Media Release

Muttenz, May 21, 2014 – Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, is making its products

available in UL’s Materials Search Engine, Prospector® (ULProspector.com), so that it’s easier for

designers and engineers to find color masterbatches they need to make plastics products that

comply with UL standards and those of other organizations.

To protect consumers around the world from forseeable risks associated with a product, such as fire

and electric shock, manufacturers must comply with accepted local standards for flammability,

including IEC 60695-2-11/12/13, known as the Glow-Wire (GW) test, and UL-94 vertical and

horizontal flame tests. The UL94 norm was originally a national standard in the USA and is now

globally established for classifying plastic products and how they burn.

To make a UL Certified product, developers often start by specifying a UL Recognized plastic resin.

However, to gain manufacturing efficiency, manufacturer often use an uncolored or natural base

resin plus a special concentrate or masterbatch to add color to the product. In this case, both the

plastic resin and the masterbatch need to be certified by UL. Clariant has a huge portfolio of UL

Certified masterbatches marketed under the REMAFIN® and RENOL® trademarks. There are over

120 different products in all, providing a potential solution for approximately 20% of the materials

listed on the Prospector Search Engine. In addition to electrical and electronic applications, Clariant

masterbatches are suitable for automotive, medical devices, small home appliances, power tools,

construction materials like photovoltaic cells, and other consumer goods that are electrified. They

can be manufactured at over 20 plants around the world.

Now that the Clariant portfolio is included in the UL Prospector’s Search Engine, masterbatch

selection just got even easier. UL Prospector’s search engine is the largest and most widely used

informational resource in the Plastics industry. Through a single intuitive interface, this tool enables

users to efficiently search and filter a comprehensive database that already includes over 85,000

plastics and thousands of other materials too. Users can look up masterbatches by color and

polymer compatibility and access

Clariant Links Color Masterbatches Database With UL’s Prospector

® Materials Search Engine

ULProspector.com

Finding colors that comply with key fire-resistance standards is

now easier than ever

More than 100 Clariant masterbatches certified in global

materials database

Offering products which have been certified by UL, a leading

global technical expert in plastics

MEDIA RELEASE

“Yellow Card” information directly from Clariant’s QMQS2 database. These certification documents

provide details on flame class, minimum wall thickness, maximum letdown ratio and other critical

information.

“High-impact colors and cutting-edge design are hugely important to the success of today’s sleek,

modern electrical and electronic products,” notes Jeff Saeger, Global Head of Segment Consumer

Goods. “At the same time, manufacturers also need to consider product safety and regulatory

compliance. Clariant can help in both these critical areas. In addition, with UL Certified

masterbatches included in the UL’s Prospector Search Engine our customers can easily evaluate

color options while also researching their resin requirements.”

In order to have a masterbatch recognized by UL, the following conditions must be met:

The color-concentrate must be submitted and evaluated by UL

The polymer, generic or specific, shall be recognized as well

The recognition of the material combination (base resin + color-concentrate) shall be listed

in the QMSQ2 product category of the concentrate producer.

The color concentrate shall be used within the conditions of acceptability established by UL

Clariant has its own test laboratories, which can carry out preliminary testing to minimize time and

testing costs. However, as an independent testing institution, UL is solely responsible for deciding

whether a material is certified.

UL Certified Masterbatches are an attractive alternative for manufacturers of plastic products that

have to comply with specified flammability ratings.They also meet other global regulatory

requirements like RoHS, WEEE, REACh and CE, and they contain only pigments that are free of

heavy metals like cadmium and lead. This unique portfolio, now easily accessible through the

Prospector database, allows for fast, cost-efficient project management combined with all the

advantages of in-house coloration. The comprehensive service provided by Clariant meets

customers’ requirements thus globally improving safety for consumers of electrical and electronic

devices and their components.

MEDIA RELEASE

CORPORATE MEDIA RELATIONS

KAI ROLKER

Phone +41 61 469 63 63

kai.rolker@clariant.com

STEFANIE NEHLSEN

Phone +41 61 469 63 63

stefanie.nehlsen@clariant.com Prospector

® TRADEMARK OF UL LLC ©2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

REMAFIN® AND RENOL

® TRADEMARKS OF CLARIANT REGISTERED IN MANY COUNTRIES.

www.clariant.com

Clariant is a globally leading specialty chemicals company, based in Muttenz near Basel/Switzerland. On December 31, 2013 the company

employed a total workforce of 18,099. In the financial year 2013, Clariant recorded sales of CHF 6.076 billion for its continuing businesses. The

company reports in four business areas: Care Chemicals, Catalysis & Energy, Natural Resources, and Plastics & Coatings. Clariant’s corporate

strategy is based on four pillars: managing businesses for profitability, research & development and innovation, growth in emerging markets,

and repositioning of the portfolio.

Press release and photography can be downloaded from www.clariant.com or www.PressReleaseFinder.com.