news
Dow implements new flame retardant in XPS
Dow Building Solutions has converted its three Styrofoam extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam plants in Japan to use new polymeric flame retardant (PolyFR) technology that is designed to be an alternative to HCBD additives. As previously reported in
Compounding World, Dow developed the high-molecular- weight brominated additive technology to replace HBCD. This has historically been the workhorse flame retardant in XPS and EPS (expanded polystyrene), but is being phased out in certain regions as a result of regulations. The ban comes into effect in Japan in May 2014, while the deadline in Europe is August 2015. Dow does not manufacture
PolyFR itself, but it has licensed the technology to the three leading producers of brominated flame retardants: Albemarle, Chemtura and ICL. These companies have built commercial production capacity for the new PolyFR amounting to a total of more
Dow is now using its polymeric flame retardant technology in extruded polystyrene foam
Breen Color acquired by investors
US-based masterbatch maker Breen Color Concentrates has been acquired by Capital Partners from another US private equity firm Spell Capital. Located in Lambertville,
than 14,000 tonnes/year at the end of 2013, and this will be expanded to more than 25,000 tonnes by the end of 2014. The PolyFR is a block
copolymer of polystyrene and brominated polybutadiene with a bromine content of 60-67 wt%. The polymeric nature of the additive means that it is inherently safer than existing “small molecule” products because of its limited bioavail- ability/toxicity. Dow is converting all of its
Styrofoam XPS foam plants in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan to the
new PolyFR technology. This is a phased process that started in Japan in 2013 and will be followed by the conversion of plants in Europe and North America. “This allows for a controlled
conversion process that meets our quality requirements in every region and at the same time ensures product avail- ability meeting global regula- tory demands,” said Inken Beulich, research & develop- ment director for Dow Building Solutions Europe and project leader for the new PolyFR. ❙
www.dow.com
New Jersey, Breen was founded in 1976 and acquired in 2006 by Spell Capital. Breen has histori- cally been heavily focused on the wire and cable industry, but in recent years it has also grown its activities in the extrusion, compounding and injection moulding markets. In 2009 it acquired the PVC colour business of Teknor Apex, while in 2012 it carried out a major expansion of its Lambertville facility. Howard DeMonte,
president of Breen, said: “We will miss our friends at Spell Capital but we are very excited and motivated to work with the Capital Partners team in our future growth endeavours”. ❙
www.breencolor.com
Addivant plans Chinese formulation centre
Antioxidants and stabilizers producer Addivant is to open a new customer formulation centre in Shandong, China. It will be the company’s first such facility in China and is sched- uled to come on stream on 1 August 2014. The centre will produce the
company’s proprietary NDB non-dust blends, and will
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complement existing customer formulation centres in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Addivant says that its
patented Anox NDB stabilizer blend technology enables up to eight components to be delivered in a single homog- enous product. “The expansion into China
COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2014
makes tremendous sense given the region’s position in new polymer production and the fast growth of its down- stream processing indus- tries,” said Peter Smith, the president and CEO of Addi- vant. “The facility will be further supported with an increase in our local technical organization who will work
alongside our customers.” Addivant is the antioxidant
and UV stabilizer business which was acquired from Chemtura by SK Capital Partners in 2013. Headquartered in Connecti-
cut, USA, the company operates a total of 11 plants on five continents. ❙
www.addivant.com
www.compoundingworld.com
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