Plastic Material News

The Growth of TPEs is Expected to Remain Strong for Many Years to Come

December 27, 2010 - Romulus, MI - Before TPEs (thermoplastic elastomers), there was thermoset rubber.  But there was a need for a better type of product – one that could increase part production (lowering cycle times), offer lower weight, be easily colorable, be soft or rigid, be recyclable, be produced over other materials in a two shot process (overmolding), and contribute to lower part costs.

Enter TPEs in the 1970’s on a mass scale, soon to be followed by other soft elastomers that soon fell under the general category of TPEs – TPOs or thermoplastic olefins, TPVs or thermoplastic vulcanizates, TPUs or thermoplastic polyurethanes and dozens of new grades that were and are simply ‘alloyed’ products comprised of different components.  And, soon thereafter were grades that could not only be injection molded, but also extruded, blow molded or thermoformed.

New Compounds, New End Products

Products started appearing on the market with a new look and feel, enabling manufacturers to upsell their wares to appeal to new markets – the venerable power drill comes to mind – the same basic drill innards over the years, but ‘reintroduced’ with new, visually-appealing grips.  And then came new and better products for goods such as sporting equipment, automotive seals and 
hoses, medical goods, appliance parts, window and glazing seals, wire and cable applications and hundreds of other products in dozens of markets.  Thanks to TPEs, they not only looked better and could be processed better, but they performed better and offered a variety of textural and finishing options.  Depending on the application and the product, they were softer or harder, more resistant to chemicals and oils, more durable, able withstand far higher and lower temperatures, and ultimately would and could last longer.

The advent of TPEs enabled designers, marketers and manufacturers to offer products with much broader options for design, including improved grip with built-in ergonomics, improved sealing, living hinges, noise and/or vibration damping and protection, and reduce scrap, among others.  This was combined by improving product development cycle times, speeding up production cycle times, reducing materials usage and generally decreasing production costs.

More recently came bonding grades which maximized the potential of overmolding technology.  This reduced or eliminated the need for adhesives or other mechanical interlocks to combine different materials, including grades that could be bonded onto many other polymers as well as many metals (and in fact, replaced many metals).  With the ability to overmold onto a variety of materials, components now can easily and cost-effectively produced/molded into soft/hard material combinations, while all the while ensuring outstanding performance.

At the present time, there are numerous classes of TPEs.  These are:

    •  Polyurethanes (TPU)
    •  Styrenics (TPE-S)
    •  Copolyesters (COPE)
    •  Polyamides (PEBA)
    •  Polyolefin Alloys (TPV)
    •  Polyolefin Blends (TPO)

The accompanying chart will give potential users an indication where each class is best suitable for applications depending on prince and performance.

Which TPE to Use?

Below are listed the advantages of each class of TPE.  Using these guidelines, potential users can quickly and accurately narrow the type of soft elastomer best suited for their application.

Producers of TPEs are being pressured to not just meet product end use specifications, but to exceed them.  While larger TPE producers are inclined to want to sell off-the-shelf grades, many suppliers and distributors, especially smaller independent ones, are more inclined to offer grades that precisely match or exceed the needs of the finished product.  Thus, the designer, marketer or OEM that wants to get full value out of a TPE, should look to the supplier that can offer a full range of technical services.

Designers and manufacturers who haven’t yet “caught on” to the inherent short and long term benefits of TPEs are missing out on compounds that are expected to continue to grow in usage some 6% or more per year, with an expected total usage worldwide of more than 13 billion pounds.  With pressures to not only cut costs and speed up design-to-part cycles, designers and at the very least, automotive OEMs and Tier One suppliers can benefit by offering components that are lighter in weight, improve fuel economy, enhance performance, reduce system costs and improve recyclability.  Newer flame retardant grades make products safer and less hazardous to the environment.

New Formulations, New Applications Continue to Contribute to Ongoing Success
Alliance Polymers and Services, LLC, with headquarters, warehousing, shipping and technical support in Romulus, MI, is a full-service warehousing, distribution, shipping and technical service organization dedicated to helping TPU and other elastomer marketers and processors with all their product and technical support needs.  The company is owned and operated by two of the TPU and elastomer industry’s leading marketing and technical support executives, Roger J. Huarng and Stephane Morin, formerly with BASF Corporation.  They work with a series of independent technical agents located in key cities and markets throughout the North American Continent.

For more information on their wide range of BASF Elastollan TPUs and other elastomers and technical services, contact:  Marketing Department, Alliance Polymers and Services, LLC, 30735 Cypress Road, Suite 400, Romulus, MI 48174  Tel: 734-710-6700  Fax: 734-710-6715.  E-mail: sales@apstpe.   Web: www.apstpe.com.

BASF to Increase Prices for Polyamide 6 and Polyamide 6,66 Polymers in North America

December 15. 2010 - Florham Park, NJ - BASF will increase the price for Polyamide 6 and Polyamide 6,66 by $0.10 per pound effective Jan. 3, 2011.

This increase covers nylon polymer for spinning, monofilament, film, wire and cable applications, and neat resin for compounding.

Current market conditions and increasing raw material cost necessitate this adjustment.

For more information contact:

Kathy Dennis
BASF Corporation
Tel: (973) 245-6288
E-mail: kathy.dennis@basf.com

BASF - The Chemical Company.

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 15,000 employees in North America, and had sales of approximately $17.5 billion in 2008. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.us.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008 and had approximately 97,000 employees at the end of that year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

DSM to Complete Divestment Program Through Sale of DSM Elastomers

December 14, 2010 - Heerlen, Netherlands - Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, today announces that it has reached an agreement regarding the sale of the remaining part of DSM Elastomers (DSM Elastomers) to LANXESS for € 310 million on a cash and debt-free basis. The intended sale is expected to close in the first months of 2011, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals and notifications.
 
The intended sale of DSM Elastomers, producer of EP(D)M rubber under the brand name Keltan®, is a result of DSM's ambition to focus on Life Sciences and Materials Sciences. DSM Elastomers no longer fits with this focus. Earlier this year, DSM sold the business unit Thermoplastic Elastomers (Sarlink®), formerly part of this business group, to Teknor Apex Company.
 
The price for the DSM Elastomers business represents an EBITDA multiple of roughly 6 based on the expected EBITDA of 2010. DSM expects to report a book profit of more than € 100 million as a result of the transaction upon closing. Approximately 420 employees will transfer to the new owner upon closing.
 
This announcement represents the final stage of the transformation of DSM that began with the divestment program DSM announced in September 2007 as part of its Accelerated Vision 2010 program. Previously, DSM finalized the divestments of DSM Agro, DSM Melamine, Citric Acid, Stamicarbon as well as its energy interests. Total divestment proceeds - including the proceeds from the intended sale of DSM Elastomers - are expected to be about € 1.2 billion.
 
Feike Sijbesma, CEO/Chairman of the DSM Managing Board, said: "The sale of DSM Elastomers completes our Vision 2010 strategy to become a focused Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company. This transformation has been achieved within our desired timeframe and at favorable conditions for our shareholders and employees. DSM has now entered a new era focused on driving growth and returns with enhanced earnings quality and confidence in meeting our medium-term targets." 
 
"We look forward to welcoming DSM's professional EPDM team as well as its impressive assets to our core synthetic rubber activities," said Axel C. Heitmann, LANXESS CEO. "The transaction will also be an important step towards our goal of achieving roughly EUR 1.4 billion EBITDA pre exceptionals in 2015."
 
Nico Gerardu, Member of the DSM Managing Board and responsible for the Base Chemicals and Materials cluster, commented: "Despite very challenging market conditions since we announced our intention to divest DSM Elastomers, we succeeded in announcing this sale within the timeframe of Vision 2010, as originally planned. I am very pleased that LANXESS has agreed to become the new owner for DSM Elastomers as there is a great strategic fit. I would like to thank all DSM Elastomers employees for their ongoing support and substantial contribution to DSM." 

DSM Elastomers produces a range of synthetic rubber polymers (ethylene propylene diene monomer or EP(D)M, under the brand name Keltan®. EP(D)M is used in many products, such as cars and other transportation vehicles, white goods, various industrial products and construction materials. It is also used as a motor-oil additive and waterproof covering for roofs. Production plants for Keltan are based in Sittard-Geleen (Netherlands) and Triunfo (Brazil). The business is expected to achieve sales of about EUR 380 million in 2010.
 
Additional information
Today DSM will hold a conference call for the media from 08.00 AM - 08.30 AM CET and a conference call for investors and analysts from 09.00 - 09.30 AM. Details on how to access these calls can be found on the DSM website, www.dsm.com. Also, more information can be found in the presentation that can be downloaded from the Investors section of the DSM website.
 
LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 5.06 billion in 2009 and currently around 14,500 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 42 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
 
DSM - the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company
Royal DSM N.V. creates solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance. Its end markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing. DSM manages its business with a focus on the triple bottom line of economic performance, environmental quality and social responsibility, which it pursues simultaneously and in parallel. DSM has annual net sales of about €8 billion and employs some 22,700 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information: www.dsm.com

BASF Foam for Optimal Theatre Acoustics

December 13, 2010 - BASF’s specialty foam Basotect® is used in the unique oval-shaped Genexis Theatre at Fusionopolis, Singapore to provide effective sound insulation for optimal theatre acoustics and comfortable entertainment experiences. The flame-retardant Basotect panels are covered with black fleece and fitted behind approximately 400,000 timber beads which line the curved walls of the theatre. Fusionopolis is a research and development complex located at the One North Business Park in Singapore.
 
Basotect contributes to audio quality and clarity. Thanks to its open-cell and fine foam structure, the foam makes an excellent material for sound absorption of reverberations caused by multiple reflection of sound on surfaces. These reverberations can increase sounds making them louder than music or speech and thus obtrusive to a theatre audience. “Owing to Basotect's favorable combination of thermal and acoustic properties and due to the unique structure of the theatre, which consists of heavily lined walls, the lightweight and flexible Basotect was the most suitable and cost-effective solution for this project”, said S. Y. Ong, Managing Director, VI-SON Acoustics, the acoustic systems supplier of the Genexis Theatre.
 
Suspended between the two towers of Fusionopolis Phase 1, the Genexis Theatre offers a capacity of 560 seats which can be configured to various layouts or retracted completely to accommodate corporate functions and conferences. Designed by Arup and WOHA, the Genexis Theatre won a President's Design Award for Design of the Year 2009.
 
Basotect is an open-cell foam and has a unique range of properties. The base material makes it flame-retardant and abrasive; it can be used at up to 240° Celsius while retaining its properties over a wide temperature range. Because of its open-cell foam structure, it is light (9 g/l), sound-absorbing, flexible even at low temperatures and thermally insulating. Basotect can be found in numerous construction projects in Asia, including the National Aquatics Center (China), Hefei Grand Theatre (China) and in stations of Seoul's Metro Line 9 (Korea).
 
Additional information is available at www.basotect.com

Victrex APTIV Film Improves Surface Finish of Prototype Parts Reducing Time and Costs

December 9, 2010 - West Conshocken, PA - Victrex Polymer Solutions, a high-performance polymer, film and coatings manufacturer, has announced that it has helped Stratasys, a leader in prototyping parts, develop a finishing solution for its polyphenylsulfone (PPSF/PPSU) parts. When Stratasys wanted a faster, more cost-effective alternative to manually finishing PPSF/PPSU parts, it used Victrex APTIV™ film, to develop a thermoforming solution for surface smoothing. When compared to traditional finishing methods such as hand sanding, the new thermoforming process can reduce lead time by 75 percent and cost by 90 percent.

The company’s technology creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from a 3D CAD program using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. “Because PPSF/PPSU is a tough and durable plastic, it can be more challenging to finish with traditional means,” explained Jesse Hanssen, Application Engineer at Stratasys.  Another traditional method for achieving a smooth surface is milling. However, milling would negate many of the advantages of the FDM process, Hanssen says. “In addition, to prepare for machining, time is needed for CAM programming and machine set-ups. Machining also requires that an operator oversee the process.”

With the company’s new thermoforming finishing process, a thin sheet of APTIV film is drawn onto the surface of the PPSF/PPSU part.  “The film conforms to the part’s shape leaving a smooth outer surface,” said Hanssen.  “We chose APTIV film because it preserves the mechanical, thermal and chemical advantages of PPSF/PPSU and adds value to the part.”

APTIV film is the most versatile, high performance film available, providing all the performance properties of VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer in a flexible format.  APTIV film offers a unique combination of properties including high temperature performance, mechanical strength,
chemical resistance, electrical insulation, excellent wear and abrasion resistance, purity, radiation resistance, and low moisture absorption.

Smoothing a PPSF/PPSU part by using thermoformed APTIV film is a relatively simple operation that requires few modifications to a standard thermoforming process.  “Essentially the APTIV film is formed directly onto the part which serves as the thermoforming mold,” explained Hanssen. 
 
Once the PPSF/PPSU part is built, explained Hanssen, the supports are removed in preparation for thermoforming.  During the thermoforming process, the PPSF/PPSU part is loaded into a vacuum forming machine along with a sheet of silicone-backed APTIV film.  The film is heated to 140-160°C (284-320°F) and drawn onto the PPSF/PPSU part as soon as it reaches its forming point.  As heat is applied, it will relax and become taut.  Once the APTIV film draws tight, the vacuum is quickly applied and held until the film cools.  “It conforms to the part’s shape while smoothing its surface,” said Hanssen.

For more information, please call (800) VICTREX or visit the Victrex website at www.victrex.com.

Husky Lightweighting Solutions Honored with “Best Innovation Award” by Coca-Cola China

December 9 2010 - Bolton, Ontario – Husky Injection Molding Systems has been recognized with the Best Innovation Award by Coca-Cola China. Xiuju Luan, CEO, COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages Limited and Dan Coe, Chief Procurement Officer, China Bottlers Procurement Consortium presented the award to Husky representatives as part of Coca-Cola China’s Supplier Sustainability Summit that took place in Shanghai from November 23-24, 2010.

The summit was attended by close to 150 representatives and allowed Coca-Cola China to present their 2020 Vision to suppliers, which focuses on addressing sustainability, environmental and social issues. The Best Innovation Award recognizes Husky for its support and innovation in working with Coca-Cola China on the development of various lightweighting projects.

“Husky has been a highly respected long-term supplier to our growing business in China. The Best Innovation Award presented to Husky was for the development of their EcoBase™ preform, which helped us to progress our lightweighting initiatives in China to another level,” said Dan Coe, Chief Procurement Officer, China Bottlers Procurement Consortium. “What I really like about the EcoBase preform is that it is both an advance on the sustainable packaging front, as well as a way to help lower the cost of our packaging.”

“We are delighted to have been honored with the Best Innovation Award from Coca-Cola China,” said Gerardo Chiaia, President, Husky Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Ongoing innovation is a priority for Husky and we are continuously looking at how to improve our products and services in ways that will better serve our customers’ needs and help them to be more sustainable.”

About Husky

Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. (www.husky.ca) is a leading global supplier of injection molding equipment and services to the plastics industry. The company has more than 40 service and sales offices, supporting customers in over 100 countries. Husky’s manufacturing facilities are located in Canada, the United States, Luxembourg and China.