Plastics News - Show Daily - October 15, 2024 - 13

FAKUMA 2024
Plastics News, October 15, 2024 * 13
Materials suppliers focus on customers' future needs at Fakuma
By Frank Esposito
Plastics News Staff
Materials suppliers Avient
Corp., Benvic Group, Hexpol and
Albis are at Fakuma 2024 with
products to meet their customers'
needs in 2024 and beyond.
Avient of Avon Lake, Ohio,
(B5-5106) will launch two new
product lines at the show. The
first new materials are recycled-content
thermoplastic
elastomers (TPEs) offering up
to 60 percent post-consumer
recycled (PCR) content. The
second new line is a group of
metallic pre-colored sulfone
compound colorants offering
gold, bronze and silver aesthetic
effects.
The new recycled-content TPEs
use material from either PCR
streams or a combination of PCR
and post-industrial recycled (PIR)
raw materials. Offi cials said the
new materials
offer a reduced
product carbon footprint (PCF)
compared with virgin TPEs.
The new metallic effect sulfone
compounds can emulate fi nishes
that use metal without the weight
and secondary processing, but
with the benefi ts of sulfone polymers,
including ultra-high temperature
and chemical resistance.
Offi cials said the new materials
are especially useful for consumer
goods, aerospace and health
care. The new line can support
extended shelf life, multiple sterilizations,
lower energy requirements
and lower volatile organic
compound (VOC) emissions.
Avient is one of North America's
largest producers of compounds,
concentrates, composites and
protective fi bers. The fi rm posted
sales of $3.1 billion in 2023.
Benvic
At Fakuma 2024, compounding
fi rm Benvic (B3-3315) is focused
on developing " innovative ecological
solutions " for polymer-based
manufacturing and for the wider
circular economy, offi cials said in
a news release.
" All of our customers are now
facing huge challenges in their use
of eco-friendly materials, " Marketing
Manager Eric Grange said. " All
factors must be considered, from
design to manufacturing to disposal
to second-life options. "
Over the past fi ve years, offi cials
said, Benvic has moved from being
a pure player PVC compounder
to a solution provider across
polypropylene, thermoplastic
elastomers and halogen-free polyolefi
ns. They added that future
challenges in the global PVC cable
industry have led Benvic to help
legacy customers substitute new
halogen-free polyolefi ns and TPE
compounds at effective cost.
Benvic also gives its customers
advance warning of legislative
and regulatory developments and
steers them toward compliant
solutions and continuing business.
" Our know-how in these areas
and our market positioning is
not simply on behalf of PVC alternatives, "
Grange said. " It's also
about developing new market segments,
where custom materials
have to be developed for specifi c
needs or process optimization. "
In PVC, Benvic recently has integrated
post-consumer materiMaterials
suppliers
Avient Corp., Benvic
Group, Hexpol and Albis
are at Fakuma 2024
with products to meet
their customers' needs
in 2024 and beyond.
als. The fi rm also has invested in a
dedicated manufacturing unit for
these materials. " The continuing
orientation toward the circular
economy is leading global manufacturing
to develop new solutions
where recycled content and
bio-sourced are the main alternatives, "
Grange said.
Dijon, France-based Benvic
was acquired in 2022 by private
equity fi rm International Chemical
Investors Group of Frankfurt.
Investindustrial Growth, another
European private equity group,
had owned Benvic since 2018.
Benvic was founded in 1963
as a subsidiary of plastics and
chemicals giant Solvay Group of
Brussels. The fi rm made 10 acquisitions
from 2019-22, most recently
buying Trinity Specialty Compounding
of West Unity, Ohio, in
early 2022.
Today, Benvic is part of a larger
business that has annual sales of
500 million euros ($548 million).
The fi rm operates eight production
sites in the U.S. and Europe.
Hexpol TPE
Hexpol TPE (B1-1115) is presenting
a further expansion of
its Dryfl ex Circular TPE materials
with post-consumer and/or
post-industrial recycled content
at Fakuma.
" Our fi rst TPEs with recycled
content were sold in 2005, " Group
Product Manager Thomas Koppl
said in a news release. " We're constantly
evaluating recyclate sources.
These latest developments are
part of our ongoing work to bring
TPEs to the market that deliver on
performance and product safety
and push the possibilities using
recycled materials. "
Hexpol of Malmö, Sweden, has
developed new TPE materials
with higher levels of PCR content.
TPEs with 20-75 percent content
are available in natural and other
colors. Offi cials said that compared
with equivalent virgin TPE
grades, these PCR grades enable
a carbon footprint reduction of up
to 35 percent.
TPEs with recycled content
for multicomponent applications
also have been developed by Hexpol.
TPEs with 35-60 percent PCR/
PIR content that offer adhesion to
PP, nylon, polycarbonate and other
resins are available. One grade
of Dryfl ex PCR can be used for
power tools, offi cials said.
In November 2023, Hexpol acquired
Chicago-area TPE compounder
Star Thermoplastic Alloys
and Rubbers Inc. for $26.5
million. Star employs 30 at a
90,000-square-foot location.
Albis Group
Distributor Albis Group (B45206)
is
showcasing
extrusion
applications in addition to sustainable
product solutions. In a news
release, CEO Horst Klink said the
Hamburg, Germany-based fi rm
" can deliver optimal solutions
even for complex and technically
demanding projects. "
Albis has expanded its range
of recycled, biocircular and biobased
plastics. The fi rm now has
more than 75 product lines in its
sustainable portfolio, which offi -
Avient Corp. photos
cials said is one of the largest in
the plastics industry.
" Sustainability is not a trend, "
Klink said. " It is a necessity and
will be crucial for the economic
success of companies. "
Albis distributes about 1 billion
pounds of materials per year. In
2020, Albis spun off its compounding
unit into a separate business
that operates as Mocom.
Both units are part of Hamburg-based
Otto Krahn Group.
Plastics recycler Wipag and
chemicals distributor Krahn Chemie
also are part of the group.
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Plastics News - Show Daily - October 15, 2024

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