High-tech tape measures up to industry standards.

As condos proliferate across the metropolitan area like kudzu, the skyline of the outer boroughs is being transformed into the same picket of glass-faced towers often more indicative of downtown.

To contractors and building owners though, the only question is how cheaply and quickly can those glass facades be erected. Now, thanks to a new product from 3M, the answer is more quickly and less expensively.

3M is one of the most respected and global employed companies in the field of chemical engineering, and adhesives are their specialties. They have already developed two adhesive products, post-it notes and scotch tape, that many couldn't imagine living without.

However, they also make a wide range of industrial items that, while not as famous as the aforementioned products, are certainly as commonly used and respected.

The product is the 3M[TM] VHB[TM] (Very High Bonding) two-sided acrylic foam tape for structural glazing. For years, this product has been employed in Europe and the Mideast to cut the time and cost of the production chain for the sealing of glass to building structures.

"The VHB tape is a technology that has been around since 1980. It's been used in a variety of applications, industrial, come commercial. The structural glazing application is just starting in the US, but it has been used elsewhere since t990," said 3M market development manager Mark Jennings. The tape provides an alternative to the use of structural silicon for glazing. By serving as the spacer tape, the adhesive, and the primary sealant, the VHB tape reduces waste and work time.

There is also no curing time as with silicon adhesives. Rather than waiting hours for the silicon to dry, a contractor can get to work almost as soon as the tape is laid down.

Architects also benefit from the VHB tape combining so many different glazing products.

The sight lines of the windows can be degraded in the regular glazing process when the tape, adhesive, and sealant are different colors.

By joining all of those disparate products into a single assembly, the VHB tape ensures a uniform color and no loss of clarity in the window.

VHB tape has already debuted in America, but the first application of this new technology was for an internal glass structure. The Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri contains a World War 1 monument ensconced in a 300-foot diameter glass drum wall.

For its premier use in external glazing, the 3M VHB tape came to New York City. The tape was used in the construction of a new Jewish community services center on 38th Street in Brooklyn. Also in Boro Park, there is an 8 story condo on Katon Place whose glazing will include the 3M tape. Close by in Williamsburgh, the tape is being utilized for the glass archway of a new Synogogue.

The structural glazing for all of those products is being handled by Westside Window and Doors, a Brooklyn window company. Westside Window and Doors brought this new technology to America after seeing it used to great effect in Israel. Westside Window and Doors has close ties with Israeli construction, and imports glass and specially made aluminum frames from Israel.

The adage that time is money seems directly derived from business of New York real estate. Expediency is coin of the realm in New York real estate, and the 3M VHB double-sided silicon adhesive tape for structural glazing is tailor made to get jobs done faster and cheaper.

Any technology that speeds up production while dropping costs is destined for quick adoption and lengthy use in the world's most dynamic real estate market. For 3M, New York will be the litmus test for the profitability of this new and interesting product.