Attendees at the K2016 preview in Dusseldorf on Tuesday 28 June were given a flavor of the products and systems that global chemical company Huntsman will be promoting when the world's biggest plastics trade fair opens for business in October - including a number of new innovations due for launch in the run up to the show.At this year's K show, specialists from Huntsman's thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) business will be exhibiting alongside Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri, a leading manufacturer of MDI-based hot-cast elastomer systems and processing machines. Together for the first time at K, the teams will showcase the company's expanded elastomer offering, which increased in 2015 with Huntsman's acquisition of the Italian system house Tecnoelastomeri. Whatever the sector or specialism, Huntsman now has an elastomer to meet requirements - be it a standard polyurethane, a thermoplastic or a hot-cast solution. At K2016 there will also be a separate stand dedicated to the work of Huntsman's Pigments & Additives – the world's most diversified producer of specialty titanium dioxide pigments, color pigments, functional additives, and timber and water treatment chemicals.
Specific developments from Huntsman, that will interest masterbatch producers, compounders and plastics processors attending K2016, will include:
- Novel pigments and additives: New TIOXIDE, ALTIRIS and FERROXIDE pigments will take center stage at the Huntsman Pigments & Additives stand at K2016 in October. Creating new options for enhancing the overall processing, color and performance capabilities of plastics systems, these new pigments can be employed in a diverse range of applications including, for example, packaging solutions, construction profiles, automotive components and electronic devices. Exhibiting at K for the first time since it acquired the performance additives and titanium dioxide businesses of Rockwood Holdings, Huntsman used the K preview to reinforce its expertise in pigments and additives, showcasing new products that build on an already exceptional family of products that includes well known brands such as SACHTLEBEN, ALTIRIS and FERROXIDE.
- Hot-cast elastomers: Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri will use K2016 to promote its TECNOTHANE polyurethane systems. One of the company's CASTECH machines will be on display at the Huntsman stand, demonstrating how this advanced equipment solution can be used to efficiently cast polyurethane elastomers and microcellular elastomer foams using all types of isocyanate and chain extender combinations. At the K preview the Huntsman Tecnoelastomeri team described how German company Raeder Vogel is using its TECNOTHANE systems to create a family of durable polyurethane wheels and castors for use in extreme industrial applications.
- Transformative TPU technologies: At K2016, Huntsman's TPU team will focus on a number of new innovations that will be added to its existing IROGRAN, AVALON and KRYSTALGRAN product portfolios. These TPUs are used to improve the manufacture and performance of a wide range of everyday items - from consumer goods to highly specialized industrial applications that help to keep the world's population active, healthy, mobile and connected. Setting the scene for its new products, the TPU team spoke at the K preview about technology transfer and how the fast-paced nature of sports, leisure and apparel industries, and the need for continual material innovation, is driving forward the use of TPU in new industrial applications.
