At Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East, 11 – 13 June 2019, in New York City, Covestro presented its raw materials for the healthcare industry. The company showcased its Baymedix portfolio for skin-friendly adhesives, absorbent foams and waterborne coatings; and Dureflex and Platilon product portfolios for medical films.

Amyris, Inc. announced the appointment of Kathleen Valiasek, formerly Chief Financial Officer, to Chief Business Officer effective immediately. Valiasek will assume a dedicated role of furthering the company's strategy of collaborating with large, well-funded partners to grow the company's business. Simultaneously, she will continue to oversee the company's financing and investor relations activities.

The shipments value of primary plastics machinery (injection molding and extrusion) in North America declined in the first quarter of 2019, according to the statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s (Plastics) Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES).

Nouryon announced that it has completed a EUR 20 million project at Sundsvall, Sweden, that significantly raises production capacity for its Expancel expandable microspheres. These are used to enhance the properties of products ranging from shoe soles and food packaging to wind turbines.

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. has announced its debut as an independent company following the successful separation of its Agriculture Division through the spin-off of Corteva, Inc. The company was formerly known as DowDuPont Inc.

A BASF plastic additives package is helping to protect the roof at Incheon Airport’s Terminal 2, with thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) sheets produced by Wonpoong Corporation in South Korea under the brand name SuperGuard.

Marine oil spill barriers, also known as oil containment booms, can last longer and keep oil spills under control even under intense sunlight, thanks to light stabilisers from BASF. The South Korean company Wonpoong Corporation is now using BASF’s Tinuvin range of plastic additives to increase the lifespan of oil containment booms, thereby reducing the maintenance costs and environmental impact.

The German KraussMaffei Group has held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China. According to KraussMaffei, it is a key strategy of the company to make more investments in the Chinese market.

Teknor Apex announced the availability of the Monprene RG-15100 series, TPS compounds with the surface appearance and haptics of silicone rubber. The materials are said to exhibit lower compression set than standard TPS compounds, withstand temperatures in excess of 100 °C, and provide chemical resistance for food-grade, cosmetics, and other regulated applications. The materials meet U.S. and EU regulations for single- and repeated-use applications with dry, acidic, aqueous, and alcoholic food types. Hardnesses range from 30 to 80 Shore A.

Songwon, the South-Korean chemical specialties supplier and 2nd largest manufacturer of polymer stabilisers in the world has introduced new TPUs at Chinaplas 2019. The Songstomer polyether TPU product families P-3200A10/P-3200-A10U/P-3200-D10 are well-suited to a number of applications such as cables, tubes, films, profiles, compounds and masterbatches. Their ability to secure higher mechanical property stability, including less discolouration under long-term heat aging and thermoplastic processing and their high resistance to hydrolysis and microbe attack, make them products of choice for compounding, said the company in a statement.