ANAHEIM, CALIF. — In an effort to better connect customers with easy access to technical information and expertise, Eastman Chemical Co. has built an expansive web tool devoted all things Tritan, the company's popular copolyester offering.
The Tritan Technical Information Center, www.tritanmoldit.com, is meant to aid in the development of new medical devices and consumer durable goods by providing molders, processors and distributors a direct resource for processing solutions, sharing best practices and gaining technical expertise in injection molding with Eastman's Tritan copolyester.
“We needed to bridge the gap between our customers and the available technical information about Tritan,” said Steve Givens, a polymer applications scientist at Eastman.
“The mission here is to increase customers' understanding of Tritan and offer solutions to absolutely any technical question that comes up—early on, in final production, anywhere in between. Our plan is to build an online community of molders, OEMs, the whole gamut,” Givens said.
In addition to a wealth of information on the Tritan product line--from charts and FAQs to sections on specific mold and part designs and more than 6,000 images--the information center also offers a forum with an “ask an expert” feature. About 40 of Eastman's Tritan injection molding experts, with a total of more than 200 years of expertise between them, are standing by to answer development, technical or any other question within 24 hours.
“I remember the days when all the plastic suppliers all had technical support,” said Dale Emge, president of medical molder Permian Plastics, a Tritan user, who was tapped by Eastman to test drive the new web tool. “From a molders' perspective, I find this a refreshing change. We need the subtleties. We need to understand the best was to mold the product.”
Launched Feb. 11 at the MD&M West trade show in Anaheim, the new web tool had more than 1,600 views with visits to over 16,000 pages its first live week, according to Eastman.
Since its 2007 introduction, Eastman's Tritan has become a popular polycarbonate alternative, used in a growing number of non-internal medical devices and more than 600 food-contact products, ranging from serving and storing items to reusable sports bottles, infant care products and small appliances. Strong global demand is leading Eastman add about 35 million pounds of new capacity by mid-2014, a boost of more than 25 percent over its 2013 total of about 130 million pounds.