news
Metabolix launches amorphous PHAs
US-based bioplastics firm Metabolix has launched a new line of amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymer grades designed to be used as performance additives for PVC and PLA. The company said produc- tion is under way at a recent- ly expanded pilot plant and will ramp up to 275 tonnes/ year during 2016. Amorphous PHA is said
to offer a “fundamentally different performance profile” to crystalline forms of PHA, being softer and with a lower Tg. Metabolix claims that it can serve as a processing aid and performance modifier for PVC at low loading levels, while enhancing both productivity during processing and mechanical performance. Applications are envis- aged in floor backing materials that use PVC recyclate, highly-filled vinyl flooring systems, wire and cable insulation, roofing membranes, PVC/wood polymer composites and other construction materials. ❙
www.metabolix.com
Gabriel-Chemie grows in Italy with
TE.MA move
Austrian masterbatch maker Gabriel-Chemie has acquired Italy-based
TE.MA as part of plans to step up its activities in the Italian market.
TE.MA is based at Fara Gere
d’Adda in Nergamo and is a manufacturer of colour and additive masterbatches and technical compounds. It is particularly strong in products for flame protection and stadium seating applications. The newly-acquired
company will continue to be run by long-standing Managing
Director Dr Afrom Palla but will be renamed Gabriel-Che- mie Italia. According to Gabriel-Chemie, the move will allow it to adopt a nationwide approach to the Italian masterbatch market, which is the third largest in Europe with an estimated demand of 120,000 tonnes. The Italian acquisition
follows the Austrian firm’s opening last year of a new Spanish subsidiary, Gabriel- Chemie Ibérica, in Madrid. ❙
www.gabriel-chemie.com
Masterbatch firm
TE.MA is a major player in the stadium seating market
Lanxess completes US expansion
Lanxess has started up a second compounding line at its facility in Gastonia, North Carolina, US, doubling capacity at the site to 40,000 tonnes/year. The new capacity repre- sents an investment of around $15m. It will be used to compound PA and PBT with
additives and glass fibre to produce the company’s Durethan and Pocan product lines, which are mainly used for automotive applications. Gastonia is one of eight
worldwide sites run by the High Performance Plastics business unit of Lanxess,
Lanxess has invested $15m at its compounding plant at Gastonia, North Carolina
which also has operations in Germany, Belgium, China, India and Brazil employing about 1,500 people in total. The unit is part of Lanxess’s €4.1bn Performance Polymers segment. Lanxess said it expected
global demand for engineering plastics in automotive applications to grow by 7% a year to 2020, driven by both increased car production and the trend towards more fuel-efficient cars. It plans to invest €50-100m in the sector in the coming years. ❙
www.lanxess.com
Certification for recycled ELG Carbon Fibre
UK-based recycled carbon fibre supplier ELG Carbon Fibre has achieved AS/EN9100 quality management certifica- tion from Bureau Veritas for
14
recovery of carbon fibre from manufacturing waste and end of life products and manufac- ture of recycled carbon fibre materials and products.
COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2016 The company said that it
chose compliance with the quality standard to ensure it was able to meet requirements of the aerospace industry, one
of the largest users of carbon fibre including recyclate. ELG supplied 600 tonnes of
recycled carbon fibre in 2015. ❙
www.elgcf.com
www.compoundingworld.com
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