March 2008 Additives for Polymers7

of January, BYK has taken over the Kempen plant, grounds and staff formerly employed by fellow Altana subsidiary Elantas Beck of Hamburg.

The Kempen location was founded by Dr Horst Wiedeking in 1955 under the name Chemische Fabrik Mühlheim, and has been owned by the Altana group since 1988. BYK says it will initially use the plant for the manufacture of primary and intermediate products required for making additives. It also plans to expand the Kempen facility gradually, eventually manufacturing addi-tives as well as preliminary products there. ‘The thinking behind this takeover is to secure long-term availability of several primary products that are crucially important for our own products’, explains Dr Roland Peter, division manager of BYK Additives & Instruments.

Preliminary results from parent company Altana AG for full year 2007 indicate a 9% increase in annual sales to �445 million for BYK Additives & Instruments; this amounts to 32% of the company’s total. Sales of Eckart Effect Pigments climbed 7% to �363 million.

Contact: BYK-Chemie GmbH, Wesel, Germany. Tel: +49 281 670 0, Web: www.byk.com

Techmer PM opens new technical centre, applies nanoclay technology to polyamide films

Tennessee-based supplier of colorants and additives Techmer PM has announced the

completion of a new state-of-the-art technical centre as an addition to its existing laboratory.

Covering 2000 square feet (186 m2), the new facil-ity is fitted with some of the most sophisticated sci-entific equipment for testing and analysing plastics, including films, fibre and mouldings, the company says. ‘Every possible instrument to expedite prob-lem solving, as well as tools needed for research and product development, is available in the new centre’, says Abe Mor, Techmer PM’s VP of Technology. The wet chemistry analysis is located in a separate room to prevent any contamination, and weatherometer equipment is also enclosed in a protected environ-ment. The larger area is designated for controlled temperature and humidity testing, and is expected to

obtain certification from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, says Mor. With the possibility of new government regulations imposing additional tests, the company says it took pains to ensure that its new laboratory was designed with versatility and long-term growth in mind.

Techmer PM also recently reported what it described as a ‘breakthrough’ in using nanoclay particles to boost the properties of polyamide films. Major increases in physi-cal properties were achieved in nylon 6 films with the addition of nanoclay at loadings as low as 2%, Mor says. Scant details of Techmer’s technology were revealed but it appears to involve control of the alignment of the exfoli-ated clay platelets, in addition to preventing clumping.

With 2% nanoclay loading, the tensile strength of a 2-mil (0.05 mm) polyamide film increased 46% to 10 195 psi (70.3 MPa), and elongation increased by 38%, Mor says. This was achieved with only a 1.2% drop in the film’s clarity and a 2.2% drop in optical transmission, while haze decreased from 22% to 19%. With a 5% nanoclay loading, the 2-mil nylon 6 test film exhibited a 38% rise in tensile strength and 25% increase in elongation. Clarity declined from 82% to 53%, while haze increased to 33%. However, the higher nanoclay levels are expected to substantially improve the barrier properties of polyamide films, so the trade-off in optical properties may appeal to many customers, Mor believes. Techmer is now quantifying the performance of nanoclay films in terms of oxygen and water-vapour permeability and chemical resistance.

Contact: Techmer PM, Clinton, USA. Tel: +1 865 457 6700, Web: www.techmerpm.com

Companies continue attempts to recoup costs through additive price increases

Antioxidants, plasticizers and titanium dioxide pigments are among the prod-

ucts affected by additional price rises in recent weeks. All listed changes are subject to the terms of existing contracts.

Cristal Global (www.cristalarabia.com and www.millenniumchem.com) has introduced price increases

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8Additives for Polymers March 2008

on all its titanium dioxide (TiO2) products sold in North America and Latin America. From 15 January, prices for all rutile and anatase Tiona® and Cristal TiO2 products sold to all end-use markets in the USA and Canada increased by US$0.06/lb and in Latin America by $130/tonne. From the same date, DuPont Titanium Technologies (www.titanium.dupont.com) brought in identical price increases for all TiO2 grades sold in Latin America, the USA and Canada. Kronos (www.kronostio2.com) and Tronox (www.tronox.com) followed suit in North America, while Tronox also raised prices in both Latin America and Mexico by $130/tonne. Fellow TiO2 pro-ducer Huntsman Corp (www.huntsman.com) has announced price increases for all Tioxide® pigments affecting all regions. From 18 January, prices in Africa, the Middle East, South America and the Asia-Pacific increased by US$200/tonne; in the NAFTA region by $0.06/lb; and in Europe by �80/tonne.

Eastman Chemical (www.eastman.com) raised North and Latin American prices for a range of plas-ticizers from 1 January. An off-list price increase of $0.03/lb ($0.066/kg) was introduced for its DOP, 168, 168-CA, 425, DOA, DOA Kosher, DMP, TOTM and DEP products. The company also increased prices for oxo-alcohols, including plasti-cizer intermediates n-butanol and 2-ethylhexanol, by $0.03/lb in North and Latin America.

Chemtura Corp (www.chemtura.com) increased the prices of all Weston® and Mark® liquid phos-phite esters by 10% from 1 February 2008. The products affected are: Weston 430, 439, 619F, DHOP, XR 2665, DHOP, DLP, DPDP, DPP, PDDP, TDP, THOP, TIOP, TLP, TPP and TLTTP; and Mark CH 300, CH 301, CH 302 and CH 304. The company also raised the off-list price for its Reofos® BAPP flame retardant by $0.50/kg from 15 January. Elsewhere, the Basic Chemicals business unit of Lanxess (www.lanxess.com) has increased its prices worldwide from the beginning of January by 5% for its entire product portfolio. The product lines affected include Vulkanox antioxidants.

Finally, the Inorganic Materials business unit of Evonik Industries (www.evonik.com) has raised pric-es for pigment blacks from 1 January in NAFTA and from 1 February in Europe. A global price increase of 5% has also been introduced from 1 February for the company’s Acematt® matting agents.

Vertellus Specialties acquired by Wind Point

Indianapolis-based Vertellus Specialties, a manufacturer of niche speciality chemicals

and additives used in the pharmaceuticals, per-sonal care, nutrition, agriculture and perform-ance materials markets, has been acquired by US private equity investment firm Wind Point Partners. Vertellus, previously owned by Arsenal Capital Partners, originated from the 2006 merg-er of Rutherford Chemicals and Reilly Industries.

As part of the transaction, Richard Preziotti has been brought in as the new CEO of Vertellus. Preziotti has more than 16 years of experience leading global chemi-cal businesses, most recently serving as VP and general manager of Honeywell Chemical and Fluorine Products.

Vertellus operates five facilities in the USA, two in Europe and has a majority share in a Chinese joint venture. It generates sales of roughly US$450 million/year and employs approximately 750 staff. Its product range includes citrate-based polymer additives alongside pyridine and picoline chemicals, DEET, castor oil derivatives and vitamin B3.

Contact: Vertellus Specialties Inc, 300 North Meridian Street, Suite 1500, Indianapolis, IN 46204, USA. Tel: +1 317 247 8141, Fax: +1 317 248 6472, Web: www.vertellus.com

Chitec enters Japanese market for flame retardants

Chitec Technology, a Taiwan-based producer of flame retardants and stabilizers for

polymers, has ventured into the Japanese market, according to a report in Japan Chemical Week.

The company is now marketing its halogen-free phosphorus- and nitrogen-based flame retardants in Japan for use in polymers such as polypropylene and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer. Chitec, which was founded in 1998, has also opened an office in the Kanto region. It aims to generate sales of 1200 tonnes of flame retardants in 2008.

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