Applications in flexible food packaging, building/construction, medical, more.

The first films made from EcoPaxx nylon 410 from Royal DSM of the Netherlands (U.S. office in Evansville, Ind.) have been introduced by DSM’s German development partner, MF-Folien, a leading expert in nylon film production.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Austria’s Borealis Group (U.S. office in Port Murray, N.J.) has acquired DEXPlastomers VOF, previously a Dutch 50/50 venture between Royal DSM of the Netherlands and ExxonMobil Chemical Co., Houston.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: New high-temperature and highly reflective resins from two suppliers are engineered for growing LED markets in display backlighting and general lighting:  •DSM Engineering Plastics of the Netherlands (U.S. office in Evansville, Ind.) has added a new grade of its unique nylon 4T for LED applications.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: DSM Engineering Plastics of the Netherlands (U.S. office in Evansville, Ind.) is offering what reportedly is the first high-temperature nylon for extrusion blow molded air ducts.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Citing unprecedented and continuing increases in the cost of raw materials, some nylon 6 suppliers have been aiming to lift prices since late last year.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: DSM Engineering Plastics of the Netherlands (U.S. office in Evansville, Ind.) has added two new halogen-free compounds of high-temperature Stanyl nylon 46 that are specially designed for connectors, sockets, and other electronic components.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: BASF in Wyandotte, Mich., hiked prices of its nylon 6 resin by 10¢/lb as of Feb. 1.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: This month, prices are due to rise for engineering thermoplastics, composite thermosets, and UHMW-PE:•DSM Engineering Plastics said it would hike nylon 6 resins early this month by 12¢/lb, following a similar move by BASF in March.

Last fall’s K 2010 fair in Germany drew dozens of materials suppliers to show off hundreds of new products, aimed especially at packaging,medical, automotive, and electrical/electronics.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Prices are rising this month and next for several materials by anywhere from 4¢ to 10¢/lb

WEB EXCLUSIVE: The 2010 Alfa Romeo Giulietta is the first Fiat car with a plastic charge-air-duct resonator to dampen noise in the turbo diesel engine system.

The K 2010 show will present new plastics materials for a wide range of industries, which makes it hard to generalize, but a few markets stand out prominently: packaging, medical, automotive, and electronic equipment.

Additives that render plastic compounds antistatic or electrically and/or thermally conductive are in hot demand.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: May will see a number of price hikes in nylons, styrenic block copolymers, and thermoset (unsaturated) polyesters:BASF hiked nylon 6 by 5¢/lb on May 3, while DSM raised nylon 6 extrusion and compounding grades 10¢ on May 1.

What are billed as the first primary plasticizers for PVC wire and cable with nearly 100% renewable content and a brand-new bio-based nylon were introduced last month.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: T-Conn, a major connector manufacturer in Taiwan, has chosen Stanyl ForTii as the halogen-free housing material for its wide range of battery connectors.

WEB EXCLUSIVE Royal DSM N.V. in the Netherlands will quadruple capacity this year for its new type of nylon, PA4T, which was introduced at the K 2007 show in Dusseldorf.

A new nylon 46 from DSM Engineering Plastics, Evansville, Ind., is aimed at high-brightness LEDS used in chip carriers for mobile phones, PDAs, and notebook PCs.

This first of two articles on directions in TPE development focuses on styrenic, copolyester, polyamide, and TP urethane elastomers. The following article covers olefinics—TPOs, TPVs, and POEs.

The industry’s first nylon 4T was introduced recently by the Dutch parent company of DSM Engineering Plastics, Evansville, Ind.

A new non-halogenated copolyester TPE has been launched by DSM Engineering Plastics, Evansville, Ind., as an alternative to PVC for cable insulation in consumer electronics.

WEB EXCLUSIVE — A new non-halogenated copolyester has been launched by DSM Engineering Plastics, Evansville, Ind., as an alternative to PVC for cable insulation in consumer electronics.

Major chemical companies are investing big bucks in new plants and technologies to produce plastics from annually renewable sources, not from petrochemicals.

Custom backlighting with color-converting plastics and robotic extrusion of door seals won two categories of the 37th Innovation Awards presented in November by the SPE Automotive Div.

A new high-productivity nylon 6 extrusion resin is said to offer a broad processing window for more uniform thickness distribution in cast film for packaging.

The Stanyl nylon 46 line from DSM Engineering Plastics, Evansville, Ind., has been expanded with a new high-flow series called Stanyl Super Flow.

 Higher flow, higher heat, higher barrier, higher clarity, higher stiffness, lower durometer, lower smoke, lower odor—materials exhibits at the recent K 2004 show in Dusseldorf were stretching the bounds of processing and performance properties in all directions.

Usage of polyamides in U.S. under-hood parts could double in the next decade if nylon 6 and 66 follow European trends toward large panels that not only protect but beautify the engine compartment.

Food and consumer packaging was the focus of new developments in polyolefins and styrenics, while automotive was the main target for new engineering materials.

Optimists view fuel-cell vehicles and power appliances as a coming bonanza for plastics processors. They see potential demand for billions of pounds of thermosets and engineering thermoplastics in plates, membranes, manifolds, pumps, plumbing, and more. But molding challenges and cost hurdles mean success won’t come easily.