PVC | ADDITIVES
Bouncing back in PVC
As we edge towards pandemic recovery, producers of PVC additives are dealing with supply chain issues while pushing ahead with product developments, writes Peter Mapleston
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the world on many levels, from the personal through to business, and it is still some way from being over. After dealing with the challenges of restrictions on movement and factory operation and huge shifts in product demand, manufacturers across various sectors are now having to cope with supply chain disruptions. When it comes to various types of additives for PVC, for example, producers and users alike have had to work out ways to handle sourcing issues as well as pushing forward with other product and application developments. Swiss company Sanitized supplies material
protection and hygiene additives. “Like major parts of the industry, this sector was — depending on the region and country — more or less heavily affected by lockdowns and other restrictions resulting from the pandemic. Now that these difficulties have rather disappeared in the last quarter of the past year, a major part of the PVC industry is now struggling with significant problems in procuring the necessary raw materials,” says Michael Lüthi, Head of the Polymer Additives BU at the company. “We know of major development divisions that deal almost exclusively with reformulations of
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products with substitute raw materials. This shortage of raw materials is also problematic because in many cases, it is difficult to pass on the resulting hefty price increases in this industry to customers,” he says. However, Lüthi says that many of the company’s customers have been fortunate enough to have weathered these turbulent times relatively well financially. “Safety equipment and high demand for items for craftsmen and handymen have provided great business opportunities that we seized in many areas,” he says. The post-Covid period has seen the biocide additive component in PVC formulations undergo a major shift in importance. “Whereas [the] bioc- ide’s main task used to be material protection — protecting end products from microbe infestations and all the undesired consequences — integrated hygiene function in PVC is also in very high demand today,” he says.
“By specifically choosing and using a suitable biocide additive, it is possible to enhance the final product with an integrated hygiene function such as anti-bacterial or anti-viral surface protection,” Lüthi explains. “This additional function is very important for buyers and end-users, namely for floor cover-
June 2021 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 45
Main image: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global supply chains is one of the challenges facing the PVC additives sector
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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