Manufactured in India, supplied in Chicago
Acoustic panels in Chicago
We manufacture acoustic panels at our own plant at Palwal in Haryana, India, and supply them into Chicago. Made at our own plant in India, shipped into an East or Gulf coast port and railed inland, with that leg quoted separately so the dates are real.
- Plain PET felt
- 9 to 24 mm, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, up to 2440 x 4270 mm, 1200 to 3600 GSM
- Printed felt
- 1800 x 900 mm, image printed into the felt rather than onto a facing
- Grooved panels
- Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber
- Test standard
- ASTM C423
- Lead time
- 4 to 7 working days standard
- Minimum order
- From 10 panels
- ASTM C423
- Made at our own plant, Palwal, Haryana, India
- One batch across the order, no blending between runs
This comes from our own plant, not a trading desk. We do not have an office in your city and we will not invent one. What we can give you is factory pricing, consistent material and a technical answer before you commit.
01 / The product
What this material is and where it earns its place in Chicago
The full absorber range rather than one product: plain PET felt, printed felt, grooved panels and fabric finishes, chosen by how the room is used and how it has to look.
Work reaching us from Chicago is mostly two-flats and three-flats, high-rise apartments, offices, venues, schools, clinics.
American homes are timber frame with gypsum board on both faces, so a party wall or a basement ceiling has almost no mass. Adding a second leaf with a limp membrane between does more than any amount of surface treatment.
- Wall array Panels placed at first reflection points rather than spread evenly. Fewer panels, better result.
- Ceiling first In most rooms the ceiling is the largest untreated surface and the cheapest square metre of result.
- Mixed finish Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
- What it will not do Coverage is not the target, reverberation time is. Lining every surface wastes money and can leave a room sounding dead and unpleasant.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for our acoustic panel range are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Chicago.
PET felt acoustic panels Printed acoustic felt panels Grooved PET panels
02 / Specification
The published figures, unchanged by location
The specification below is the same everywhere we supply, because a specification that changed by city would not be a specification. What changes is which grade and build-up is the right buy, and that is what the rest of this page is about.
- EchoCore 151500 GSM. General commercial
- EchoPro 181800 GSM. Rooms with a written RT target
- EchoMax 222200 GSM. High occupancy and high level spaces
| Plain PET felt | 9 to 24 mm, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, up to 2440 x 4270 mm, 1200 to 3600 GSM |
|---|---|
| Printed felt | 1800 x 900 mm, image printed into the felt rather than onto a facing |
| Grooved panels | Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber |
| Test standard | ASTM C423 |
On a Chicago job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
03 / Local conditions
What decides the build-up in Chicago
- Elevated rail past the window
Trains at window height put noise in through the glazing, not through the wall. The facade is where the money should go first.
- Brick outside, timber inside
Two-flats and three-flats have solid masonry outside and timber floors between families. Footfall travels down and masonry does nothing about it.
- Sealed against hard winters
Buildings close up for months and mechanical systems run hard, so sound accumulates inside rather than escaping.
- No port, so plan the inland leg
Everything arrives at a coast and rails in. We quote the sea leg and the inland leg separately.
- School and campus buildings
Public school buildings run long corridors with hard floors and lay-in tile ceilings that were chosen for cost, not for speech. Classroom reverberation and corridor spill are the two complaints, and both respond to ceiling area rather than wall panels.
- The studio and content scene
Home and project studios go into basements and converted garages with equipment budgets far ahead of the building. The room leaks to the floor above long before it sounds wrong inside.
Architects working in Chicago usually need the build-up before the product. We will draw the section and mark what does the work. See how we support architects.
04 / Conditions
The Chicago climate decides the material list
Chicago is mild summers and cold, wet winters, and that narrows the sensible material list before acoustics is even discussed.
Cold external walls and long heating seasons make condensation behind a lining the thing to design out. PET felt is unaffected by damp air.
The risk we design against here is condensation and cold bridging behind new linings.
If the visual is fixed and the room still has to perform, that is a solvable problem and a conversation worth having early. See how we work with interior designers.
05 / Supply
Getting it to Chicago, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | An East or Gulf coast port, then rail and road inland |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea, then rail inland |
| Packing | Palletised flat and film wrapped. Printed panels interleaved and corner protected. |
| Lead time | 4 to 7 working days standard. Printed and grooved take longer. |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.
Sea freight into an East or Gulf coast port, then rail and road to Chicago. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
200 panels for a trial order, in any mix of thickness, GSM and colour. Beyond a trial we would rather quote a container load.
| Trial order | 200 panels, 6,400 sq ft, mixed thickness, GSM and colour |
|---|---|
| Recommended | Full container |
A panel is 1220 x 2440 mm, which is 32 sq ft.
06 / Before you buy
Four honest warnings before you buy
-
The wrong product for the problem
Coverage is not the target, reverberation time is. Lining every surface wastes money and can leave a room sounding dead and unpleasant. We would rather calculate the area than sell the wall.
-
A number chased without a measurement
If nobody has measured the room or set a target, the specification is a guess with a decimal point in it. We will ask for the target before we quote the quantity.
-
Local approvals that nobody actually holds
We hold no Chicago certification and we will not borrow one. The test data we publish is ours, and we will send the reports rather than describe them.
07 / In projects
The material in real interiors
Chicago: questions we are actually asked
Are these acoustic panels made in Chicago?
No, and we will not say otherwise. We manufacture at our own plant at Palwal in Haryana, India, and supply into Chicago as the manufacturer rather than through a dealer. Made at our own plant in India, shipped into an East or Gulf coast port and railed inland, with that leg quoted separately so the dates are real. You buy at factory prices with one consistent batch across the order.
What decides the specification for a Chicago project?
Trains at window height put noise in through the glazing, not through the wall. The facade is where the money should go first. Two-flats and three-flats have solid masonry outside and timber floors between families. Footfall travels down and masonry does nothing about it. Those two things move the build-up far more than the panel figure does.
Is this the right material for Chicago conditions?
Chicago is mild summers and cold, wet winters. Cold external walls and long heating seasons make condensation behind a lining the thing to design out. PET felt is unaffected by damp air. The failure we design against here is condensation and cold bridging behind new linings.
How quickly can material reach a site in Chicago?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: An East or Gulf coast port, then rail and road inland, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.
When are acoustic panels the wrong purchase?
Coverage is not the target, reverberation time is. Lining every surface wastes money and can leave a room sounding dead and unpleasant. We would rather calculate the area than sell the wall.
What quantity do we have to order, and in what packaging?
200 panels for a trial order, in any mix of thickness, GSM and colour. Beyond a trial we would rather quote a container load. Trial order, 200 panels, 6,400 sq ft, mixed thickness, GSM and colour. Recommended, Full container. A panel is 1220 x 2440 mm, which is 32 sq ft. Palletised flat and film wrapped. Printed panels interleaved and corner protected.
Next step
Tell us the room, we will tell you the build-up
We quote from drawings, not from a square foot rate. Send a plan and the section through the critical wall or ceiling and you will get something you can actually build from.