Pawtucket, Rhode Island -- COIM SpA has appointed Teknor Apex Co. as its exclusive distributor of the Laripur thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer compounds to wire and cable manufacturers in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Teknor Apex's Vinyl Division, a leading supplier of compounds for wire and cable, will supply the Laripur materials, said a 22 Sept Teknor Apex announcement. The agreement also enables Teknor Apex to broaden its portfolio by using COIM's TPU products to develop plastics compounds for use outside the wire and cable industry, according to Teknor Apex vice president Louis Cappucci.
"We are very pleased to engage in a strategic co-operation with a high-value partner like Teknor Apex," said COIM's Antonio Piroddi, division manager for Laripur TPU, in the statement. "Their technical and commercial capabilities combined with COIM's TPU expertise and broad product offering provides a valuable new resource for wire and cable customers in North America."
This agreement provides North American wire and cable manufacturers with direct access to COIM's diversified range of internationally specified TPU compounds, said Cappucci.
"TPUs are particularly valuable for withstanding rugged end-use conditions because of their resistance to abrasion, chemicals, microbial attack, and hydrolysis, as well as flexibility at low temperatures."
Laripur compounds are available in grades ranging in hardness from 60 Shore A to 75 Shore D. As elastomers they are inherently flexible and contain no plasticisers except as required for certain speciality formulations.
Typical applications include cables for automotive sensor and antilock brake systems and for mining, seismic monitoring, oil exploration, and other end uses requiring ruggedness and cold weather performance, says COIM.
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