CANTON, Mass. — Sika Sarnafil announced its recent roofing assembly approvals of FM Global's Very Severe Hail (VSH) Rating.

FM Approvals is an international leader in third-party certifications known for their rigorous and demanding approvals standards. FM Approvals and FM Global have worked together to help reduce property losses due to large hail. Sarnafil has become the first PVC roofing membrane to achieve approvals for VSH over a gypsum board under FM Approval's latest VSH rating tests.

"We're thrilled with the new Sarnafil PVC approvals! The fact that these include the first approvals in the PVC industry over a gypsum board rather than plywood or OSB really stands out to us," said Stan Graveline, senior vice president of technical services and sustainability. "Sarnafil is the first PVC membrane to achieve what no others have been able to do, once again reinforcing our claim that Sika Sarnafil is the leader in thermoplastic PVC membranes for roofing and waterproofing applications."

FM Global, along with FM Approvals, has been working to test the effectiveness of roofing industry products against several types of extreme weather events. In 2018, FM Global updated their Loss Prevention data Sheet 1-34, implementing more severe requirements for achieving the VSH designation and expanding the area defined to be subjected to VSH in the U.S.

The new hail zone map Very Severe Hail in the United States now includes Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Wyoming. Other areas affected are Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and some parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, and New Mexico.