Huntsman launches new TPUs to create comprehensive wire and cable portfolio

The new products, all available under the Irogran TPU brand, complement Huntsman’s existing wire and cable portfolio, and enhance the company’s offering in three fields: standard ether solutions; UV stabilised TPUs for offshore applications; and high flame retardant grades aligned to clear market demand for higher safety solutions.

According to the company, each new TPU grade was developed following careful market evaluation and extensive discussions with Huntsman’s customers, and each offers outstanding performance and processing properties for the application it was designed for.

Two new high performance ether grades – Irogran A 80 P 5039 and Irogran A 95 P 5044 – have been created. Irogran A 80 P 5039 gives customers a solution for applications where softer grades are needed for high flexibility cables. Irogran A 95 P 5044 is a harder solution that gives wire and cable manufacturers the chance to reduce wall thickness and achieve cost efficiencies, without losing any of the benefits typically associated with TPUs. Both materials are particularly well suited for cable jacketing for sensor cables across the wire and cable market.

In offshore applications, cable solutions need to offer high UV stability; a requirement Huntsman has responded to by producing Irogran A 85 P 4394UV and Irogran A 92 P 4637UV. These new UV-stabilised developments are said to offer outstanding performance and physical properties in this growing market segment and to give operators the safety they need from materials employed in extreme environmental conditions.

The third group of new products has been developed in reaction to the trend for harder, higher flame retardant solutions for industrial applications where safety is a priority. The products, Irogran A 89 P 5028DP and Irogran A 89 P 5012DP, offer good hydrolysis and microbial resistance, and close the gap between the existing 85 Shore A and 95 Shore A products available in the Huntsman Irogran portfolio. The new materials offer high flame retardancy without compromising physical or functional properties, says the company. Designed for technical extrusion and injection moulding applications, Irogran A 89 P 5028DP is a harder version of Irogran A 85 P 4380 – a well-established brand in the cable industry. The new grade offers outstanding extrusion and dimension stability, says Huntsman. Additionally, it meets UL 94 V0 standards.