Compounding

Houston—The same longevity that makes plastics desirous as a material draws the ire of environmentalists who decry the burgeoning amounts of the synthetic materials piling up in landfills. At the recent Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) International Polyolefins Conference in Houston, TX (Feb.

A. Schulman Inc. (Akron, OH) has expanded its presence in the North American masterbatch market, purchasing color concentrate manufacturer McCann Color Inc. (North Canton, OH) for less than $10 million in cash. In addition to specially formulated color concentrates, McCann Color supplies UV absorbers, dry color, flame retardant compounds, and toll compounding and blending.

Plastics and chemicals supplier Arkema has developed news channels for it to get its Graphistrength-brand multiwall carbon nanotubes into the hands of processors, including a masterbatch, CNTs specifically for elastomers, and solid concentrates for liquid epoxy and aqueous solutions.

A new grade of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reportedly offers improved dispersibility, making them well suited for use in mechanically sensitive polymers. Introduced at nano tech 2010 (Tokyo, Feb. 17-19), Baytubes C 70 P from Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen, Germany) also offer potential economic advantages generated by the shorter dispersion times required to mix the agglomerates in water and other low-viscosity liquids.

Independently compounded thermoplastics are projected to show some decent growth over the next few years as custom-tailored formulations become popular as a competitive edge among OEMs.

Carbon nanotube manufacturer Nanocyl (Sambreville, Belgium) will collaborate with distributor NRC - Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH to promote its NC 7000 multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) and Plasticyl thermoplastic concentrates into the German automotive market. Having taken effect Jan.

In two announcements this week, automotive OEM Ford Motor Co. showed progress in its efforts to build a "sustainable materials portfolio," offering details on cylinder head covers made from post-consumer nylon that was most recently carpet, and storage bins that use wheat straw to fortify polyropylene (PP).

After many years in which the company has been a regular at European trade shows, and has seen its business there expand, the Lancaster, PA-based manufacturer of de-dusting equipment for materials handling in the plastics and other industries has decided to establish a subsidiary in Vogt, Germany.

New ultraviolet protection additive masterbatches are said to give polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging the clarity that is desired without adding the yellow tinge common with these additives. According to the supplier, Ampacet (Tarrytown, NY), its CrystalClear PET UV additive masterbatch is 75% more effective than standard UV additives for PET and brings with it greater packaging clarity.

Breen Color Concentrates needs to make top quality pellets so its customers products can be top quality. Customers also often need a fast color match and shipment. Breen opted for a Quick Clean Color Change compounding line from Technical Process and Engineering Inc. (TPEI; Lehighton, PA), and not just for the name.