A practical guide to understanding the differences between aluminium composite panel and aluminium extrusion for facade cladding — and when to specify each.
Two of the most common materials specified for architectural facade cladding in South Africa are aluminium composite panel (ACP) and extruded aluminium profiles. Both are widely used — but they serve different applications and have meaningfully different performance characteristics.
Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP)
ACP consists of two thin aluminium sheets bonded to a polyethylene or fire-retardant mineral core. The result is a lightweight, rigid panel available in a very wide range of colours and finishes — including wood effect, brushed, mirror and solid colours.
ACP is the right choice when: you need large flat panel areas with consistent colour, you're working to a tight budget, or the facade design relies on flush, seamless panel joints.
Key consideration: specify FR (fire-retardant) core for any building over two storeys. Standard PE core ACP does not meet SANS fire performance requirements for multi-storey facades.
Aluminium Extrusion / Profiles
Extruded aluminium profiles — including fins, louvres, blades and custom sections — offer a three-dimensional facade quality that flat panels cannot achieve. Extrusions are stronger, more dimensionally stable and better suited to applications where the facade element is structural or load-bearing.
Extrusions are the right choice for: brise soleil and shading systems, fin facades, louvre blade systems and any application where the facade element needs to carry its own weight over a significant span.
Which to specify?
For most flat facade cladding applications, ACP delivers better value. For three-dimensional facade treatments, screening systems and shading elements, aluminium extrusion is the correct specification. In many projects, both are used — flat ACP panels as the background field, with extruded fins or screens as the foreground layer.
Tell us about your project — we'd like to hear from you.
