Chinese polysulfone maker UJU New Materials Co. Ltd. is entering the North American market through a distribution deal with Conventus Polymers LLC.
The two firms are working to solve what officials described in a recent news release as “North America's polysulfone crisis.”
“Over the past few years, demand for polysulfone polymers has challenged supply, and PSU resin availability does not look much better for the remainder of 2016 and 2017,” they said in the release, adding that PSU makers Solvay Group and BASF SE have moved lead times to 20-30 weeks.
“In some cases, supply constraints have been so tight [that] converters and OEMs have turned down orders for their molded products or have had to move into PPSU [polyphenylsulfone], a more expensive product,” officials with UJU and Conventus added.
UJU, based in Guangdong province, also makes PPSU and is adding a second plant for production of both PSU and PPSU later this year. The firm also will commercialize polyethersulfone (PES) later his year as well.
“We patiently waited to enter North America until we had received important regulatory approvals,” sales and marketing vice president Steven Xu said in the release. “We are confident our product performs equally or better than many of the common grades being used today.”
UJU also has the ability to custom color its PSU resins by working with custom compounders in North America. The firm's distribution deal with Parsippany, N.J.-based Conventus is exclusive for North America.
“Our goal is to work with customers who have a genuine interest in a nimble supplier with robust quality, competitive prices and the ability to supply in a reasonable timeframe,” said John Jorgensen III, one of Coventus' owners.
Conventus distributes engineering and high-performance resins from several suppliers, including Techmer PM, Samsung, LG Chem and Idemitsu Kosan.
