Engineering resin makers introduce new products

Friedrichshafen, Germany — Makers of nylon and other engineering resins were front and center at the recent Fakuma trade show in Friedrichshafen.

ForTii was Royal DSM's favorite number at the event. The Dutch materials maker promoted a new grade of the high-performance nylon — called ForTii Ace — for water management care. The material, introduced at K 2016, was developed for demanding drinking water applications.

"Water consumption is increasing globally," said Europe Commercial Director Joost d'Hooghe. The new ForTii grade "completes our portfolio in water management," he added.

The ForTii Ace grade has 30 percent glass fiber content and has proven superior retention of properties in long-term water contact, officials said.

For structural parts, ForTii can provide both temperature and chemical resistance, according to automotive program manager Tim Vorage. ForTii Ace also has been commercialized in a part for a weed trimmer.

DSM employs 25,000 worldwide and has annual sales of around 10 billion euros ($11.8 billion).

Officials with Ascend Performance Materials LLC said that the Houston-based firm plans to add capacity for multiple products, including nylon 6/6 resins and compounds. Ascend first will add capacity for adiponitrile feedstock at its plant in Decatur, Ala., nylon commercial operations vice president Scott Rook said.

Rook declined to provide details of the expansion, but said the project will create new jobs and that it "will meet [Ascend's] needs." He estimated the global nylon 6/6 market will need an estimated 385 million pounds of annual adiponitrile capacity in the next five years.

"Capacity is very tight in the industry," Rook said.

Over the next two to three years, Ascend also will add production capacity for nylon 6/6 resins and compounds, as well as for hexamethylenediamine (HDM) and adipic acid feedstocks. The firm is seeing double-digit demand growth for its resins and compounds from automotive and other markets.

"We're ramping up capacity to support the growth of the industry," Rook said. Ascend makes nylon 6/6 resins in Pensacola, Fla., and Greenwood, S.C., and compounds in Pensacola and Foley, Ala.

At Fakuma, Ascend introduced a new high-performance grade of its Vydyne-brand nylon 6/6 compounds. The new grade is aimed at unattended appliances such as washers and dryers. Officials said the new grade "will bring extra safety" to electrical connectors used in those appliances.

Ascend employs 3,000 worldwide. Private equity firm SK Capital Partners of New York has owned Ascend since 2009, when it bought the integrated nylon business of Solutia Inc.

Brussels-based Solvay SA has launched several new specialty resin grades and has added a compounding line in Mexico, officials said. The firm was spotlighting two grades of its Ixef-brand polyarylamide (PARA) resin at Fakuma.

The first new Ixef grade is a super-stiff version reinforced by carbon fiber and glass fiber. It's finding a home in high-end auto parts, as well as in digital cameras, specialty polymers executive vice president Tom Wood said at Fakuma.

The other new Ixef grade is a 50 percent glass fiber material that can be colored orange to be used in signal applications, such as high-voltage areas of electric vehicles. The material is easily colorable, Wood said.

Solvay also has added thermal management options for its Ryton-brand polyphenylene sulfide and Amodel-brand polyphthalamide, primarily for auto applications.

"The share per car for our materials is increasing as suppliers look for higher temperature, lower weight and higher performance," Wood said.

He added that Solvay has increased Ryton production in Borger, Texas, since acquiring the business from Chevron Phillips Chemical in 2014.

The new compounding line in San Luís Potosí, Mexico, is making compounds based on Solvay's Technyl-brand nylon resins. It opened in July and has annual production capacity of around 22 million pounds.

The line is located near a plant operated by Chunil Engineering, a longtime automotive customer of Solvay. Solvay's nylon business recently was sold to BASF SE.

For DowDuPont Inc., officials said high-heat grades of nylon 6/6 resins are taking the firm deeper into the automotive market. The resins — sold under the Zytel brand name — recently have been used in engine brackets, where they've been able to replace die-cast aluminum and reduce noise, automotive marketing leader Klaus Bender said.

Zytel also was recently used in an engine cylinder head cover. "More compact engines need different materials," Bender explained.

DuPont Co. merged in August with Dow Chemical Co. to form DowDuPont, a global plastics and chemicals firm with 2016 sales of $72 billion. The firm plans to split into three separate publicly held companies within 18 months.