Convergent Water Technologies Launches HALO Tree Protection System™, Featuring Breakthrough CoreCrush Technology™

An engineered approach to construction-site tree protection: impact-absorbing trunk protection, root-zone load distribution and perimeter protection

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, November 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Convergent Water Technologies today announced the launch of the HALO Tree Protection System™, a three-part system built around CoreCrush Technology™, an impact-absorbing honeycomb core engineered to protect the living tissue beneath a tree’s bark. HALO offers an engineered alternative to the 2×4 lumber wraps that have served as the default construction-site trunk protection for decades. It pairs CoreCrush trunk panels with a root-zone ground mat and a high-visibility perimeter fence, giving developers, contractors and municipalities a measurable way to keep heritage and high-value trees through active construction.

The problem HALO addresses is one the industry rarely sees. A tree’s vascular cambium, a layer just one cell thick located immediately beneath the bark, produces the tissue that moves water and nutrients through the tree. Impacts as small as roughly 21 kN, about the force of a loaded wheelbarrow striking a trunk, can damage it. Because rigid lumber does not absorb energy, it passes that force through the bark and into the cambium, often without leaving a visible wound. The resulting decline may not appear for one to three growing seasons, long after the project is finished.

“Everyone assumes the wooden boards are protecting the tree, but the bark is there to protect the cambium, and a rigid board just hands the impact straight through to it,” said David Batts, President of Convergent Water Technologies. “CoreCrush is designed to absorb the hit instead of transferring it. Our customers spend real money and real permitting effort saving these trees. HALO gives them protection they can actually measure, in a system that ships easily, installs fast and goes back on the truck for the next job.”

Inside HALO: CoreCrush Technology™
At the heart of every HALO trunk panel is CoreCrush Technology. The honeycomb core absorbs and dissipates energy through controlled cellular collapse, reducing the peak force transmitted toward the cambium. Compared with standard 2×4 lumber, CoreCrush panels transmit 5× less peak force to the tree and weigh 60% less.

More than a trunk wrap

HALO addresses three main threats construction activity harms trees: direct trunk impact, soil compaction over the roots and encroachment into the protected root zone.
• Impact-absorbing trunk protection: Tapered CoreCrush panels follow the natural shape of the trunk and link together with UV-resistant bungee cords, so nothing ever penetrates the bark.
• Root-zone load distribution: HDPE interlocking hexagonal mats spread equipment loads across the Critical Root Zone to limit soil compaction, replacing wood-chip mulch, which spreads loads poorly in wet conditions.
• Perimeter protection: Safety-yellow polypropylene panels clearly mark and defend the Critical Root Zone boundary and are engineered for wind loading per ASCE 7-22.
• Built for the jobsite: UV- and moisture-resistant, reusable from project to project, and compact to ship and stage.

HALO was developed with demanding municipal tree-protection requirements in mind, including criteria established by the City of Austin.

“Tree protection specifications today tell you what material to use, but not how much force reaches the tree. That is a gap an engineer notices right away,” said Scott Gorneau, PE, Senior Vice President of Convergent Water Technologies. “We designed HALO from the performance side first. We started with the cambium damage threshold, applied impact mechanics, and developed CoreCrush to collapse at a controlled rate well below it. That gives arborists, design engineers and plan reviewers documented performance numbers instead of just a material list.”

HALO is available now for projects nationwide. Convergent Water Technologies is offering technical specifications, a white paper comparing CoreCrush panels with conventional lumber, and project-specific quantity takeoffs to engineers, arborists, landscape architects and contractors. Learn more about HALO at https://convergentwater.com/the-innovations/halo-tree-protection-system/

About Convergent Water Technologies
Convergent Water Technologies develops and brings to market engineered solutions for stormwater management and site protection, including the smartPOND automated valve and water control platform. The company works with engineers, municipalities, developers and contractors to turn field-proven engineering into products that perform measurably better than the status quo. Learn more at convergentwater.com or call 800.711.5428.

David Batts
Convergent Water Technologies
+1 800-711-5428
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