BASF at Fakuma 2014

Experience innovations in plastics directly at the stand – BASF makes it possible at Fakuma 2014. Both the stand's chairs and the coffee capsules used at the coffee bar represent new applications of BASF plastics. Aside from these innovations from the furniture and packaging sectors, BASF will also be presenting innovations in engineering plastics, polyurethanes and masterbatch preparations for automotive, E&E and medical technology applications at the international trade fair for plastics processing in Friedrichshafen.

Coffee capsules and chairs - BASF plastics at the trade fair stand

PBT for coffee capsules that seal in the aroma - first prototypes
BASF is one of the first plastics manufacturers to expand its PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) product line by a new special grade optimized for the production of air-tight coffee capsules that retain the aroma. This engineering plastic goes by the name Ultradur B1520 FC (FC: food contact) and it combines excellent barrier properties against moisture and oxygen, while above all, containing the aromas, without a need for any additional complex coatings. This distinguishes these Ultradur capsules from other injection-molded capsules, which are usually packaged individually, as well as from multilayered thermoset capsules. Injection molding is the adequate processing technique for the production of upscale coffee capsules with their exacting design.

With its food-contact certification, this new grade is suitable not only for coffee capsules but also for thin-walled injection-molded packaging for cosmetics and food products. The first coffee capsule prototypes made of the new material by CCS GmbH, an independent Munich-based supplier (www.cc-s.eu), are being showcased at the Fakuma plastics trade fair in October of 2014. The new Ultradur B1520 FC is now available in commercial quantities. It can be colored using suitable masterbatches created by BASF Color Solutions.

Stand chairs: Surface polyamides for the furniture industry
Visitors to the BASF stand at Fakuma will sit on the "A-Chair" from the Brunner company. It is made of Ultramid B3EG10 SI (SI: surface improved), one of the four representatives of the new surface polyamide family from BASF for the needs of the furniture industry. First introduced at the K 2013 plastics trade fair in Düsseldorf, this product family combines a high surface quality with the outstanding mechanical and chemical properties of the plastic class, in one case including special flame-resistant characteristics. BASF experts assisted the manufacturer in the design of the office chair with their simulation tool Ultrasim.