The Sanitized antimicrobial additives for hygiene function and material protection for polymers will be marketed in Italy now by Ferro-Plast. The additives protect end products from bacterial infestation, growth of algae and mildew, material degradation, biofilms, pink stain, and odours caused by microbes. Applications are in flooring, industrial coatings, artificial leather, roof membranes, pool liners, tarpaulins, and all extruded products.

The Rigifoam group of companies announced the acquisition of National Urethanes Industries (NUI), a South African polyurethane systems house specialising in the manufacture of CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers) products. Established in 1982, NUI has built its reputation around specific customer solutions with its specialised formulations and product range. Besides its headquarters in Johannesburg, the company has branches in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Swiss Sika AG announced that it is further expanding its production capacity in the United Arab Emirates with the commissioning of a new manufacturing facility in Dubai. In addition to concrete admixtures, epoxy resins are now being produced locally for the target market flooring.

Rampf Tooling Solutions, a producer of high-performance board materials, has entered a sales partnership with Modelco, a Swedish family business with over 50 years of expertise in model and mould making.

SPE Central Europe has announced a new sponsor: Solvay Speciality Polymers will support an award category at the 20th Automotive Award 2021. According to SPE Central Europe, Solvay contributes with innovative and competitive solutions to meet today's and tomorrow's requirements in a wide range of areas, while at the same time conserving the resources of our planet. The Automotive Award of SPE Central Europe is awarded to innovative vehicle parts and components made of plastic.

The digital FK Conference 2020, offered by the German company Fecken-Kirfel GmbH & Co. KG, a specialist in the manufacture of customised splitting and stacking machines for the plastics, rubber and cork industry, will take place from 8 – 10 December 2020. A total of six presentations in English will inform about trends and current new developments. Interested parties can register to participate at the event from mid-November 2020 via the website www.fecken-kirfel.de. For the entire duration of the conference, participants also have the option of individual video conferences.

Dow announced that it has won “Best Sustainable Product” for its Renuva mattress recycling programme in Chemical Week’s Sustainability Awards. According to Dow, the Renuva programme contributes towards recycling end of life polyurethane mattresses in collaboration with the value chain. This project converts polyurethane foams from end-of-life (waste) mattresses back into polyol.

SaarGummi Group and the Japanese weatherstrip supplier Tokai Kogyo Co Ltd. have signed a wide-reaching technical agreement. The companies have been in contact since the beginning of 2018. In addition to a strategic partnership, the focus of the cooperation is above all the exchange of technology between the Japanese and German company.

The TPE industry association TPE Forum will held its next plenary meeting on the 1 December 2020 as online event via Microsoft Teams. Everybody who is involved in the TPE supply chain is invited to join the meeting, starting 10:00 am. The meeting will end at approx. 03:00 pm.

Evonik announced that construction work on its largest investment to date – at more than EUR 400 million – is progressing well. The first plant at the site in Marl, Germany, was completed on schedule in mid-October 2020 and is currently being commissioned. Further plants will follow by Q1 2021, with full completion expected in H1 2021.