PVC FORMULATION | ADDITIVES
remains an issue, Hofer says, while systematic innovation is necessary to meet the ever-increasing demands of the customer base - recycling being a good example. IKA has now developed calcium- based products to replace liquid and tin solutions in almost all application areas. In January of this year IKA Group and Ingenia
Polymers incorporated a joint venture for produc- tion of stabilisers and additives to the North American PVC market. The Houston, Texas-based company — IKAvin Additives — marks another step in IKAs long term strategic growth, according to Hofer. It will focus on providing added value stabilisers and technical support for North American customers, including alternatives to tin in rigid PVC. IKA Group Board Member and co-owner Dr
Timo Seibel says the company will continue to focus on ensuring future sustainability along the full PVC supply chain and aims to expand its sustaina- ble-focused product lines worldwide. He says achieving the VinylPlus Supplier Certificate for incorporating sustainability in its corporate strategy last year, can be seen as confirmation of its con- stant efforts in this area. In addition to product development, IKA is also focusing on using energy from renewable sources, as well as on initiatives for closed loop recycling management and energy consumption reduction.
While the construction industry may be key to
PVC additive development, demand has been impacted by a slowdown in the sector and the wider economy, according to Dow. “As a result, there was a sudden drop-off in demand in Q4 of 2022, resulting in an overstocking of PVC additives from last year that the industry is still working through,”
says Azize Ala, North American Marketing Manager within the company’s Plastics Additives business. “Market signals suggest a continued slowdown in 2023 throughout the value chain coming off the wave of strong demand through the first half of 2022. Despite these challenges, the PVC industry is expected to grow in the next few years, with many PVC capacity expansions announced publicly over the past few years,” Ala says. Like other key players in the PVC additives
market, Dow sees sustainability as a priority in development terms and sees it high on customer priority lists. “This trend in sustainability has led to a significant emphasis on using post-consumer recycled materials in finished PVC products, influencing the development of additive products and how they handle re-processing and formulat- ing with different PVC recycle streams,” Ala says. Another notable trend she highlights is weight
saving. “By incorporating new additives designed for lightweighting and density reduction, PVC manufacturers can enhance the value proposition of their products for customers, while also reducing their environmental impact. Additionally, reducing the weight of PVC products can help to lower freight costs and improve product performance, making it an attractive option for manufacturers looking to meet sustainability goals.” Ala adds that new solutions are required for
recycling PVC, however, including addressing the demand and supply imbalance, developing additives to mitigate the challenges of variability in PVC recycle streams, and investigating ways to improve the compatibility of different plastic types. Additionally, she identifies a need for industry
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