The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) announced CoreTech System Co., Ltd. (Moldex3D) as a Preferred Partner on 1 October 2020. An SPE Preferred Partner is a converter, manufacturer, solutions provider or product distributor that has been recognised by SPE for demonstrated leadership and innovation in the plastics industry. Their products and services are valuable to SPE’s members.

Mocom Compounds GmbH & Co. KG, a former division of Albis Plastic GmbH and part of the owner-managed Otto Krahn Group, is now operating as an independent company. With the entry into the commercial register, the last formal step of the spin-off of the compounding division has now been completed. This was announced by the company on 19 October 2020. The Otto Krahn Group also includes the plastics distributor Albis, the Krahn Chemie Group and the plastics recycler Wipag.

According to the German family-owned company Arburg, its Technology Days have been a unique and firmly established event in the international world of plastics since 1999. In 2020, due to the coronavirus and with significant foresight at the time, the company cancelled the event to avoid exposing visitors and employees to risk. The motto of next year’s event will again be “Wir sind da.” (“We are here.”). Arburg announced that it has decided to host next year’s Technology Days in the summer of 2021, from 9 – 12 June 2021, rather than in the spring.

Under the brand name Norantox, Nordmann now offers its own product range of antioxidants and UV stabilisers for applications in plastics, coatings, construction and elastomers. The products have been registered with REACH and are available for purchase throughout Europe. The company already offers an extensive product portfolio of plastic additives, including flame retardants such as the Nord-Min range, rheology modifiers, impact modifiers and pigments. The new range currently includes the following products:

Songwon announced that following the launch of Songflame at K 2019, the company has further developed its halogen-free technology and is adding a new product to its portfolio of flame-retardant synergists.

On 15 October 2020, Huntsman Corporation announced that due to a mechanical failure at a third-party raw material supplier, its MDI facility in Geismar, LA, USA, is experiencing a partial outage which is estimated to last approximately five weeks.

The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) announced the postponement of The Sprayfoam Show Convention & Expo 2021. Originally scheduled for February 2021, the alliance has moved the annual event to 28 February – 3 March 2022 in San Antonio, TX, USA.

Occupational health and safety has long been an important topic in the PU industry. In the latest issue we report on Tank Farm Assessments (TFA), which have been developed for the polyurethane industry as part of a best-practice program by Isopa. Covestro offers this service to its customers, and we spoke to Thomas Gross (Covestro) and Eroll Shabi from Ventius International about their experiences.

On 6 October 2020, Faurecia inaugurated its Global Center of Expertise for hydrogen storage systems in the presence of the President of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region Marie-Guite Dufay. Located in Bavans, France, and representing a total investment of EUR 25 million, this center of expertise aims to develop lightweight and cost-competitive hydrogen storage systems to accelerate hydrogen mobility.