SABIC at Interplastica 2011
At Interplastica 2011, the SABIC family of plastics businesses, including Polymers and Innovative Plastics, will be exhibiting a broad array of materials, including the company’s latest innovations, which address the requirements of customers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Baltic nations.
Products for major industry sectors will be showcased, including infrastructure, packaging, lighting and new energy. As part of its comprehensive offering, SABIC operates a dedicated sales office in Moscow with a growing staff, and provides a strong logistical network and reliable supplies to ensure continuous availability for customers.
Geert Drummen, Managing Director Eastern Europe for Polymers, says; “Our strong growth in the region over the past two years is evidence that SABIC not only delivers a well-balanced, customer-focused portfolio with the best balance of quality and price but also backs our portfolio with excellent logistics and smooth operations. We also provide our customers with dedicated, hands-on support throughout the development process of our grades. Furthermore, we have expanded our local presence with additional expertise and services, and are building long-term relationships with local converters, resellers and moulders to ensure that customers receive exactly what they need, when and where they need it.”
“We are targeting the fast-growing new energy and energy efficiency sectors such as LED and solar with a broad range of existing and new products,” adds Al Ghelani, Regional Manager, Eastern Europe for Innovative Plastics. “We are also a major supplier to other key sectors such as electronics, automotive and appliances, offering sophisticated material technology solutions and breakthrough application development. With a well-established local team and global technology resources, we believe we’re well placed to deliver real value to customers in the CIS and the Baltic nations.”
SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business recently launched a new portfolio of specialty resins and compounds that can optimize the performance, lifespan and aesthetics of LED retrofit lighting.
These materials include non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame-retardant (FR) Lexan* polycarbonate (PC) resin and new white LNP* Konduit* thermally conductive specialty compound for LED heat sinks, which adds style to outstanding heat dissipation for extended bulb life.
SABIC has helped to boost a significant growth in the packaging market with its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) grades for blown and cast stretch film. These materials are widely used in shrink wrap, bags, food packaging and floral packaging.
Now the company has launched a combined low density polyethylene (LDPE)/LLDPE multi-layer film concept that benefits converters in many ways. By offering down-gauging opportunities, the multi-layer film concept reduces material requirements for cost savings. It also optimizes equipment performance for higher processing speeds and lower energy consumption.
Other new packaging innovations include the SABIC LDPE UMS ( Ultra Melt Strength) line for foam applications. By lowering density while maintaining mechanical properties, and also improving thermal performance, these products can deliver significant savings in materials and energy. From an environmental standpoint, SABIC LDPE UMS grades can reduce the amount of packaging material needed by providing superior insulation and shock absorption. Applications include foam sheeting and foam sealing.
New clarified polypropylene (PP) grades for storage containers and other packaging applications offer improved optical performance and energy savings for converters. SABIC PP Qrystal random copolymer grades can be processed at significantly lower temperatures than comparable grades without loss of transparency, resulting in energy savings of up to 15 percent. SABIC PP Qrystal is a clear choice for housewares, office and home storage, lids and caps & closures. The SABIC PP Clearpact Range is unique on the market: it combines the transparency of a random copolymer with the impact of a block copolymer, giving a “best of both worlds” result for customers.
Infrastructure is another major CIS/Baltic market sector where SABIC has achieved notable growth. SABIC Vestolen PP random copolymer grades for drinking water pipes and fittings are heat stabilised to handle hot water transport. These high molecular weight materials offer excellent resistance to extraction and leaching.
SABIC Vestolen A RELY HDPE is used in high-pressure pipes where gas, water and sewage pipe infrastructure is being replaced. RELY stands for good reliability, which is critical for transporting potable water, gas and other valuable liquids, these bimodal high-density materials offer converters considerable energy savings and enable environmentally responsible pipe installation. Developers and contractors can select trenchless pipe installation such as guided boring and horizontal directional drilling that reduce impact on the environment.
Further demonstrating its commitment to sustainable technologies, the company has also recently launched its revolutionary new Strain Hardening method, a fast, cost-efficient and highly accurate method for evaluating the slow crack growth resistance behaviour of HDPE. This method avoids the use of detergents - that can pose an environmental hazard.
