EPDA Update Online

A publication of the European Plastics Distributors Association

Issue 30 | October 2007 | www.epda.com

In this issue

Association News

Company News

Product Showcase

News from the Industry

Industry Events

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Association News

K 2007 FAIR RECEPTION
EPDA will host a reception at the K 2007 Fair for current and prospective members. Please join us at the ENSINGER booth in Hall 05, Stand G39, from 18:30 to 21:00 on 30 October 2007.

Please Visit These EPDA Member Exhibitors:

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Company News

EPDA members are invited to submit news on their company and products for publication in EPDA’s E-Update newsletter. News may be submitted in any language, to be translated by EPDA staff, and may include photographs. Please e-mail news (in a Microsoft Word document or as text in an e-mail) to epda@epda.com. Please note that submissions may be edited for length and clarity.

ONLINE COMPANY NEWSLETTER
WefapressWefapress® Beck & Co. GmbH has launched an online newsletter which includes company news, product offerings and applications. Wefapress specializes in compression molding sheets, shapes and machined parts out of UHMW-PE and HMW-PE up to 33 feet in length and 8 inches in thickness. The company offers more than 50 standard colors for UHMW-PE shapes and features anti-static properties, heat stabilization, cross-linking as well as boron-based additives.

Visit www.wefapress.com for more information.

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EPDA NEW MEMBER INTRODUCTION
New member PT Polímer Tècnic SL is a company dedicated to the distribution of plastic sheet (PMMA, PC, PETG, etc.) and value-added services to distributors and designers (sawing, fabrication, coordination of projects, etc.). The company is primarily focused within Spain and Portugal, but it also features operations in Morocco and Tunisia. Polímer Técnic SL started in 1995 and since then it has been a fixture in the construction, communication and industry markets. In 2006, Polímer Técnic SL was awarded the Best European Distributor by Italian manufacturer Bencore Srl.

Polímer Tècnic, among other important projects, provided the large methacrylate sheets that form the 18 tanks of the future aquarium in the Park of History and the Sea, in San Fernando (Cadiz). This aquarium, which is six months from completion, will be one of the greatest of Andalusia in southern Spain. The main tank will hold more than a million liters and will feature large marine species. Polímer Tècnic provided the transparent panels for the installation and contributed all the necessary technology for its correct installation. The contribution of integral solutions for the closing, certifications of resistance and water tightness in aquariums make Polímer Tècnic a company leader in the market for this type of application.

The company will be represented at K 2007 by Gerundense de Plásticos, in Hall 8A, Stand E12. For more information, please visit www.polimertecnic.com.

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ZELL-METALL IS FIRST TO INTRODUCE NANOTECHNOLOGY IN NYLON AND ACETAL STOCK SHAPES
ZELLAMID® 202  XN - PA 6 crafted with Nano particles (Nanomid™)
This polyamide is a high tech material. It was developed using Zell-Metall’s brand-new technology, which goes beyond the boundaries of Newton’s physics and enters into Quantum physics. This uniquely reinforced PA 6 outperforms standard PA 6, PA 66 and, in several properties, even PA 66 with 30 percent glass fibres. Zellamid® 202 XN has an elevated service temperature of 140°C with a heat deflection temperature of 168°C. It features increased mechanical strength with a tensile modulus of elasticity of 4.200 MPa (ISO 527, dry).
K 2007
Reduced water absorption over other nylons ensures better dimensional stability. This product is applicable for direct food contact (EU-Directive and FDA) and has about 15 percent less lower specific gravity, compared to glass-filled nylons, resulting in less volume cost. The nanoparticles’ flame-retardant effect round out the extraordinary properties of Zellamid® 202 XN, which is easy to machine.

ZELLAMID® 900 XU ELS – Conductive Acetal Copolymer (Nanotal™)
Zell-Metall’s groundbreaking stock shape nanotechnology ensures that the important properties of POM C (acetal copolymer) remain unchanged, outperforming commonly available grades that use up to 40 percent of carbon fillers, reducing the stiffness and yield strength as much as 50 percent. The very low surface resistivity of 103 to 104 Ω and the volume resistivity of 104 Ω cm are achieved by adding nano particles.

For more information, please visit www.zellamid.com or visit Zell-Metall GmbH at K 2007 in Hall 05, Stand G27-6.

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Product Showcase

Articles reporting on plastic products are prepared from information furnished by
members of EPDA. It should not be assumed that the publisher has reviewed or tested any of the products. For more information, contact the companies listed.

MURTFELDT PRESENTS “S”®plus+ BRIGHT ESD
Murtfeldt Kunststoffe GmbH & Co. KG, based in Dortmund, Germany, has developed a new material: “S”®plus+ Bright ESD. The development of this electrostatic discharging, light-coloured plastic, ideal for use in light, dust-free environments, constitutes a world first. Conductive plastics have only been available in black until now.
Murtfeldt
This development has attracted high praise. “Modern, electronic construction elements are often extremely sensitive to even minor voltage peaks, and therefore require an earthed conductive environment. It is therefore great news that Murtfeldt now offers a light conductive plastic that can be used for many application cases in ESD and explosion protection,” said Dr. Ulrich von Pidoll of the Physikalisch Technischen Bundesanstalt Braunschweig on the new material.

For more information please contact info@murtfeldt.de or visit www.murtfeldt.com.

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ANGST+PFISTER SUPPLEMENTS FOOD MARKET WITH NEW PRODUCTS
Plastics used in the foodstuffs sector have to satisfy a range of requirements and directives. Angst+Pfister took an active role in developing a new product line that meets these requirements and has launched it on the market. The line comprises modified technical plastics with corresponding fillers and additives. These materials are specifically used for applications that require very good sliding properties and high wear resistance. The APSOplast® assortment from Angst+Pfister has been supplemented with the following materials: PA NYLATRON® LFG, PET-C ERTALYTE® TX, PPS TECHTRON® HPV PPS and PEEK KETRON® PEEK TX.

For more information, visit www.angst-pfister.com.

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NEWS from the Industry

PLASTICS EXPECTED TO CROSS 300-MILLION TONNE MARK
PlasticsEurope, the association of European plastics producers headquartered in Brussels, has predicted that global plastics consumption will swell by somewhere in the region of five percent year-on-year until 2010. The rates of increase, however, are expected to be very unevenly distributed. Asia (excluding Japan) and Eastern Europe are the regions where the association predicts the biggest escalations, 6 percent. For Europe and America, in contrast, increases of about 3.5 percent are on the cards and a mere 2 percent in Japan. Nevertheless, global plastics production is set to break through the 300-million-tonne mark sometime around 2010. (In 1950 just over 1 million tonnes of plastics were being produced worldwide; in 1976, production levels had just reached 50 million tonnes.)

About a quarter of the plastics currently manufactured originate in Western Europe. With 8 percent of global output, Germany is the top producer in the European Union. France comes a distant second contributing 3 percent of the global total. North America (the USA and Canada) is responsible for roughly 24 percent of the polymers manufactured around the world and Asia (excluding Japan) generates 30 percent. Japan weighs in with 6.5 percent while Africa and the Middle East produce 6 percent, a figure that is likely to change in the coming years. The Middle East and Saudi Arabia, in particular, are poised to boost output substantially in the coming years. At the same time, the desert nation plans on investing heavily in its plastics processing capabilities in order to profit more directly from the wealth in its oil wells.

Visit www.plasticseurope.org for more information.

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EUROPEAN PLASTICS MARKET PICKS UP STRONGLY IN 2006
The European market for thermoplastics in 2006 had its strongest year since the turn of the century with volume demand growing well over 3 percent, according to the latest report from industry consultants Applied Market Information Ltd.

Consumption of thermoplastics in Europe reached nearly 40 million tonnes. However not all materials or all countries benefited from this recovery in the market. Demand was relatively
weak for HDPE and declining for general purpose polystyrene, but better than its been for
some considerable time for PVC, LDPE and ABS. PP and PET performed slightly below expectations while there was very strong demand for linear grades of polyethylene. Demand was largely driven by the recovery in the European economy. GDP growth in countries using the Euro was almost double the 2005 rate and the highest since 2000. Germany was the principal engine behind this growth, fueled by robust export growth and strong investment. Germany is also benefiting from the growth in Central Europe where local processing cannot always meet the rapidly developing demand for packaging and other goods and also lacks the skills for technical goods. Whilst production of many low cost or labour intensive items has been transferred to Central and East European countries, more highly skilled goods are still being sourced from the West and in particular Germany, which has the advantage of its high level of technical knowledge and competency and its geographical proximity.

Fig. 1

In contrast, both France and the United Kingdom saw overall market demand largely unchanged from the previous year. Both continue to see some loss of moulding capacity to Central and Eastern Europe and Asia which has led to declining demand for polymer, particularly for electrical goods and appliances. Car production was also down substantially in France and the United Kingdom during 2006.

AMI’s regular plastics industry report has been extended to include the new EU countries of
Romania and Bulgaria, as well the Baltic States and Slovenia. Market demand in these countries has continued to boom, thanks to accelerating economic growth driven by a strong export performance and ongoing investments in automotive production, consumer electronics and food packaging. At the same time, domestic demand is rapidly increasing due to rising levels of employment and real wages. The process of integration into the EU has been another key driver for these economies as it has helped to open up trade and investment opportunities. Foreign domestic imports inflows now average 5 percent of GDP for the new EU countries as companies take advantage of the region’s relatively low costs, highly skilled labour force, political and economic stability and proximity to West European markets. Central and Eastern European polymer demand grew by nearly 9 percent in 2006 compared with just under 3 percent for Western Europe. However, with a total market demand of around 4.6 million tones the region accounts for less than 12 percent of total European demand.

The high and fluctuating cost of polymers continued to be an issue through 2006. Whilst
prices for most materials did not move as rapidly as they had done during 2004 or the second half of 2005, most resin prices still edged upwards through the year thanks to the strong level of demand allied to some plant outages keeping supply of most polymers relatively tight. The much heralded Middle Eastern polyolefin material has yet to make much impact on the European market because of delays in new capacity coming on stream.

Commodity polymer market demand was largely driven by the strength of packaging markets, particularly flexible films for food packaging, injection moulded PP for thin wall packaging, and HDPE for closures as well as the continuing growth in the PET bottle and sheet sector. Strong demand for building products, particularly window frames, helped to give the PVC market its best year in a decade with demand up over 3 percent. Growth in demand for insulation foam in building applications was also the main contributor to the exceptionally strong growth seen in EPS consumption in 2006. In contrast the general purpose high impact polystyrene market showed no overall growth. It continues to suffer from substantially higher prices relative to PP and PET leading to increased substitution in packaging markets. The sector is also suffering because of the ongoing trend for the production of consumer electrical goods to be transferred to Asia. The engineering resin market saw growth of 5 percent, driven by investments in automotive and consumer electronic products, particularly flat screen TVs, in Eastern and Central Europe.

Fig. 2

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BIOCIDES IN PLASTICS REPORT AVAILABLE
Biocides are added to protect plastic from degradation by microbes or to provide an external antimicrobial hygienic surface. They are selected on the basis of their function and the application for which they are intended, but choosing the right biocide is often not so simple. As well as performance, the in-process stability, migration, light and heat stability may all be important factors.   
  
This report examines the use of biocides in plastics with reference to material types and application requirements. The commonly available biocides are reviewed and details of their strengths and weaknesses are provided. The author reviews the frequently used test methods for fungi and bacteria, and, in an ever-changing regulatory environment, explores the influence of legislation on the current and future use of such biocides.   
  
Go to: www.researchandmarkets.com/product/2b4eb2/biocides_in_plastics for a complete index of this report.

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Industry Events

For a list of all events, please visit www.epda.com/industry.cfm

51st IAPD ANNUAL CONVENTION
3 to 7 October 2007, Dallas, TX, USA
The IAPD Annual Convention features the latest information on trends and events in the plastics distribution industry. Manufacturers of plastics materials and equipment display their products at the IAPD Plastics Exhibition, and seminars and workshops educate and inspire. Networking opportunities are provided for meeting people from around the world who are involved in the industry. Registration information is available at www.iapd.org.

TPE 2007
23 to 24 October 2007, Cologne, Germany
Rapra Technology is pleased to announce the 10th TPE conference, to be held in Cologne from 23 and 24 October 2007. Now in its 10th year, this international two-day conference is firmly established as Europe’s premiere event for the thermoplastic elastomers industry.

This conference looks at what is currently happening with thermoplastic elastomer, including the latest developments in SBC, TPO, TPV, COPE, COPA and TPU materials, together with additives, processing, applications, commercial and design aspects for TPEs.

Click here for more information.

K 2007
24 to 31 October 2007, Düsseldorf, Germany
K 2007 will present the full panorama of offerings on the global plastics and rubber market. More than 3.000 exhibitors will turn out for the global industry’s No. 1 trade fair. Entrance passes can be ordered online for a reduced price. Go to www.k-online.de for information.

An EPDA member reception will be held on the evening of 30 October 2007. Please join us at the ENSINGER booth in Hall 05, Stand G39, from 18:30 to 21:00.

BIOPLASTICS 2007 CONFERENCE AND AWARDS
5 to 6 December 2007, Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, Frankfurt, Germany
Now in its ninth year, the European Plastics News’ Bioplastics 2007 Conference is the longest running event in the bioplastics and biodegradable plastics sector and is the place to gain a truly independent view of the developments, potential and challenges shaping this emerging market. Packed with informative presentations and great networking opportunities, Bioplastics 2007 is set to be an unmissable event.

For more information, visit www.bpevent.com.

PLASTIC PIPE FITTINGS AND JOINTS 2007
10 to 12 December 2007, Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany
Plastic Pipe Fittings and Joints 2007 will provide a forum to debate the design and manufacture of plastic pipe joints, as well as material selection, equipment advances and the technology of joining pipes.

The conference aims to cover a range of current technical and commercial issues facing the industry, including key applications and markets for different types of pipe joint technology. Plastic Pipes Fittings and Joints 2007 provides an international forum for all companies involved in the technology of joining pipes, including pipe industry experts, fitting manufacturers, plastics welding experts and material suppliers to the plastic pipe fittings industry.

Please contact Jenny Skinner at js@amiplastics.com for details about this event.

POLYOLEFIN ADDITIVES 2008
14 to 16 April 2008, Maritim Hotel, Cologne, Germany
Polyolefin Additives 2008 will provide an international forum for material specifiers, compounders, raw material suppliers and equipment manufacturers. Lively interaction between the international panel of speakers and delegates aims to stimulate debate in all sectors, and the event promises to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest materials, technology and business trends.

Please contact Rebecca Merriott, rm@amiplastics.com for more information.

HANNOVER MESSE
21 to 25 April 2008, Hannover Fairgrounds, Hannover, Germany
Technology keeps the world moving. And every year the world catches up in Hannover, when 200.000 industry professionals travel to HANNOVER MESSE, the world’s showcase for industrial technology. This is a great opportunity to attract worldwide attention for your innovative products and solutions.

At HANNOVER MESSE you'll make new customer contacts, meeting the very people your business needs. Ten flagship international trade shows attract knowledgeable professionals from all branches of industry. So you can present your innovations and solutions to exactly the right target groups — with just one trade fair appearance and at minimal cost.

Visit www.messe.de for more information.

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Copyright 2007
European Plastics
Distributors Association
Beethovenstraße 12
63846 Laufach Germany
Phone: +49.6093.9942852
Fax: +49.6093.994077
epda@epda.com
www.epda.com

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