Teknor Apex Company will bring to Fakuma 2015 the largest and most diversified range of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) that it has ever offered to the European market, the company announced today (Stand B5-5315).
Having participated at every Fakuma since 2008, Teknor Apex will underscore its commitment to Europe at this year’s show by introducing innovations for a wide range of TPE applications and highlighting its capabilities to provide rapid and responsive support for European customers.
“As one of the world’s largest custom compounders, Teknor Apex combines global technological and manufacturing capabilities with local support for customers,” said Suresh Swaminathan, senior vice president. “In Europe we are structured to ensure regional supply and ready access to customer service, custom formulation, color matching, and engineering support.”
As a custom compounder, Teknor Apex offers an exceptionally broad array of TPEs, including multiple types based on styrenic, olefinic, and vulcanizate chemistries. Most products are available globally. At its seven TPE manufacturing locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Teknor Apex operates equivalent compounding equipment and formulations.
In Europe, the sales office in Geleen, The Netherlands, continues to be the hub of support for Teknor Apex’s TPE business in the region. The company manufactures compounds at a facility in Genk, Belgium and stocks ample supplies of products in Europe from plants around the world. “We anticipate continued steady growth of our TPE business in Europe and will add appropriate compounding capability in the region with further increases in demand,” said Mr. Swaminathan
Multiple Cost-Performance Options Available for Every TPE Application
At Fakuma 2015, Teknor Apex will introduce styrenic block copolymer (SBC) TPEs that provide cost-performance options complementing those of TPVs. “By offering both TPVs and SBCs, Teknor Apex takes a ‘polymer-neutral’ approach to serving customers, making it easier for them to find precisely the right compound for an application,” said Jan Duyfjes, TPE Director of Sales & Marketing for Teknor Apex in Europe.
Among the compound series to be introduced at Fakuma are Monprene® products for consumer, building product, and other applications. These are offered in standard grades to ensure fast and easy availability of samples and small lots, and they are inventoried at Teknor Apex facilities around the world. “In addition to standard grades, Teknor Apex is well prepared to offer custom formulations of these new Monprene products and to accommodate customers that require pre-colored compounds,” noted Mr. Duyfjes. .
New Monprene series include:
---Monprene CP for consumer products, including grip, handle, cushion, anti-skid, anti-vibration, knob, and button applications in such products as writing instruments, sporting goods, appliances, tools, personal care items such as toothbrushes and razors, and flexible or soft items like toys.
---Monprene IN for window gaskets that provide weatherproof seals in metal, wood, or PVC window frames. These SBC compounds complement the company’s Sarlink® TPVs for similar applications.
At last year’s Fakuma, Teknor Apex introduced its first series of standard Monprene compounds, Monprene RG for food-contact and other regulated applications such as food containers, utensils, kitchen appliances, and children’s products.
Fakuma 2015 will also provide a stage for Teknor Apex to announce new developments involving Sarlink® compounds for transportation applications. Historically the Sarlink range has consisted of TPVs, but Teknor Apex has developed a number of Sarlink SBC series for many of the automotive applications served by TPVs. At Fakuma, Teknor Apex will report that a number of these new elastomers have received OEM approvals, or are undergoing trials, for applications including window encapsulation, sealing systems, cable duct, and heating/venting/air-conditioning (HVAC) components.
Other TPE series highlighted at Fakuma 2015 will include Medalist® medical elastomers for tubing, solution bags, and other regulated applications, and Elexar® TPEs for electrical applications, including wire and cable.
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