufacturer of residential basketball equipment, Lifetime Products Inc., continues it’s “unbreakable” record of innovation by virtually eliminating the need to replace broken backboards.

In 1891, when basketball was born, physical education instructor James Naismith nailed a peach basket to the wall of a YMCA gymnasium. Backboards progressed from chicken wire to wood then glass. The acrylic backboards that eventually followed became the industry standard for clear backboards. However, one of the biggest problems with acrylic as a backboard material is that it can become brittle and has a tendency to break. Today, with the introduction of Lifetime’s Shatterproof polycarbonate technology, broken backboards are a thing of the past. Lifetime backboards are made with MAKROLON® Polycarbonate Sheet, from Sheffield Plastics Inc, a Bayer MaterialScience Company. MAKROLON Polycarbonate Sheet makes them virtually unbreakable and many times stronger than acrylic.

MAKROLON SL2 Polycarbonate Sheet features a double-sided UV coating in 2.5 mil and 3 mil thicknesses. In addition to residential basketball backboards, Lifetime uses it for outdoor storage shed windows. The patent-pending UV-treatment insures that the backboard or window won’t yellow from sunlight or degrade over time. All backboard graphics are screenprinted with UV-protected inks, offering fade-resistant color as well. So besides being shatterproof, Lifetime backboards keep their great look for years.

For more information, contact Cindy Kahlstrom, Sheffield Plastics Inc., 119 Salisbury Road, Sheffield, MA 01257; 800-254-1707, Fax: 800-457-3553, E-mail: cindy.kahlstrom@bayermaterialscience.com, Web: www. sheffieldplastics.com.