news


Schulman invests in PET masterbatch capacity


Global plastic compounds, powders and resins manufac- turer A. Schulman has expanded its PET masterbatch compounding capacity by adding a new production line at its Bornem plant in Belgium. The first phase of the new line will be dedicated primarily to the production of additive concentrates and white PET masterbatch. Schulman sells PET compounds under the brand name PolyPet, mainly for food packaging applications. “The additional PET


capacity will reinforce our leading market position as a masterbatch provider for the European food packaging and BoPET film markets,” said Heinrich Lingnau, Schulman’s vice-president and general manager EMEA.


Schulman’s Heinrich Lingnau: targeting European food packaging and BoPET film markets


“Coupled with our extensive


technical and market knowl- edge as well as the existing polystyrene and polyolefin offering, this investment will enable us to meet our customers’ growing demand


for customized food packaging solutions,” added Frank Roederer, business unit director masterbatch, EMEA. l Separately, Schulman is moving its EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) shared service centre from Londerzeel in Belgium to Poznan, Poland. Isabel Casimiro, finance director for EMEA said that the company’s operations in Poland are strong and growing. “This action will not only benefit the region but will help to further develop our team in the country and leverage our previous success.” The move, which is expected


to save around €5 million per year, will take place in phases and is expected to be com- pleted by May 2016 ❙ www.aschulman.com


Hanwha Azdel expands


Michigan-based Hanwha Azdel is to increase capacity for its Azdel SuperLite brand of lightweight reinforced thermoplastic (LWRT) composite products at the site in Lynchburg, Virginia. This comprises additional space plus a new production line that is due to come on-stream in Q2. LWRTs are lower-density


forms of traditional glass-mat thermoplastic composites with a higher fibre-volume fraction. They are moulded by thermo- forming or used in sand- wich panel constructions. Hanwha Azdel said that


demand for LWRT is growing rapidly in both North America and Europe. ❙ www.hanwhaazdel.com


Nova assesses carbon footprint of natural fibres


The Nova-Institute in Germany has published the first findings of a sustainability assessment it has been carrying out within the EU’s MultiHemp project. Its preliminary results show that the carbon footprints of hemp, flax, jute and kenaf natural fibres are “decisively lower” than those of glass and mineral fibres. The four fibres, which are


increasingly being used in automotive biocomposites and insulation, have a carbon


Natural fibres such as Kenaf have been shown to have lower carbon footprints


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footprint of 0.5-0.7 tonnes CO2 equivalent during manufac- ture, compared to 1.7-2.2 for glass fibres. The gap shrinks


COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2015


during processing but, here too, the carbon footprint of the natural fibre composites is 20-50% lower. There are still some data gaps on green- house gas emissions in the production of natural fibres, which trials in Italy this year will address. The carbon footprints of the


different natural fibres are basically similar, with the lower emissions of jute and kenaf during harvesting being cancelled out by higher emissions during long-dis- tance transport to Europe. Another issue is the use of fertilisers, which have a high


share in the total emissions and which could be reduced by using organic instead of mineral fertilisers. However, these – in the form of pig slurry and fermentation residues – are only used for hemp grown in parts of the Netherlands and Germany. MultiHemp is a funded


project within the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme. It has brought together 21 European companies and others from science and industry “to achieve rapid targeted improvements in hemp produc- tivity and raw material quality”. ❙ www.nova-institut.de


www.compoundingworld.com


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