Haltermann Carless, a company of the HCS Group and a supplier of hydrocarbon solutions, announced that it will become one of the world's largest producers of cyclopentane and cyclopentane blends following the completion of its new hydrogenation plant at the Speyer site in Germany. The company anticipates to significantly increase its production capacity of cyclopentane by up to 70 % as of Q1 2022.

The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) announced that Joshua Baca, vice president of the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Plastics Division, will deliver the keynote at the 63rd Polyurethanes Technical Conference on 5 October 2021. The conference will take place 5 – 7 October 2021, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Avient announced the launch of a masterbatch package that is said to enable production of natural-looking TPE wine corks made. Offered under the Renol and Remafin brands, the masterbatch was developed by Avient ColorWorks in Merate, Italy. Prototype corks utilizing this special effect formulation in combination with TPE from Italian compounder Marfran Srl were trialed at a manufacturer to prove the concept of creating a more natural-looking wine cork.

Arburg has announced to attend the PIAE Europe congress in Mannheim, Germany, from 8 to 9 September 2021 as exhibitor, and will in addition also give an expert presentation. The renowned international congress for plastics in the automotive industry, held by the Association of German Engineers (VDI), will be held as a hybrid event this year. In the “Sustainable use of plastics” section of the programme, Dr. Thomas Walther, head of Application & Process Development at Arburg, will talk about the R-Cycle project, for which Arburg is the only mechanical engineering partner (9 September, 12:30pm). Trendsetting automotive components will be showcased in the foyer, at stand 119.

In joint testing by Teknor Apex and Eastman, Medalist TPEs over-molded onto Eastman Tritan copolyester yielded durable bond for grips, gaskets, and other soft/rigid items. The tests demonstrated a strong, chemical-resistant bond between a TPE and a clear copolyester substrate.

Smithers is currently recruiting for professionals at the forefront of the elastomers industry to present at the renowned Silicone Elastomers and Thermoplastic Elastomers World Summit this November/December in Europe. (Exact date and location to be confirmed). The deadline for the submission of papers has been extended. So there is still time to submit an abstract.

New-to-the-market German compounder Heroplas specializes in the manufacture of PP, PE, and TPE in very small batches. The company has outfitted its production with two Coperion ZSK twin screw extruders. Both the ZSK 26 Mc18 and the ZSK 45 Mc18 stand out with high flexibility in configuration and comfortable operation. Together, they form the basis of short setup times for frequently occurring recipe changes, ensuring the company can efficiently manufacture specialized compounds, even in spite of the minute quantities involved.

The Institute for Plastics Processing (Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung – IKV) invites to the 2nd International Symposium on Plastics Technology on 14 and 15 March 2022 in Aachen, Germany. In 2020, the scientific committee of the Symposium received contributions from 14 nations, which dealt with innovative topics in plastics technology and ensured a wide-ranging programme. Now the Call for Papers is open again and contributions are being sought for next year's Symposium.

Songwon Industrial Co., Ltd. announced that the worldwide exclusive distributorship (non-exclusive for Europe) with Sabo S.p.A. for the Sabostab HALS portfolio, which includes hindered amine light stabilisers (HALS) and oxanilide UV absorbers, has been extended.

Plixxent Holding GmbH announced the acquisition of Tagos S.r.l., an Italian producer of polyurethane‐based systems, catalysts and coatings, targeting various end-markets such as transportation, hospitality, and construction. The company was founded in 1965 and is based in Busto Arsizio near Milan, Italy, and has a leading position in products for cryogenic insulation materials. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.