By Liz White, UT staffLeverkusen-A deal signed between Bayer MaterialScience AG and PTS Plastic Technologie Service Marketing & Sales GmbH of Adelshofen-Tauberzell in Germany will lead to joint development and marketing of thermoplastic elastomer compounds. The compounds, to be marketed under the Desmoflex brand, will be based on Bayer's Desmopan thermoplastic polyurthanes, combined with special thermoplastic elastomers from PTS, according to a press statement issued by BMS. PTS is a leading producer of styrene block copolymer (SBC) types of TPEs, under the trade name PTS-Thermoflex, as well as thermoplastic vulcanisates under the Uniprene name, BMS said. Bayer MaterialScience itself claims to be the world market leader in TPUs-under both the Desmopan and Texin names-with "extensive expertise in their production, development and use.' According to Dr Klaus Zander, head of marketing and business development in the TPU Business Unit at BMS, the deal gives the two firms, "the opportunity to bring innovative products with new properties onto the market and in so doing expand our business considerably in the TPU and TPE market." And Uwe Stenglin, managing director of PTS, said that, in future, "we will be able to respond even better to the individual wishes of our customers."PTS has added small amounts of TPU to some SBC compounds for a long time for parts used in, for example, car engine compartments. But using larger proportions of TPU "offers new, very promising possibilities for combining the properties of both components," BMS said. New materials might offer the good abrasion resistance, tear strength and tear propagation resistance and high chemical resistance of TPUs, combined with the softer characteristics of SBCs. Intelligent compounding will produce "innovative products with new property profiles," the BMS statement said. "
