HOUSTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Performance
Polymers, Inc. (NYSE: KRA), a leading global producer of styrenic
block copolymers or "SBCs," announces plans to exhibit at The 18th
International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber Worldwide (K
2010), from October 27-November 3,
2010 in Dusseldorf,
Germany. The company plans to showcase six of its latest
innovations including alternatives for PVC, TPU, and natural rubber
in automotive slush molded interior soft skins, medical and
personal care, wire and cable, and protective films; and NEXAR™
polymers for water transport, filtration and separation, and
performance fabrics applications.
"K 2010 provides Kraton with the perfect venue for our
scientists and market development managers to meet and exchange
ideas with innovators from across the globe," said Lothar Freund, Vice President, Technology at
Kraton Polymers. "These meetings often lead to collaborative
efforts, which result in innovative and specialized product
solutions designed to meet even the most rigorous industry demands
for higher-performance, lower-cost and environmentally-friendly
solutions. Kraton developed SBCs almost fifty years ago and
continues to lead the market driving innovation and developing new
families of these highly-engineered synthetic elastomers," he
concluded.
Kraton scientists and executives will be at the company's
showcase in Booth C80, Hall 6 to discuss the company's latest
innovations in the following applications:
- Automotive Slush Molded Interior Soft Skins (PVC & TPU
alternative): This innovative development, resulting from a
strategic alliance with SO.F.TER (www.softerspa.com), provides a
major technology and performance leap for the automotive industry.
Our new innovation can be used to replace PVC, which has been the
predominant material for interior soft skins using the slush
molding process. PVC has many limitations including a high level of
plasticizer (which tends to migrate) and flexible PVC becomes
brittle and loses functionality over time. Our SBC product allows
manufacturers to achieve significant improvements in low
temperature performance, fogging, and recyclability while still
using existing slush molding equipment and standard processing
conditions. The additional benefits realized also include
lower manufacturing costs due to reduced service temperatures and
decreased processing time;
- Medical (PVC alternative): Kraton G1645®, a polymer
product, creates new opportunities to replace PVC in medical and
other applications including IV bag film and medical tubing. Our
polymers are phthalate-free and provide high-performance,
non-allergenic, and proven alternatives to PVC;
- Cariflex™ IR (high end natural rubber alternative):
Kraton's breakthrough Cariflex IR is a synthetic polyisoprene
rubber that can be formulated to replace many solid natural rubber
(NR) applications. Kraton Cariflex IR Latex is an ideal substitute
for NR latex, particularly in medical applications with high purity
requirements. These products offer outstanding elasticity, skin
comfort and mechanical properties;
- Personal Care (Elastic Nonwovens): Kraton's innovative
and award-winning bicomponent fiber technology has been proven
ideal for high-speed processing in nonwoven manufacturing for
performance fabrics. Our polymers offer increased comfort,
flexibility and durability, as well as multi-directional elasticity
and strength in soft, quiet, and breathable materials. These
attributes can be delivered in light and heavy basis weights often
required in personal care, medical and protective apparel,
waistbands and cuffs, and wound dressings. Kraton Polymers was the
recipient of the 2009 Frost & Sullivan North American Elastic
Nonwovens Technology Leadership of the Year Award. This
technology was also recognized by peers in the field with the 2008
INTC Best Paper Award;
- Wire & Cable (PVC alternative): Kraton polymers
offer a variety of key attributes important in wire and cable
applications. Superior electrical properties make them excellent
candidates for insulation applications, and they are versatile
enough to be used for jacketing and molded parts. Kraton ERS
polymers provide low hardness and high flow for injection molded
connectors and plugs. Kraton A polymers can achieve the best
balance in strength, processability, and compatibility with various
ingredients. Our polymers stand up to heat—they can be flame
retarded to a V-0 rating and exhibit resistance to thermal aging.
Kraton FG polymers can enhance compatibility between
flame-retardant fillers and the polymer matrix. Our polymers are
lightweight due to their low specific gravity, are halogen-free,
recyclable and can be easily colored. Their excellent low
temperature flexibility and UV and ozone-resistance make them
suitable for outdoor applications as well;
- Protective Films: Kraton co-ex technology offers the
latest technological advancements in adhesive polymers for surface
protection films. This technology offers unique features that can
be formulated into adhesive compounds covering a broad range of
processing and performance properties. Compound properties can be
tailored to achieve unique performance requirements specific to end
user applications. Our technology prevents moisture permeation,
preserves the integrity of finished surfaces and protects against
marring and scratching. It also allows for customizable peel
strength that sustains tack on curved and textured surfaces while
resisting dimples and rigid wrinkles;
- NEXAR™ Polymers: Kraton's development using sulfonated
block co-polymers, features unique nonporous membrane technology
allowing for substantial moisture vapor and water transport rates.
NEXAR polymers are ideal for a variety of applications including
performance fabrics, capacitive deionization, humidity control, and
energy recovery ventilation. NEXAR selectively permeable membranes
for high performance breathable fabrics help the human body
maintain its energy balance by quickly transporting large amounts
of moisture outside and away from the skin. This helps maintain a
comfortable microclimate for the body and allows optimum moisture
management performance over time. NEXAR polymers offer selective
permeability, which allows a tremendous amount of water to pass
through while blocking potentially harmful chemicals. They can also
be formed into nonporous membranes and can be processed using
existing equipment.
We invite you to visit Kraton at the K 2010 in Booth C80, Hall
6. To schedule a personal consultation, please contact Vaneese Bell
at 281-504-4792 or Vaneese.bell@kraton.com. For more information
about Kraton products please visit our website at www.Kraton.com or
e-mail info@Kraton.com. You may also visit www.nexarpolymers.com or
email nexar.polymers@kraton.com to learn more about NEXAR™
polymers.
About Kraton
Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., through its operating
subsidiary Kraton Polymers LLC and its subsidiaries, is a leading
global producer of engineered polymers and, we believe, the world's
largest producer of styrenic block copolymers ("SBCs"), a family of
products whose chemistry was pioneered by us almost fifty years
ago. SBCs are highly-engineered thermoplastic elastomers, which
enhance the performance of numerous products by delivering a
variety of attributes, including greater flexibility, resilience,
strength, durability and processability. Our polymers are used in a
wide range of applications, including adhesives, coatings, consumer
and personal care products, sealants and lubricants, and medical,
packaging, automotive, paving, roofing and footwear products. We
currently offer approximately 800 products to more than 700
customers in over 60 countries worldwide, and are the only SBC
producer with manufacturing and service capabilities on four
continents. We manufacture products at five plants globally,
including our flagship plant in Belpre,
Ohio, as well as plants in Germany, France and Brazil, and a joint venture plant operated in
Japan.
Kraton, the Kraton logo and design, Cariflex, Nexar and the
"Giving Innovators their Edge" tagline are all trademarks of Kraton
Polymers LLC.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements," which
are statements other than statements of historical fact and are
often characterized by the use of words such as "believes,"
"expects," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "intends,"
"plans" or "anticipates," or by discussions of strategy, plans or
intentions. All forward-looking statements in this press release
are made based on management's current expectations and estimates,
which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could
cause results to differ materially from those expressed in
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are
more fully described in "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors" contained
in our Annual Report on 10-K, as filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and as subsequently updated in our Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, and include risks related to: conditions in
the global economy and capital markets; our reliance on
LyondellBasell Industries for the provision of significant
operating and other services; the failure of our raw materials
suppliers to perform their obligations under long-term supply
agreements, or our inability to replace or renew these agreements
when they expire; limitations in the availability of raw materials
we need to produce our products in the amounts or at the prices
necessary for us to effectively and profitably operate our
business; competition in our end-use markets, by other producers of
SBCs and by producers of products that can be substituted for our
products; our ability to produce and commercialize technological
innovations; our ability to protect our intellectual property, on
which our business is substantially dependent; infringement of our
products on the intellectual property rights of others; seasonality
in our Paving and Roofing business; financial and operating
constraints related to our substantial level of indebtedness;
product liability claims and other lawsuits arising from
environmental damage or personal injuries associated with chemical
manufacturing; political and economic risks in the various
countries in which we operate; the inherently hazardous nature of
chemical manufacturing; health, safety and environmental laws,
including laws that govern our employees' exposure to chemicals
deemed harmful to humans; regulation of our customers, which could
affect the demand for our products or result in increased
compliance costs; international trade, export control, antitrust,
zoning and occupancy and labor and employment laws that could
require us to modify our current business practices and incur
increased costs; our relationship with our employees; loss of key
personnel or our inability to attract and retain new qualified
personnel; fluctuations in currency exchange rates ; the fact that
we do not enter into long-term contracts with our customers; a
decrease in the fair value of our pension assets, which could
require us to materially increase future funding of the pension
plan; and concentration of ownership among our principal
stockholder, which may prevent new investors from influencing
significant corporate decisions. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We assume no
obligation to update such information.
For Further
Information:
|
|
Kraton Performance Polymers,
Inc.
|
|
Media: Marcie Coronado
+1-281-504-4975
|
|
|
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100728/DA42514LOGO)
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100728/DA42514LOGO)
SOURCE Kraton Polymers LLC
Copyright . 18 PR Newswire