Compounders plan product introductions at NPE

NPE2018 will feature new products from many compounders, including Star Plastics Inc. and Polymer Resources Ltd.

Star, based in Millwood, W.Va., is marking its 30th year in business by exhibiting at NPE for the first time. The firm (Booth S19205) does custom compounding work based on engineering resins, with a focus on flame-retardant grades.

"We really want people to know more about us," President and CEO Doug Ritchie said in a phone interview. "We've been in business for 30 years and have made a lot of connections, but we think there's more that we can be doing."

At NPE, Star is focusing on its non-chlorinated and non-brominated resin product line, which meets UL standards.

"These products have a lot of market value in electrical and electronic uses like servers and notebook computers," Ritchie said. "They're also environmentally friendly."

Star recently installed a new ERP computer system and added a twin-screw extrusion line, along with launching a rebranding campaign. The firm employs a total of 175 at two plants in West Virginia and two plants in China.

Farmington, Conn.-based Polymer Resources (Booth S15175) has expanded its Express Services offering, which officials said is a new expedited service for color matching and additional stocking programs for shorter delivery times.

"One of our core competencies is speed," Chief Operations Officer Scott Anderson said in a phone interview. "We can do a project for a customer in a week if needed, and we have warehousing across the country for just-in-time deliveries."

Current standard delivery times for the firm are two weeks for black materials and four weeks for custom colors, but national sales Vice President William Galla said Polymer Resources "can get the material there when our customers need it … we can create solution customized to them."

The firm also recently added new employees and equipment at its color lab, including a new injection press to help make better color chips.

In end markets, Galla said Polymer Resources "is committed to the electrical market," which he described as "a strong winner for us."

"We have UL-listed materials [for electrical] and have made great strides in materials for non-invasive health care," Galla said.

Polymer Resources has averaged double-digit sales growth in recent years, and Anderson said he expects that trend to continue. The firm also is considering adding a third production site, in addition to its locations in Farmington and in Rochester, N.Y.

"We're not afraid of long-term projects," Anderson said. "We've been in business for 44 years and look forward to the next 44."

Also at the show, compounder Teknor Apex Co. (S22045) will introduce a series of flexible PVC compounds formulated without ingredients listed under California Proposition 65. The new compounds provide performance similar to that of standard compounds used in indoor and outdoor building product applications.

The new line, labeled as Apex 2324A2, includes eight compounds that are opaque grades that extrude well across a wide temperature range and in some cases are suitable for coextrusion with rigid PVC, officials said. Pawtucket, R.I.-based Teknor can provide custom versions of these products that include UV protection and anti-fungal properties without compromising Proposition 65 compliance.

Examples of applications for the new compounds are gaskets, flexible glazing, weather-stripping, door sweeps and other interior and exterior profiles. Teknor developed the new compounds "as a proactive measure for customers that serve markets that are in California or are affected by regulations in that jurisdiction," said John Macaluso, building and construction industry manager, in a news release.

"Our goal is to help [California customers] address concerns among their own customers and to mitigate the risk of litigation," he added.

Compounder Lehvoss North America LLC (Booth S31147) of Pawcatuck, Conn., will bring three new materials to NPE.

Luvocom 1114 is based on the high-temperature resistant polymer PEKK and is designed to provide exceptional tribological and thermal properties. The material also has a high heat deflection temperature. Another new product, Luvocom 3F, is designed for extrusion-based 3D printing processes including fused filament fabrication. With Luvocom 3F, officials said that the injection molding quality of printed parts is "100 percent consistent."

The third new material from Lehvoss North America is Luvobatch PA BA 1001/1002, an endothermic blowing agent that makes it possible to reduce the weight of reinforced nylons.

"[Nylons] with reinforcing materials such as glass fibers, carbon fibers and minerals are becoming increasingly important in weight reduction," said Robert Healy, the company's managing director. "Using Luvobatch PA BA 1001/1002 reduces the weight of these materials by up to 30 percent and maintains a low level loss of mechanical properties."

Materials firm Tosaf USA Inc. (Booth S22125) will highlight a new anti-fog barrier masterbatch concentrate for film and packaging and a high chemical resistance UV masterbatch for agriculture. Other new products include a halogen-free flame retardant masterbatch for construction and a matte product with a low seal initiation temperature for biaxially oriented polypropylene.

The firm also will be debuting a white masterbatch for extrusion coating and a wide selection of special effect color masterbatches. Tosaf is based in Israel, with U.S. operations in Bessemer City, N.C., and Arlington, Texas.