Expanded Capacity, Service Excellence
To better serve customers of its specialty products, Sabic will be deploying production capacity for high-heat Ultem and Extem resins at its new Singapore plant, due to come on stream in 2021 and enabling better service to the fast-growing Asian region.
Sabic is also recommissioning operations at its Dutch Bergen op Zoom plant, which will provide customers with a second source of Noryl resins. The multi-region Noryl production capacity will address reliably the demand of OEMs active in electrical mobility infrastructure, battery components, and renewable energy and smart grid applications. The recommission is expected to be completed in 2020.
Sabic is also dedicated in improving the customer experience through enhanced support for customers’ regional needs and service requirements. The company has made investments towards reliable and flexible supply, to ensure world-class service levels in support of our customers’ growth.
Value Chain Collaboration
Sabic is collaborating on a wide array of projects with the value chain and customers that use specialty products in new and existing applications, to help solve engineering and technology challenges. These are just a few examples of what Sabic can contribute through deep expertise and advanced services at its many state-of-the-art application development and testing facilities in the US, Netherlands, China, South Korea, Japan and India.
In order to produce lighter weight, cost-effective and recyclable vehicle panels using its Udmax composite tape, Sabic collaborated with the United Kingdom’s RLE International, Italy’s AMA Composites and Germany’s Setex Textil GmbH. Their efforts resulted in a first thermoplastic composite bulkhead made with Udmax tape and produced through a highly efficient, one-shot process of lamination and low-pressure molding. The use of Udmax tape in vehicle panels allows the combination of strength and impact resistance with light weight, which can result in mass reduction in interior panels of up to 35 percent versus metal parts.
In another collaboration, Sabic and PTA Plastics worked with eNeura Inc. to develop the custom-colored housing of eNeura’s STMS mini, a novel migraine relief device. The device maker selected Sabic’s Lexan copolymer, a healthcare-grade material that met stringent requirements for biocompatibility, resistance to impact and household chemicals, and light-weight for easy handling.
A success story that has stood the test of time is the LNP™ product line. For more than 70 years, the scientists behind the pioneering product brand in compounding technologies have built a strong history of working closely with customers to develop materials that met their specific needs; even sometimes meeting a need they didn’t realize they had. The LNP portfolio has a string of important technological achievements in many industries – from light-weighting in automotive, bio-compatibility in healthcare, flame-retardance in electrical and electronics, to improved aesthetics in consumer products.
Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals
Through industry-leading technologies and customer collaborations, Sabic’s Specialties business is playing an important role in advancing United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For Clean Water & Sanitation goal (SDG#6), Sabic’s materials are helping to improve water management systems. Cerafiltec, a manufacturer of innovative water filtration solutions, developed a unique filtration module molded from Sabic’s Noryl glass-reinforced PPE-based resin, which is certified for potable water applications under NSF/ANSI Standard 61. The PPE material’s hydrolytic and dimensional stability and chemical and high-temperature resistance enabled Cerafiltec to replace previous modules requiring corrosion-prone steel framing with a fully injection molded design.
Noryl resins are also contributing to the Affordable & Clean Energy goal (SDG#7) through their use in solar energy applications. These resins retain mechanical properties and offer low moisture uptake. Enphase Energy, a leader in solar equipment, selected Noryl resin for its smart grid microinverter housing. These microinverter products offer higher energy production and safer operation in residential and commercial solar systems than traditional microinverters.
The challenge of plastic waste is one facet of the Responsible Consumption & Production goal (SDG#12). Here, Sabic’s LNP Elcrin iQ resin is playing an important and growing role. This portfolio of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) compounded resins, derived from chemically recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), support the circular economy and help reduce plastic waste. LNP Elcrin iQ resin is a drop-in solution for virgin PBT, making it easier for manufacturers to make their products more sustainable. Since the launch of LNP Elcrin iQ compounds in May, approximately 8 million used PET bottles have been chemically recycled to make this product. Sabic’s expectation is to exceed 20 million bottles by the end of this year.
K 2019 is running in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 16 – 23 Oct. Technical and marketing experts from Sabic’s Specialties business will be available for the duration of the show to discuss solutions to tough industry challenges, and share information about the company’s unique, high-performance offerings.
