KRAIBURG TPE, a global manufacturer of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and custom TPE solutions for a variety of industries, offers the THERMOLAST® H HC/AP series of compounds that can be used in designs of orthopedic equipment.

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) have been used in in orthopedic equipment due to the material’s functionality, durability and exclusive material properties. For this reason, KRAIBURG TPE’s innovative THERMOLAST® H HC/AP compound series offers the ideal material solution for various orthopedic equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches, knee joint braces, orthopedic walking boots and lumbar supports.

Apart from critical factors such as performance, weight, and properties – TPEs are also the choice material for many medical applications because of their high degree of purity (low level of extractable compounds), recyclability and cost-effectiveness. For medical equipment designers and manufacturers, the THERMOLAST® H HC/AP compound series offers many advantages, such as:

• Focused for Asia Pacific’s medical needs 

KRAIBURG TPE’s THERMOLAST® H series of compounds have been exclusively designed for the Asia Pacific healthcare and medical devices market.

• Compliance to many international standards

Their high-quality material solutions comply with various international standards, such as Cytotoxicity ISO 10993-5, GB/T 16886.5, as well as EU No. 10/2011, GB4806, FDA CFR 21, REACH and RoHS.

• Excellent properties

Amongst its advantages, THERMOLAST® H offers good adhesion to PP. It also provides excellent haptics with a soft touch surface feel, which are ideal for applications such as handles for crutches, wheelchairs as well as inner padding for knee joint brace and ankle brace.

• Easy-processing and sterilizable TPE in medical devices

KRAIBURG TPE, which specializes in the manufacture of application-specific custom-formulated TPE materials for injection molding and extrusion processes, also ensures that orthopedic equipment is safe for use and meets hygiene standards. Thus, the THERMOLAST® H compounds are sterilizable by autoclave 121°C and EtO.

• Free from animal and harmful ingredients

The compounds, which are free from animal ingredients, can replace the use of latex and PVC materials, since latex can cause allergic reactions.

• Excellent adhesion and sealing

KRAIBURG TPE’s compounds are cost-effective and offer excellent sealing and adhesion performance.

• Color and design flexibility

The THERMOLAST® H is offered as translucent and in-house precoloring is also possible, subject to specific project requirements. Orthopedic equipment product designers will find this It compound series advantageous because of its design flexibility and application possibilities.

First-of-its-kind plant for the production of EHV AC & DC cable insulation materials to be built in Tarragona, Spain

Pratteln/Switzerland, June 2022. Buss AG has been awarded a contract for the realization of a 27kta production plant for crosslinkable polyethylene XLPE cable compounds by Repsol, a global multi-energy company offering a wide range of solutions for different types of cables.

The new, patented LSHC™ process („Linear Short Hyper Clean“) has been developed by Buss AG in close cooperation with P&M Cable Consulting LLC, a Swiss based consulting firm in the field of cable compounds. It offers access to, among others, various High Voltage (HV) and Extra High Voltage (EHV) insulation materials, exhibiting superior product quality and process efficiency compared to the well-known soaking technology. XLPE grades for both, alternating (AC) or direct current (DC) cable applications are readily produced with this innovative and flexible process.

The LSHC™ technology relies on direct peroxide injection and gentle compounding of a newly developed additive cocktail by using BUSS state-of-the-art COMPEO™ co-kneader series, allowing at the same time for significantly reduced capital expenses and clean room requirements. Further advantages are the compact plant design without high-rise soaking tower and improved cleanliness and physical-electrical properties of the produced materials.

Buss AG is proud to work with Repsol on the realization of this first-of-its-kind industrial production plant and will eagerly continue the excellent collaboration towards the scheduled start-up in mid-2024. The LSHC™ technology is available to BUSS customers world-wide on the basis of a competitive licensing model. A corresponding pilot plant for production of HV and EHV materials will be available around the end of this year at the BUSS Campus in Pratteln, Switzerland.

BUSS is an international market leader in compounding systems for demanding applications. As the original manufacturer of the Co-Kneader technology, the company offers unique compounding solutions that set the benchmark for heat- or shear-sensitive applications in the plastics, aluminium, chemical and food industries. The core competence is customer and application specific solutions for advanced compounding tasks in line with the high demands on process technology and product quality as well as the continuously increasing technological market needs. BUSS has a strong global presence in wire and cable applications with reference plants for low voltage materials, HFFR compounds, filling compounds, conductive layers and insulation materials ranging from medium to extra-high voltage applications.

P&M Cable Consulting LLC has become the leading consulting firm in the Wire and Cable industry, established in 1993. Thanks to its lifelong experience in the field, P&M Cable Consulting supplies the most advanced expertise over five continents.

Concept facilitates swift, co-creative development of new packaging types

The ALPLA Group is accelerating the roll-out of new plastic packaging solutions with the opening of the innovative product development space STUDIOa at the company headquarters in Hard, Austria. Customers can visit this one-stop shop to help complete the development process in a matter of days, from the first design draft and a prototype to the finished packaging.

3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, real-time cost control and optimum technical service – the packaging specialist ALPLA is taking product development to the next level with the STUDIOa design centre. ‘STUDIOa stands for everything we believe in – great design, top technical performance and a swift roll-out. This one-stop shop is the ideal space in which to develop innovative, safe and sustainable packaging solutions for the future together with our customers,’ explains ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner at its official inauguration at the company headquarters in Hard.

With its innovative STUDIOa, ALPLA is focusing on the close coordination of technology, product development and sales. ‘When we work directly with the customer in the same space and the decision makers are there in person, we can shorten the development time, bring new products to market faster and secure a competitive edge,’ says Norman Häusler, Director of Corporate Product Development, with conviction.

Design experience space
Interdisciplinary ALPLA teams attend a number of design sessions and workshops at STUDIOa developing new packaging types together with customer delegations. In addition to design experts, these involve the expert input of technical specialists in the fields of production, mould construction and process technology. ‘This means a design’s feasibility and recyclability can be checked, optimised and adapted in the early stages of a project, thereby saving time and money,’ Häusler emphasises.

And the space offers more on top – a 3D printer produces prototypes immediately after design modifications, virtual reality glasses provide an initial product preview and augmented reality (AR) is used to simulate the packaging placed on the supermarket shelf.

Global product development
With its seven Technical Centers around the world, ALPLA promotes regional product development for its local customers. The new STUDIOa design centre in Hard follows in the footsteps of the concept successfully applied at the site in Atlanta, USA, since 2015. A customer-oriented development space was also opened in Toluca, Mexico, in mid-2021. Another STUDIOa is currently under development in Shanghai.

Info: www.studio-a.design

First System House in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for more sustainable MDI version

Pearl Polyurethane Systems, the leading polyurethane (PU) systems house in the Middle East and Africa region, will in future receive climate-neutral1 MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) from Covestro. It is climate-neutral from cradle to the factory gate1 of Covestro, thanks to the use of alternative raw materials – based on plant waste – that are allocated to the products using certified mass balancing according to ISCC PLUS.

The new MDI enables Pearl to help its downstream customers reduce their carbon footprint by offering a broader portfolio of more sustainable raw materials as part of its newly rebranded EcoPearl product range. The new MDI grades from Covestro can be used in numerous construction, cold chain and automotive applications.

Pearl is the first system house in the EMEA region to receive the carbon-neutral1 MDI from its former joint venture partner and long-time supplier Covestro. The latter has already received ISCC-PLUS certification for five of its 16 main sites and is able to supply climate-neutral MDI from its sites in Uerdingen, Germany, and Caojing, China.

Following a comprehensive ISCC audit to trace the supply chain and assess raw material sustainability requirements, Pearl became the first local polyurethane systems house to be ISCC certified in March 2022, enabling it to verify the various sustainability credentials for its product formulations and raw materials used. The certification followed an internationally recognized five-step process and allows end users to measure the sustainability performance of the ISCC-certified products they use.

In the context of commercial building insulation, ISCC PLUS certification allows end users and tenants of such buildings constructed with Pearl-supplied insulation products to easily measure and verify the sustainability performance of the buildings they occupy. This is a factor that is becoming increasingly important to businesses as consumer interest in the environmental impact of companies grows.

“This mass-balanced carbon neutral MDI further enriches our broad portfolio focused on the circular economy and responds to the growing demand for more sustainable products,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. “By working with multipliers such as Pearl Polyurethane and helping a growing number of downstream users in various industries achieve their sustainability goals, together we are accelerating the transition to the circular economy.” Covestro plans to further expand its portfolio of carbon-neutral products.

Martin Kruczinna, CEO of Pearl Polyurethane Systems, commented, “rigid polyurethane foam, as a superior insulating material, plays an important role in meeting the Paris Agreement to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius at best. Just as Covestro is leading the way among PU raw material producers to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, Pearl is acting as an agent of change in the PU systems industry, giving its customers a competitive advantage by helping them adapt to greener technologies and improve the thermal insulation performance of their products. The addition of carbon neutral1 MDI-based solutions to our newly named EcoPearl product range helps our customers achieve their emission reduction and circular economy goals.”

Change in the Management Board of ALTANA AG

At the beginning of next year, Dr. Christoph Schlünken will hand over his Management Board responsibilities to Dr. Tammo Boinowitz

The specialty chemicals group ALTANA has announced a change in the composition of its Management Board. Dr. Christoph Schlünken will retire at the end of this year and hand over his board responsibilities to Dr. Tammo Boinowitz as of January 1, 2023. Dr. Boinowitz is President of ALTANA’s largest division, BYK, and for the time being will continue to hold this position in parallel.

Dr. Christoph Schlünken (60) joined the ALTANA Group in 2001 as Managing Director of ELANTAS GmbH, having held various sales and marketing positions at the former Bakelite AG since 1994. In 2005, the PhD chemist took over as President of the ECKART division. As part of the rotation of all four division presidents, Dr. Schlünken became head of BYK in November 2012. In 2014, he was appointed to ALTANA’s Management Board.

“For more than 20 years, Christoph Schlünken has very successfully helped to shape ALTANA’s growth and corporate culture,” said Martin Babilas, Chairman of the Management Board of ALTANA AG. “For this achievement, he deserves our highest recognition and our warmest thanks. We wish him in advance all the best for his well-deserved retirement.”

In his new role as ALTANA Management Board member, Dr. Tammo Boinowitz (55) will be responsible for the BYK and ECKART divisions as well as the central functions Key Account Management, Innovation Management, Environment, Health & Safety, ALTANA Excellence, and Procurement. Dr. Boinowitz already has more than 25 years of experience within the specialty chemicals sector with a focus on customers, technology, and innovation. Until 2020, Dr. Boinowitz, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, held various management positions at Evonik. At the beginning of 2021, he moved to the ALTANA Group where he became President of the BYK division.
“Tammo Boinowitz is not only ideally suited professionally but has already proven his expertise as well as his value-oriented leadership style within the ALTANA Group,” said Babilas. “We are looking forward to working with Tammo Boinowitz on the ALTANA Management Board and already wish him great success and joy in his future position. Together, we will continue ALTANA’s story of sustainable profitable growth.”

As of January 1, 2023, the Management Board of ALTANA AG will thus consist of Martin Babilas (Chairman), Dr. Tammo Boinowitz, and Stefan Genten.

Multi-touch Conquers The International Board Market

Flawless, smooth surfaces are mandatory for floor boards, refrigerator panels and optical panels such as those built into TV sets. Precisely for these applications, battenfeld-cincinnati now offers sheet and board extrusion lines with a Multi-Touch roll stack, which will be exhibited at the company’s booth. Although the technology was originally developed for PP sheet extrusion, these special roll stacks have caught the attention of numerous board extrusion companies in recent years. Since the previous K in 2019, several lines have gone into operation with outstanding results in terms of tolerances and flatness. These extrusion lines are already well-established in the international market and running in many countries around the world.

The Multi-Touch roll stack achieves its competitive edge in terms of flatness and flawless surfaces of the boards produced from PS or PP through the particularly long, intense contact between the smoothing rolls and the product, large number of smoothing gaps and the even cooling on both sides. For this purpose, every Multi-Touch roll stack comes with a pre-calibration and a recalibration unit. First, the extruded melt passes through the flat-sheet die into a roll stack consisting of two rolls for pre-calibration. This is followed by a recalibration unit which can be equipped with up to seven rolls, depending on specific product requirements. The long contact between the semi-finished product’s surface and the cooling rollers and the uniquely homogeneous cooling of the board ensure perfect dimensional stability plus high-quality visual attributes, and thus a wide range of applications for the products.

One product manufactured very successfully on a sheet extrusion line with a Multi-Touch roll stack from battenfeld-cincinnati is environmentally friendly floor coverings based on PP. In view of the downstream processing steps following the extrusion process, such as printing, and the fact that these types of boards may be exposed to high stress through solar radiation in later use, the standards for tolerances and flatness must be set extremely high. Due to the functional principle of Multi-Touch technology as described above, the produced boards perfectly meet all of these requirements.

Just like the more familiar PVC floor coverings, those made of PP are also dimensionally stable, abrasion- and water-proof, as well as foot-warm, yielding and footfall sound insulating. Therefore, they are very popular for commercial premises, offices and private homes. In contrast to PVC floor coverings, though, PP floor boards are significantly more compatible with the environment, since they are free of halogen and easily recyclable. First alternative floor coverings made of PP have even been awarded the German “Blue Angel” quality seal.