Minerals firm Tolsa SA (S152017) will be at NPE2018 with new ingredients for flame-retardant additives.
"Our materials are natural silicates that work in combination with flame retardants," global special additives business development manager Miguel Cristobal said in a recent phone interview. "They boost flame retardant properties in wire and cable uses, which are an important application for us."
The additives offer tailored performance benefits and make it possible to replace part of the high-loaded flame retardant system allowing better processability, officials added in a news release. Tolsa is based in Madrid, with North American mining operations in Casper, Wyo.
"Health and safety regulations are getting more stringent," Cristobal said. "The first market we're targeting is wire and cable, but we're also looking at automotive and train applications."
He added that Adins-brand silicates work with most polymeric matrices, including polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC. They can be used with formulations based on halogen and halogen-free solutions.
In wire and cable applications, the additives have shown significant improvements in fire retardancy. Demand for the materials is growing at an annual rate of around 6 percent, according to Cristobal. The materials are sold as a powder or can also be supplied as a masterbatch.
Other additives suppliers making the scene at NPE2018 include:
Milliken & Co. (S26023) of Spartanburg, S.C., which will feature its extensive portfolio of additive technologies for improving the clarity, performance and processing of polyolefins.
At NPE 2018, Milliken will launch two new products: A unique performance modifier for injection molded impact copolymer polypropylene (ICP PP), and the latest technology in its Hyperform HPN family of nucleating agents, which is specifically designed to maximize stiffness in ICP PP, officials said in a news release.
They added that both of these novel technologies "will significantly change" the way ICP PP performs, particularly regarding impact strength, stiffness and melt flow. By improving the physical properties of post-consumer recycled resins, the new performance modifier allows converters to take greater advantage of their cost and sustainability benefits, officials said.
Milliken's expanding array of products "add significant value" to PP, PE and other popular materials used in the packaging, housewares, furniture, industrial, automotive and appliance industries, they added.
The company's clarifying and nucleating agents will be featured in a wide range of plastic parts to be produced live on the show floor by leading manufacturers of thermoforming, injection molding, extrusion blow molding and compression blow forming machinery. Examples include pharma bottles and ice cream lids with in-mold labels.
Liquid color and additives maker REPI LLC (S19103) of Lonate Ceppino, Italy, will be spotlighting its portfolio of specialty additives for packaging, which ranges from Anti Yellow and IV Enhancers for recycled PET to UV Additives and special UHT Milk — barrier whites, which preserve the content from light damage.
REPI's Xpansor is a foaming agent for PVC in liquid form. It's able to lighten sheet and make smooth surfaces. REPI also makes ancillary equipment, such as its new Light Meter Plus, which can accurately measure color and additive performance.
