Materials

The Taiwanese company Air Fom is offering a patented solution for airless tires that overcomes the drawbacks of previous airless products. It is based on an expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (eTPU) from Covestro. Solid rubber tires have been on the market for quite a while now, but just like earlier...

Specialty chemicals company Lanxess is increasingly making use of recycled raw materials in the production of its thermoplastic compounds and composites. “We want to help make the switch from a throw-away society to a circular economy. Our goal is to make more and more of our plastic products sustainable so that we can make our growth...

The global masterbatch producer, Ampacet, has introduced the Silky Bliss collection, designed to provide an elegant silky surface treatment as well as NIR sortability to PET and rPET packaging applications. Silky Bliss offers a sophisticated, modern look, enabling brand owners to increase product shelf appeal and...

Kevin McQuade, who has led Ineos Styrolution as Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2015 has been appointed as Chairman of the company. Steve Harrington, currently President Global Styrene Monomer and Asia-Pacific for Ineos Styrolution, has been appointed as CEO reporting to Kevin. The change will be effective from July 1, 2020...

The Pan-European trade association representing plastics manufacturers, PlasticsEurope, has appointed Markus Steilemann, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Covestro, as its President. He succeeds Javier Constante who recently became President of Dow Latin America. In this new role Steilemann will drive forwards the association and its...

High-end domestic appliance producer Miele has selected Elix Polymers’ high-flow ABS grade 118HF for its new battery-powered vacuum cleaner model, the Triflex HX1. Elix Polymers developed the grade specifically for the application, with improved rheological properties that enable a reduction of wall thickness of the vacuum cleaner housing parts...

To improve the recyclability of plastics while offering packaging and product developers more color options, Clariant continues to develop new technology. The latest development is a range of deep, dark colors that normally would have required the use of carbon black pigments that makes them undetectable by the near-infrared (NIR) sensors used in…

Few sectors face as many critical challenges or as vitally important to humankind, as healthcare. Today the world faces a very serious challenge with the current pandemic and in response to this, Sabic’s engagements with its customers have focused on delivering larger volumes of Sabic Purecares polypropylene (PP) materials for manufacturing of...

The Supervisory Board of Basf has elected Kurt Bock as its new chairman. Bock had previously been elected to the Supervisory Board of Basf by the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting as a shareholder representative. The term runs until the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in 2024...

The association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, European Bioplastics appointed Joanna Dupont-Inglis as new Head of European Public Affairs. She assumed her position on June 1, 2020, and will be based in Brussels. Bioplastics play a crucial role in helping to achieve the European Green Deal. The deal...

On June 12, during the General Assembly of European Plastics Converters, Renato Zelcher, CEO of Crocco, has been re-elected as EuPC President for the period 2020-2022. While the annual two-day conference A Circular Future with Plastics had to be postponed by one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, the EuPC members met...

The global masterbatch producer Ampacet has introduced Laser Mark 1001074-E and Laser Mark 1001088-E, two cost-effective solutions that enable high definition, high contrast laser marking on clear and dark surfaces using NdYAG laser systems. Because of most plastics cannot be detected by laser beams, an additive is added to...

In 2019, VinylPlus, the Voluntary Commitment to sustainable development of the European PVC industry, recycled 771,313 tonnes of PVC - more than 96% of the programme’s 2020 target. The PVC industry is well on track to meet VinylPlus’ ever more challenging recycling targets for 2025, in line with the Circular Economy and the ambition...

Leading ABS producer Elix Polymers is collaborating with a large group of companies within ClusterMAV, the Advanced Materials Cluster of Catalonia, Spain, in the fight against Covid-19. The partners are working in collaboration with the National Federation of Innovative Business Groups and Clusters (Fenaeic), which focuses on promoting...

The leading European trade association representing plastic pipe manufacturers in Europe, Teppfa, announced that Tom Van Gyseghem will join as the new president for the next two years with immediate effect. He was nominated by the Teppfa Executive Committee and unanimously approved by the...

Basf and Red Avenue New Materials Group have signed a joint agreement that grants Red Avenue New Materials Group the license to produce and sell certified compostable aliphaticaromatic co-polyester (PBAT) according to high Basf quality standards. For that purpose, Red Avenue New Materials Group will build a 60,000 metric tons PBAT plant in...

In a live webcast held on May 26, Covestro CEO Markus Steilemann explained the role that the company of Leverkusen and the whole chemical industry are playing in moving towards a circular economy. Speakers who attended the event included industry experts such as Volker Sick, director of the Global CO2 Initiative, and Jacob Duer...

Borealis has announced  the appointment of Erik van Praet as Vice President Innovation and Technology effective 1 April 2020. Erik van Praet succeeds Maurits van Tol, who decided to pursue his career outside of Borealis in October 2019. Van Praet started his career with Borealis in 1995 as development engineer in...

Recalling a food product from the market can have very serious consequences for the supplier and production chain involved. Whole sectors can suffer considerable damage to their image and reputation if polluted foodstuffs are allowed to go on sale, and this situation can have huge legal and economic repercussions, which are potentially fatal for...

RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers announced a reorganization of its sales network in Germany: starting on May 18, 2020, B.Bigler has been appointed as the distributor for the German market for a wide product range including Radilon, Heramid, Radiflam, Radistrong, Raditer, Heraflex, Torzen and Raditeck...