Texon announced that footwear manufacturers looking to boost the amount of recycled material in their shoes, without compromising quality, now have a new insole technology at their disposal. According to the manufacturer, Texon Ecoline is a material that optimally combines strength and sustainability. Based on 85 % recycled polyester (rPET), it is 100 % recyclable and up to 32 % lighter than similar materials, but delivers the same strength and performance as heavier substrates.

The Board of Hexpol AB has appointed Georg Brunstam President and CEO for Hexpol AB effective 20 November 2020. The company said in a statement issued on 23 October 2020, that Brunstam is currently Chairman of the Board for Hexpol AB, and this assignment will end when he assumes his new role. Brunstam has previously been President and CEO for Hexpol AB 2007-2017.

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.

US TPE compounder Star Thermoplastics Alloys and Rubbers will have very active participation in the upcoming 2020 TPE World Summit to be held virtually by Smithers on December 15th and 16th.

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.

With Elastollan 1598 A 10 FC, BASF has presented a new thermoplastic polyurethane with food contact (FC) approval that is said to combine the highly effective hydrolysis and microbial resistance of ether-based TPUs with the very good mechanical properties of ester-based TPUs. The product is an aromatic thermoplastic polyether polyurethane that the company has developed specifically to meet requirements for pneumatic hose applications.

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.