July 2010

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EXCLUSIVE: Three ‘Hot’ Areas of Compounding
Compounded materials that provide electrostatic dissipation, thermal conductivity, or antimicrobial activity are among the most active areas of development for markets as diverse as medical and automotive.... Learn more

Styron Makes Its Official Debut
Last month, Styron LLC, a former business unit of Dow Chemical Co., officially became a stand-alone company owned by Bain Capital Partners.... Learn more

Here’s Another Way to Bet on Plastics Prices
In May, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) launched two new plastics resin futures contracts. They are for blow molding grade HDPE (0.35 MI, 0.953 density) and film-grade butane LLDPE (1.0 MI, 0.92 density, barefoot or medium additive level). These contracts are not for physical delivery of resin, but are pure bets on price moves..... Learn more

Chinese TPEs Available Here
Alliance Polymers and Services LLC, Romulus, Mich., a year-old distributor of thermoplastic elastomers, has introduced an initial slate of at least 20 SEBS-based Maxelast TPE compounds produced by Polymax Elastomer Technology Co., Ltd. in Nantong, China..... Learn more

DSM Boosts Capacity for New Nylon
DSM Engineering Plastics of the Netherlands (U.S. office in Evansville, Ind.) has started up a new production unit that quadruples capacity for Stanyl ForTii, a unique nylon 4T that was introduced in 2007..... Learn more

RTi Resin Tip

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PE Prices Continue to Drop
PE pricing is down as much as $0.12 in the past two months. The decrease is due to most crackers being back on stream as well as reduced raw material costs. Export opportunities are limited due to lower polymer prices in the Far East. Downward pressure will continue so buy as needed over the next 30 days and closely watch the export market for change.
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Bemis Molds Chair Out of 111 Recycled Coke Bottles
The newest incarnation of the 66-year-old Navy Chair has been converted from aluminum to recycled PET with the aid of gas-assist injection molding at Bemis Manufacturing Co., Sheboygan Falls, Wis. Learn more

Low-Warp LCP Helps Improve Connector Molding
Samtec Inc., New Albany, Ind., a global producer of a broad line of electronic connectors, eliminated production defects in its largest-volume connector series by switching to Vectra E488i, a low-warpage liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) grade from Ticona Engineering Polymers, Florence, Ky. Learn more

	Special FR-PC/ABS for Dishwashers Working in close cooperation with the dishwasher department of BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH in Dillingen, Germany, Bayer MaterialScience developed a special flame-retardant PC/ABS with extraordinary resistance to hot, humid environments. Learn more		Bioresins for Deep-Freeze Packaging FKuR in Germany (U.S. office, FKuR Plastics Corp., Cedar Park, Tex.) has developed what is said to be the world’s first sustainable deep-freeze packaging made from renewable resources. The basis of this three-layer film structure is two of FKuR’s Bio-Flex compostable bioresin blends. Learn more		First Oil-Free, Low-COF TPE for Corks & Cap Liners A new line of oil- and plasticizer-free, reduced-friction TPEs is said to be the first of its type for synthetic wine corks and cap liners for beverage bottles. Learn more

PLASPEC Global is an online database of single-point and multi-point properties of plastics materials, including ASTM, ISO, and CAMPUS data. PLASPEC also contains processing data, a tradename index, applications library, biopolymers database, and links to technical literature on materials. Access it for free here.

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