by Rebecca Walker — August 23, 2010—Project FROG, the maker of eye-catching, quick-to-construct net-zero energy buildings, and YKK AP America, the manufacturer of the enerGfacade line of green products, are teaming up.
The companies announced they have formed a strategic partnership in which YKK, in collaboration with its fabricated products distributor in the U.S., Erie Architectural Products, will provide pre-assembled and pre-glazed faade systems — including windows, doors and curtail walls — to Project FROG for its high performance energy efficient modular structures.
Project FROG, founded in 2006 in San Francisco, and YKK have already worked together on the prominent FROG Zero project, the 1,280-square-foot classroom that was built in six days at the Greenbuild conference in 2008.
The showcase became a component of the three energy neutral classrooms that Project FROG built for the Watkinson School in Hartford, Conn.
YKK AP launched its enerGfacade line in September 2009 and expanded it in time for the 2009 Greenbuild conference in November.
YKK AP America is the U.S. arm of YKK AP, a global manufacturer of architectural products with annual sales of about $3 billion, and both are part of the YKK Group, a $6 billion company that also produces zippers and other fastening products.
YKK AP joins a roster of Project FROG strategic partners that include Ahlborn Structural Steel Inc., Bosch Solar Energy AG and Tate.FROG stands for Flexible Response to Ongoing Growth and in an interview two years ago, founder Mark Miller said the acronym is apt because frogs are green and they “only jump forward.”
