Glass reinforced plastic is a composite material – or fibre – made of a plastic that is reinforced by fine fibres of extruded glass. This composite material is commonly referred to as fiberglass. Glass fibre has been long experimented with in history, however mass manufacturing of glass fibre has only recently been made possible with the introduction of finer machine tooling.

Glass fibre has a similar makeup to other fibres such as polymer and carbon fibre. While not as firm as carbon fibre it is significantly cheaper to produce and much less brittle when used in composites. Glass fibres are more commonly used than others to reinforce polymer products such as chairs and tables. This makes them incredibly strong and lightweight, while the resin in the polymer keeps it flexible.

It’s now common to find glass fibre reinforced plastic in poly tables and chairs. They often have a slight sparkle in the surface when looked at carefully. This is the glass fibres reflecting light rays.

Sometimes, when glass fibres are grouped tightly together in the plastic they can give a visual effect that may appear as discoloration. This is usually referred to as ‘mould markings’. It is more common on dark coloured furniture and generally appears around edges. It’s normal for polypropylene furniture to feature this, and does not affect the strength of the product. While it can’t be cleaned off, it is evidence that glass fibres are present on the material making your furniture strong and durable.

All of the polypropylene furniture manufactured by Siesta Exclusive has glass fibre reinforcing. It’s manufactured in Europe to the highest production standards, and factory tested to meet the tough conditions of the Australian commercial market.