By David Reed, UTI Consulting Editor
This year’s premier plastics exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany, sees more polyurethane companies displaying their products than ever before.
For representatives of the urethanes sector attending the K2010 event, 26 Oct -3 Nov, Urethanes Technology International has put together this listing of relevant companies, and a brief summary of what they will be showing.
We hope the information gathered together here will help you plan your visit to the Düsseldorf fairground.
While UTI has tried to include all relevant companies, this listing may not be exhaustive. Apologies to anyone we have left out; please tell us so we can try to include you in our report on the event.
See www.k-online.de for more information.
MATERIALS SUPPLIERS
AGC Chems 7aC1
AGC Chemicals is one of the world’s leading producers of fluorochemicals and fluoropolymers but also supplies polyether polyols.
Albermarle 6D61
For polyurea and PU processors, Albemarle Corp. has just launched a new diamine chain extender which gives slow reactivity for good cure rate control (see p 16).
Albis Plastic 8bA61
Albis Plastic distributes and compounds thermoplastics in Europe, its portfolio includes thermoplastic polyurethanes.
API SpA 6A42
Italian firm API supplies a range of plastics including thermoplastic polyurethanes, PU elastomers and casting resins.
Arthur Habermann 8aB41
Witten, Germany-based Arthur Habermann GmbH & Co. KG supplies semi-finished polyurethane products; films, linings and coatings; parts for pumps; rollers and roller coatings.
Austin Novel Materials 5A05
Based in Jiangsu, China, Austin Novel Materials Co. Ltd supplies thermoplastic polyurethanes and blends, PU elastomers and polyurethane fibres, as well as hot-melt adhesives and products made by extrusion including hoses.
AWP 8bA25
A. Westensee und Partner Rohstoff supplies a wide range of resins including thermoplastic polyurethanes.
BASF 5C21
See box below
Baulé 5A36
The Baulé company, a joint venture between Germany’s Bayer MaterialScience AG and Michel Baulé SA of France, will highlight how their combined resources can meet increasing requirements in both elastomer systems and the equipment used to process them.
Baulé claims to offer the widest possible spectrum of castable polyurethane systems based on almost all isocyanates and polyol types as well as their own chemistry.
Baulé also offers cast PU part production equipment.
Highlights at K 2010 include the Baytec MAX cast polyurethane systems, which offer high performance, ease of processing and good workplace health and safety, and quasi cast MDI-prepolymer systems with mercury-free integrated catalyst. These 3-component systems allow multiple hardnesses with good processability, Baulé claims.
Machinery advances include units able to handle systems with up to 60% of filler, and Baulé’s U3M, 3-component dispensing machine with output up to 10 kg/min.
Bayer MaterialScience 6A75-1
See box below.
Biesterfeld 5B18
Biesterfeld Plastic GmbH distributes thermoplastic polyurethanes among its offerings.
Braking-Sunstar 11G06
Braking-Sunstar SpA offers adhesives and sealants for the production lines of the world´s major car makers, electric appliances makers and makers of mobile electronic equipment including mobile phones.
These can be based on PU elastomers and flexible foam systems. The firm’s own Penguin PU foam system is a single-component paste which can be mixed with air using its patented mechanical foaming device, Foamply.
This yields a highly elastic elastomer and can be used in a wide range of processes including robot-applied gaskets.
BYK 5E18
Byk Chemie will use the K2010 exhibition to present its additives for the plastic industry. Although it recently sold its polyurethane foam additives business to Evonik, Byk said it will show materials for cast urethanes and elastomers.
C. H. Erbslöh 7B17
Additives distributor C. H. Erbslöh Europe SE will present its broad portfolio of additives and modifiers for polymers at K2010. Highlights will include bio-based polyols, processing aids and plasticisers from Vertellus.
CIL 5B36
During K 2010, CIL (Compounding Ingredients Ltd) will focus on its Cilbond range of high-performance primers and bonding agents for rubber and polyurethane systems.
COIM 5C19
COIM SpA is a global supplier of polyester polyols for making polyurethanes. The company’s products include aromatic polyester polyols, polyether polyols, and polyurethane systems. It also supplies TPUs, PU elastomers and casting resins for rigid and flexible foams as well as binder resins, adhesives and electrical insulation compounds.
Dow Chemical 8aK48
Dow Chemical Co. is one of the leading global suppliers of polyurethane raw materials and systems as well as offering a diversified portfolio of speciality chemicals, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics.
Evonik 6B28
Essen, Germany based Evonik Industries AG supplies a wide range of additives for polyurethane formulations, including curatives, antidegradants and processing additives.
geba 5A27
Geba Kunststoffcompounds GmbH offers products based on Bayer’s Desmopan TPUs, including tailor-made compounds, glass fibre blends, electrically conductive compounds, and masterbatches, under the Desmovit name.
godding + dressler 8bA62 Godding + dressler GmbH offerings include compounds based on thermoplastic polyurethanes and PU elastomers.
Kuraray 7aD06
Kuraray Europe GmbH offers a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, tradenamed Kuramiron, among its wide range of products. This has excellent uniformity of melt viscosity, low fisheye level, low density and good injection mouldability as well as good water resistance and excellent adhesion to polar resins. A soft grade (Shore 65A) is available without added oil.
Kuramiron can be used to make films, hoses, and belts for a wide variety of applications.
Kuraray adds that it has recently developed a block elastomer, TU polymer, by combining thermoplastic polyurethane with PU and styrene elastomers, and is now developing a market for this product.
Lubrizol 6C10
Lubrizol Advanced Materials Europe BVBA offers products for a broad range of applications, with multiple end uses including performance coatings and inks.
The range includes thermoplastic polyurethane blends, elastomers and fibres as well as polyisobutylene and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride and various additives including antistatic, dispersing, coupling and thixotropic agents and daylight fluorescent pigments.
Milliken 6A27
At K2010, Milliken Chemical will present its materials for colouring all types of polyurethane materials. Sold under the Reactint Colorants tradename, they can be used to colour flexible and rigid foams, coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers.
The materials are reactive polymeric colorants that contain chromophores chemically bound to polyols which react into the polyurethane polymer matrix.
Milliken will highlight specifically for polyurethane: • Innovation in colour delivery: Reactint Colorants can be used in an in-line blending system of Milliken’s which allows colour addition direct into the polyol stream; • DispersiTech high-quality pigment dispersions for highperformance thermoset and coatings applications; • Milliguard UVX2, a 100% reactive ultraviolet light absorber, designed for highly demanding PU automotive clearcoats.
Offers complete non-extraction, minimal VOC generation and full spectrum UV absorption; • Milliguard AOX-1, a reactive radical scavenger that protects polymers from oxidative degradation; • AlphaSan, an antimicrobial system for polyurethanes that is non-toxic, non-flammable and non-corrosive.
Merquinsa 6A31
Merquinsa, the Spanish maker of thermoplastic polyurethanes, says it will unveil a wave of TPU specialties at K2010, including: • Pearlthane SILK: New silicone-based TPU grades with FDA and EU compliance offering low coefficient of friction and silk touch.
• Pearlthane HFFR: Halogen-free flame retardant TPUs for the automotive and electronics industries.
• Pearlthane ECO: Renewable-sourced bio TPUs already used in footwear, automotive and electronic applications.
Several new grades will be exhibited at K2010.
• Pearlthane 91: Aliphatic, non-staining, non-yellowing TPUs, scratch resistant and low gloss TPU grades for premium aesthetics in automotive interiors and electronics applications; and • Pearlbond & Pearlcoat: Low melting point TPUs.
Nippon Gohsei 7aC22
Nippon Gohsei Europe GmbH offers urethane acrylate oligomers for ultraviolet- and electron beam-curing systems under the Shikoh name. These offer short curing times and yield end products with a wide variety of properties, from high hardness to elasticity.
These are used as coating agents for plastic and electronic parts, construction materials, inks and varnishes for paper. UV-curable adhesives are also offered.
Novotex 5C19
Novotex Italiana supplies granulates and masterbatches as well as thermoplastic polyurethanes and PU elastomers for uses including adhesives and textile finishes, extruded products and hot-melt films and membranes.
PUR-Systems 7aB35-5 PUR-Systems GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 2001, formulates polyurethane systems for rigid and rigid integral foams, flexible and integral skin foam, spray foam, semi rigid foam and cold-cure elastomers as well as RIM applications.
Ravago 7aB35-5
Ravago Group is a leading supplier of plastic and rubber materials and compounds.
Thermoplastic polyurethanes and blends with thermoplastic elastomers are just some of the many materials the firm supplies from its international network of facilities.
Sirmax 8bF63
Sirmax SpA is a distributor and manufacturer of thermoplastic resins, primarily polypropylene and ABS, but also some thermoplastic polyurethanes.
Snetor 8aD40
Snetor SA supplies a wide range of polymers and blends including some basic polyurethane products including polyether polyols, resins for rigid foams and polyisocyanates.
Solvay 6C61
Solvay makes Solkane blowing agents for the PU sector, among a very wide range of polymers and additives.
Taiwan PU 7.1C51-4
Taiwan PU Corp. makes high-quality polyurethane materials and finished products. It specialises in thermoplastic polyurethanes as well as casting PU and finished PU-based products. Its three factories, Pingtung, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) and Wuxi, China, offer 600 tonnes of TPU, 250 t cast PU and 120 t of finished products every month, the firm claims.
Velox 6A23
Velox GmbH is a European leader in the marketing and supply of speciality raw materials for the plastics, rubber, paint and coating industries. PU elastomers are part of the wide range of plastic and rubber materials it can handle.
MACHINERY
Albrecht Bäumer 3B71
Albrecht Bäumer GmbH & Co. KG will show its machinery for the polyurethane foam industry including cutting machines, storing and conveying equipment for foam processing and software solutions and automation.
In contour cutting, Bäumer will show its horizontal contour cutting machine, type OFS-H Twincut, developed last year.
It combines the two leading cutting systems in one model.
It can be run with either a circulating or an oscillating knife; changing between systems requires only a few minutes.
Also on show will be Bäumer’s BSM splitting machine, a very versatile system suited for materials with a weight of up to 150 kg/m3 and a hardness of up to 50 shore, such as PU and rubber rebond foam Baulé See entry in Materials Section.
Cannon Group 13B76
Cannon Group will use K 2010 to present its machinery, which, for polyurethane, includes: • High- and low-pressure pump- or piston-driven metering machines with a range of outputs; • Its new JL mixing head, an ‘L-shaped’ unit without injectors, with a wide range of outputs for simple applications.
• Continuous and single-block production of slabstock (conventional and viscoelastic foams), including the latest versions of CarDio, C-Max and Single Block machines.
Cannon also offers plants for the continuous production of sandwich panels, insulated with PU, PIR or phenolic rigid, low density foams, including new solutions for the discontinuous mass production of flat or curved panels.
Other developments include co-injection and reinforced spray technologies, SoliStream for dosing fillers and solids directly into the mixing heads, and equipment for foam-insulated pipelines, as well as plants for automotive and refrigeration applications.
CeraCon 11G06
CeraCon GmbH designs and makes customer-specific machines for sealing and curing components used in various applications in the automotive, electronics and white goods industries. It also offers sub-contracting services.
The firm developed its own flexible foam injection moulding process using polyurethane casting resin systems, designated S-FIT, which yields seals and profiles used in items such as door latches, headlights, valve heads, electronic housings, and door modules.
The firm’s equipment range includes multi-component injection moulding machines, compression and transfer moulding presses and other machinery for foam as well as open-mould casting machines.
CeraCon also supplies one-pack adhesives, semi finished urethane products, sealing profiles and seal/sealrings.
Fecken-Kirfel 3B15
Fecken-Kirfel offers fully automatic bandknife splitting machines, such as the H32 Loop. The company says this machine is designed to meet the demand for accurate automated processing of long buns of PU foam into roll goods.
Hennecke 13B63
Hennecke’s machinery for PU processing includes: • High-pressure metering machines for various applications; • Slabstock production lines; • Sandwich panel lines; • Production lines for automotive applications; • PUR-CSM lines for different uses; • Lines for insulating refrigerated appliances; • Technologies for material recycling.
At K2010 the firm will highlight developments including: • A revamped and optimised Topline HK unit; • QFOAM XL an extremely compact low-pressure unit.
For processing casting systems, the machine maker will also showcase its modular Elastoline F unit, which can be adapted to the user’s needs.
Hennecke will also introduce a Rotamat unit for refrigeration equipment, using fully electric drive technology.
Hennecke will display its latest mixhead technology: the MT series offering the use of different spray mixheads, and also draw attention to its comprehensive 360°Retroflt service.
Pu.Ma 12F05
Industrie Pu.Ma. Srl Polyurethane Machinery is an Italian manufacturer of rigid-foam-insulated panel-making equipment Its Technoplant products cover the entire panel-production cycle, from sheet forming, through processing, to the final stacking and packaging of the finished panels.
It supplies double-belt presses, cutting machines and stacking devices, and offers these as turnkey solutions for complete panel-production systems.
The Italian firm claims to hold 90 percent of the Italian business in the sector, and about 70 percent of the business in Europe while also being very active in North and South America, China, India and Russia.
Isotherm AG 12A05
Isotherm produces high-pressure polyurethane and polyurea processing equipment with solvent- and purgefree impingement mixing heads for spraying, casting and injection moulding of filled/unfilled 2-component foams and elastomers. The firm also offers application-specific engineering for reaction-moulding machinery and plant, casting machines for open moulds and spray equipment.
KraussMaffei 15C24-C27
Krauss Maffei Technologies GmbH will use the K2010 exhibition to show how its broad spectrum of activities can create new solutions, including: • Continuous PU processing on double-belt systems for high-quality sandwich panels; • Combining injection moulding with a reaction process; • Moulds and post-mould machining systems from its Automotive Component Systems unit; and • Fibre Composite Spraying (FCS), the firm’s latest success story in series production of composites.
KraussMaffei supplies systems for making sandwich panels using its high-performance double-belt units, and business has been growing strongly since it introduced the systems in 2008.
There is growing demand for systems for making complex special panels, so the German firm now offers systems capable of processing not only PU and PIR foams, but also mineral wool. At K 2010, KraussMaffei will be showing its new process for making complex 3D thermoplastic/PU composite parts in a one-shot process. This uses its MX SpinForm manufacturing cell.
Laader Berg 13A58
See page 34 for profile of the Maxfoam machinery maker.
OMS 13D11
Impianti OMS SpA will introduce its new EL-series low pressure elastomer machinery, designed for processing materials with high viscosity and gel temperatures of 15° to 90°C.
The machine has been designed to ensure there are no cold spots throughout the circuit and that materials are maintained at the optimal temperature. OMS will also show its range of high pressure self-cleaning mixing heads and the low pressure “Ultimix Micro” for microdosing.
Robor 11E59
Robor Srl offers plant for making sandwich panels and special machines.
It works with polystyrene, and all types of polyurethane and polyisocyanurate materials including elastomers, foams and casting resins for rigid structural foams.
Its range includes multi-component injection moulding machines, double band presses, reaction moulding machinery and plant, spray equipment and thermoforming machines.
Sitola 7aB35-1
Sitola supplies high quality cutting tools for foam-converting.
At K2010 it will focus on its Retrofit service for modernising used foam-cutting machines. This renews the control system and allows older machines to perform well without being completely overhauled. The firm will also launch its improved CNC software, “sitola cut system.” Tecnoelastomeri 5A05
Tecnoelastomeri Srl offers expertise in the formulation, moulding and engineering of polyurethane elastomers producing urethane polymers and processing equipment.
Its Tecnothane PU systems cover the entire range of polyurethane elastomers. its V-TER products offer good dynamic characteristics, exceptional hydrolysis resistance and very high abrasion resistance.
Its CAS.TECH two- and three-component PU casting machines are the result of 20 years of experience in formu-lating and producing PU elastomeric systems and in moulding technical elastomers.
Tec Mac 13A90
Tec Mac Srl produces machines and plants for reacting two-component systems including polyurethane foams, both rigid and flexible.
The units can also handle epoxy, phenolic, silicone and polyester resins.
The firm’s range includes: • Isolblock: batch block plant for flexible and rigid PU foam, PIR and phenolic blocks; • Isoltec: high-pressure machine to spray/pour two-component chemicals; • Cutting units; and • Ecobelt: patented rebonded foam plant.
The firm also supplies MTR: patented technology to make spring mattresses and Mix-Vr: a casting unit for epoxy and PU resins.
PRODUCTS
3A Composites 8aC29
3A Composites GmbH, formerly well-known as Alcan Composites is now owned by Schweiter Technologies of Horgen, Switzerland. The firm makes lightweight products for architecture, visual communication, transport, industrial and wind energy markets including semi-finished urethanebased products and composite boards.
Blik 99 8bC80
Blik 99 Ltd produces parts made of metal, polyurethane elastomers and combinations such as PU shafts and rollers for printing and varnishing paper, foils, and other sheet materials, turbines and blades for vacuum pumps and air-vibrators made from polyurethane. It also offers PU-based washing and separating screens, parts for hydroand turbo-cyclones and pumps, as well as polyurethane scraper blades, pipes and filters and more.
Dimontonate 16B71
Dimontonate Floccati SpA says it has become a world leader in the production of flocked goods based on different materials including polyurethanes, other thermoplastics as well as textiles and paper, and is now a worldwide supplier to all the major carmakers.
The firm also supplies items for office equipment, transport/packaging and parts for optics and precision engineering.
Eurofoam 6D58
Eurofoam Srl produces technical articles for industrial uses, in solid and foam rubber.
The firm’s range includes finished products such as profiles, gaskets, tubes, sleeves, sheets and rolls - with or without adhesive - as well as technical pieces according to customers’ drawings realised by milling, die absorption panels.
The range of materials involved includes polyurethane, as well as synthetic elastomers.
Typical products include air and water filters, rubber and silicone sheeting solid and sponges on rolls, flooring, moulded pieces, extrusions and plates, in rubber and silicone.
Ensinger 5D05
Ensinger GmbH supplies a wide range of compounds, semi-finished products and prefabricated parts, including complete assemblies and precision profiles made of thermoplastics. It offers some semi-finished products based on polyurethane.
Exsto 5C18-2
Exsto supplies parts, including semi finished products of polyurethane. These are mostly made by injection moulding for a variety of end-use sectors including automotive, building, aviation, mechanical engineering, food processing and optics/precision engineering.
FoamPartner 7.1E41
FoamPartner and Reisgies Schaumstoffe GmbH are involved in the development and production of high-quality polyurethane foams and special foam products for diverse industrial applications. Its main markets include general industry, automotive and the packaging sector on all continents with a focus on Europe, USA and Asia.
Frechem 7B35-3
Frechem GmbH & Co. KG makes rigid and flexible polyurethane elastomers for sealing applications in the stoneware industry, with an emphasis on high-performance materials.
The range includes prepolymer binder resins for polyurethane casting, binders and twopack adhesives. The firm offers a wide range of standard systems as well as systems for individual requirements.
FSK 7aB20, B26, B35-7
The FSK (Fachverband Schaumkunststoffe and Polyurethanes eV) will use K2010 to promote member’s activities, including: • Cheeky GmbH & Co. KG: production and development of polyurethane systems; • Hanno-Work GmbH & Co. KG: Sound insulation materials for machinery housings and improving automotive interiors and room acoustics, as well as speciality foams for sealing joints including electrically conductive tapes and strips for use in data centres.
• Kraal AG: See separate entry.
• Polyplan GmbH: Consulting, development and implementation of manufacturing systems individually tailored to customer requirements, for both polyurethanes and other chemicals; • Purplan: See separate entry.
• PUR-Systems: See separate entry.• Polyolefins Schwarzwald GmbH; and • Sitola GmbH & Co. KG: See separate entry.
IKS Schön 6D76
IKS Schön GmbH makes compounds, semifinished products, technical parts and reinforced plastics based on high-performance thermoplastic and thermoset materials including polyurethanes. These are used for applications in the mechanical engineering, Indiana Gummi 8aE47
Indiana Gummi GmbH Kunststoffverar-beitung‘s PU Division is involved in the manufacture of flexible and rigid foams and processing of foam and compact materials by stamping and water-jet cutting technology Other divisions include shoe-repair materials based on rubber and polyurethanes.
IPL 7.1C44
Industrie Plastiche Lombarde (IPL) SpA makes hoses and related products based on polyurethane, PVC and thermoplastic rubbers. Its latest products, to be featured at K2010, are based on sustainable raw materials with up to 100 percent of renewable content.
Applications for its products range from hoses for street cleaning; the pharma- and biotech sector, with flexible hoses based on very high quality raw materials meeting the USP Class VI, FDA and European directives for contact with pharmaceutical and food substances. It also offers custom made hose solutions which can deliver gases and vapours up to 1100 9 C.
Mayser 5C43
Mayser GmbH & Co. KG’s range includes semi finished products of speciality polyurethane foams and elastomers such as its Inducon cellular PU elastomers, Induskin equipped foams, Induphon acoustic foams, Indumont vehicle interior systems and Mayser Bluefoam, a light-fast polyurethane foam.
Kundert 12B51-7
Kundert AG is involved in the production of parts from high-performance thermoplastics, glass-fibre reinforced plastic parts (GRP) and polyurethane elastomers. It also offers rollers and roller coatings based on manufacturing processes by coating of metal and plastic cores or casting of shaped parts. Its range of materials includes high-performance polyurethane systems for high loads as well as standard- polyurethane systems for various applications including FDA-approved polyurethane systems.
Otto Bock 5B27
The Otto Bock Kunststoff Holding GmbH has three core divisions: HealthCare, Plastics, and Information and Communications Technology.
The Plastics division's expertise is primarily focused on polyurethane technologies and includes PU elastomers, casting resins for making rigid structural foams-RIM (reaction injection moulded), rigid, semi-rigid, and flexible foams as well as prepolymer binder resins.
The firm makes plastics products and parts for automotive, building, medical engineering, furniture appliances and transport/packaging applications.
PU1TEC 5E30-5
PU1TEC Dichtungen und Kunststoffe GmbH makes seals and parts by mechanical processing of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), polyurethane and rubber.
Pleiger 5D02
Pleiger Unternehmensgruppe offers products made by extrusion, spray-up, mechanical treatment, compression moulding, rotational moulding, foaming and injection moulding from a variety of resins including polyurethanes.
The parts include linings and coatings, containers, sealing profiles, sealings/sealrings, vibration damper, bellows and handles. Bogie wheels and runners, parts for pumps, foam products and hoses as well as protective covers, hoods and wrappers are also supplied. Pressed parts and structural foam parts round out Pleiger's product range.
Reca Plastics 7aB39
Reca Plastics GmbH, headquartered in Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany, is a full-range supplier of products made from polyurethane, elastomers and thermoplastic materials.
Its product portfolio includes moulded parts, semi-finished products, concrete wearing parts, and other moulded parts, all under the Recathan tradename.
It can deliver custom water jet-cut and compatible milled or turned parts, seals and sealrings, as well as semifinished products and moulded polyurethane parts.
Stahl 7aB15
Stahl Europe BV makes high quality lacquer and coating systems for flexible and rigid substrates, textiles, leather and related products. Its product range includes a wide range of water- and solvent-borne products under the Permuthane and Permutex trade names. Resin systems offered include polyurethanes and polyisocyanates.
Thieme 7aC06
Thieme GmbH & Co. KG makes moulded and functional parts from polyurethane.
The firm has almost 40 years of experience and has produced a wide range of parts including shock-proof body parts for industrial trucks, elastic safety parts for automobiles, and shapely and durable medical equipment casings.
It says it can make parts of (almost) any shape or design - even up to 6 m2 and weighing 100 kg from PU.
At K 2010, Thieme will showcase a large PU moulded part for a CT scanner and one for a high-end LCD TV; • A housing for a sewage pumping station; • Energy-absorbing parts for the automotive industry.
Wilhelm Köpp 6C58-3
Wilhelm Köpp Zellkautschuk GmbH & Co. KG specialises in foam rubber and polyethylene foam as well as flexible polyurethane foams as well as making profiles, seals and seal rings and rubber/plastic/metal combinations.
OTHER SERVICES
Urethanes Technology Int. 5A23
Crain Communications, publishes a wide range of international magazines for the polymer-processing industries including Urethanes Technology International and European Rubber Journal. Crain also organises exhibitions and conferences, including the UTECH events for the PU sector.
Its Plastics News Global Group (on stand 6C08) offers three print publications, Web sites, e-mail newsletters, trade shows, conferences, and industry award programmes.
Plastics News is a 60 000-circulation, weekly newspaper primarily for the North American market.
In Europe, the group publishes Plastics & Rubber Weekly and European Plastics News. Crain also produces Plastics News China as an eWeekly and web site.
Kral 7aB20
Kral AG is a supplier of pump and flow meter technology for handling liquid systems. It specialises in volumetric dosing and metering equipment.
The firm claims to offer innovative solutions in partnership with its customers, covering total installation and strategic planning.
Kral supplies products for handling TPUs, PU elastomers and casting resins as well as two-pack adhesives.
Purplan 7aB35-4
Purplan GmbH provides know-how and service to customers planning highly complex industrial plants for storage and processing of fluid materials, with a focus on the polyurethanes processing sector.
It plans, supplies and installs equipment and parts including containers, tanks, storage and transport vessels all configured to meet customers' requirements.
T. Michel 13D93
Toolmaker T. Michel Formenbau GmbH & Co. KG specialises in particle foam tools for foams including expandable polystyrene (EPS), polypropylene foams (EPP) and polyurethanes. Its PU range includes hot and cold-cure moulds, multi-part moulds, moulds for borders and moulds for the automotive industry and insulation products.
Bayer: PU Products help meet global challenges
Under a central message titled ‘From Megatrends to Business,’ Bayer MaterialScience plans to field a team of experts on its 1000-m2 stand in Hall 6 of the K2010 exhibition.
They will detail just how polyurethane-based technologies can help meet the global challenges of energy shortages and climate change.
Beginning with its own raw material manufacturing operations, BMS is highlighting its STRUCTese measurement and management system, which it says can deliver energy savings of up to 10 percent at production plants.
This system is to be established at 60 of BMS’s most energy-intensive plants by 2012. In addition, BMS says it aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of product by 25 percent by 2020.
Two specific examples of this approach in its polyurethanes activities are:
• Its HDI (hexamethylene diisocyanate) process uses 60 percent less energy; and
• Its TDI gas-phase phosgenation plant in Caojing in China will use 40 percent less energy.
A more speculative technology BMS is working on, in conjunction with Aachen University in Germany, is direct catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into polymers, without using oil-based feedstocks.
In polyurethane products the array of items from BMS will include the DirectSkinning technology for injection moulding parts with good surface properties in a single step. A decorative panel for a kinematic drawer in the interior of the BMW 5 Gran Turismo vehicle is the first application of this process in a production vehicle.
Building and construction, and domestic and industrial refrigeration products are also important outlets for BMS materials.
Bayer also highlighted the many novel uses of its functional films portfolio, as outlined in UTI June/July p 16, and the potential in its medical technology portfolio, marketed as Baymedix, including:
• A PU-based coating giving catheters and other medical products exceptional surface slip for ease of use combined with high resistance and biocompatibility;
• A coating, also based on polyurethane, which can release a drug over a pre-determined time; and
•B Foams for wound dressings and adhesives which are an alternative to stitching for closing wounds.
BASF advances in cold chain, automotive and off-shore
BASF Polyurethanes GmbH will have a major presence at K2010, on stands C21 and D21 in hall 05, using the opportunity to highlight the wide range of PU-based products and technologies which can benefit from the use of its raw materials and systems.
BASF Polyurethanes offers three innovative insulation materials for the cold chain:
* Elastocool systems for refrigerators and freezers;
* Elastopir for refrigerated warehouses; and
* Elastopor for freezer chests, truck trailers and transportation boxes.
An eco-efficiency analysis shows that if all storage facilities and vehicles were insulated by PU foam with optimised thickness, 16 times more energy could be saved than is needed for the production of the insulating materials themselves. Furthermore, the various materials provide good physical properties, BASF says.
In the automotive sector, BASF will highlight two recently developed polyurethane solutions: Its newest version of Elastoskin, an aromatic-isocyanate-based inmould- coating spray skin; and its latest grade of Elastollan, an aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane skin material with better flow properties and a broader spectrum of hardness, allowing a range of tactile sensations from velvet to leather-like.
The firm will also discuss an Elastollan TPU grade it has developed for cable sheathing able to meet the higher voltages and currents needed by electric vehicles.
Fossil fuels such as oil and gas will continue to be indispensable in the coming decades, BASF says, and so tapping into offshore sources will play an increasingly significant role. And, again, polyurethane-based products can play an important part in this BASF says, highlighting just one offshore application: so-called VIV strakes.
These units envelop pipelines rising from the seabed and help dissipate strong horizontal current forces, thus reducing the stress on these critical components, whose failure can have major consequences.
Other applications of BASF’s PU in offshore oil and gas industry are pressure-resistant insulation on deep-sea diving bells, subsea buoys for pipeline parts, and the thermal insulation of the pipelines themselves. In all cases the important material properties are temperatureand sea-water-resistance, mechanical toughness, elasticity and pressure resistance.
One specific example here is BASF drew attention to one recent project in this sector: the first gas lines of the Nord Stream Pipeline Project running across the Baltic Sea, between Vyborg in Russia and Greifswald in eastern Germany. About 200 000 pipes will have to be welded together, and the weld seams must be sheathed and protected against damage. BASF Polyurethanes’ Elastopor H, an open-cell polyurethane rigid foam, has been selected to accomplish this mission, the firm says, adding that this has been optimised in strength and processing speed.
