A company that makes plastic masterbatches based on unusual flow additives will begin production of liquid versions of the additive for a wider range of markets.
Hybrid Plastics Inc. said it will make a multimillion dollar investment in its Hattiesburg, Miss., plant to boost availability of liquid POSS by 500 percent by late 2014. POSS is a combination of silicone and organic chemistry that improves flow and dispersion performance of standard chemical additives. It acts like a combination ceramic/organic molecule. POSS stands for polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, which has a regular inorganic cage structure.
Hybrid Plastics says in addition to boosting fluid properties, POSS is an aid to manufacturing at the nanometer scale.
The company said liquid POSS is being well received in industries like personal care, coatings, paints and oil and gas.
Hybrid Plastics makes a range of POSS masterbatches using polypropylene, cyclic polyolefin, polyphenylene oxide, nylon 6, polyetheretherketone and polyetherimide.
When its expansion is complete, Hybrid Plastics' employment will increase from 20 to 30.