ORLANDO, FLA. (April 5, 5:50 p.m. ET) — Kraiburg Corp. is celebrating 10 years of being in the American market with a shift in production, as the TPE supplier is moving into olefin block copolymer (OBC) blends.

“This is a new direction for Kraiburg and is driven by customers looking for improved qualities such as better heptics – they want silky feeling TPEs,” Terry Freeman, director of sales and marketing, said in an interview. “They can be used in so many applications, consumer goods, electronics, anything that consumers touch.”

The blends span the 60-80 Shore A hardness range and are resistant to oils such as sebum or sunscreen lotion, says the company. The can be bonded with glass-filled nylon substrates.

At NPE2012 the company is also showing its new TPE polar alloys. The alloys are particularly good in wet environments, so can be used in medical applications, said Freeman.

“We don’t find medical regulations restrictive, even though there is a lengthy approval process of one to three years,” he added. “We have a unique two year supply agreements which help prevent problems in the development process.”

Hardness is around 50 Shore A and the alloys can be bonded to PP, PC/ABS and sometimes to nylon, depending on the formulation.

Kraiburg Corp. is part of Kraiburg TPE GmbH & Co. KG, based in Germany. Around 50 percent of the company operates out of Germany, 35 percent out of the United States and 15 percent out of Asia. The business is growing globally and is particularly strong in the United States, said Freeman.