Plastics Additives & Compounding March/April 2009

5

NewsINDUSTRY

Teknor Color Company has sold the PVC segment of its colorant business to Breen Color Concentrates, Lambertville, NJ in the USA. The sale, for an undisclosed sum, includes Teknor Color formulations and customer lists for PVC colorants produced at the company’s facility in Attleboro, MA. The business will be merged with the PVC colorant business of Breen as part of the formation of East Coast Colorants, a new company established by Spell Capital Partners, LLC, which has purchased Breen.The sale does not affect Teknor Color’s other manufacturing locations in Henderson, KY and

Jacksonville, TX. Last month, the company completed a roughly $1 million dollar project that doubled the size of the Henderson plant, including construction of a new facility for producing dry colour, plus de-bottlenecking of existing capacity.“Teknor Color continues to develop new colorants and pursue new applications for polyolefins, styrenics, and other polymers and has already achieved commercial successes in the new field of bioplastics,” said Jonathan Riley, Teknor Color vice president and business director. “The greater volume base established by merging the two PVC colorant

businesses will provide users of these products with a stronger supply situation in these difficult economic times.”Teknor Color will produce PVC colorants for Breen at Attleboro until transfer of the business to the plant in Lambertville has been completed. Manufacturing will then cease at the Attleboro plant. PVC colorants are used for many applications, ranging from toys to wire and cable. Teknor Apex is a leading manufacturer of vinyl compounds and will continue to supply pre-colored compounds to customers that require them.Contact: Teknor Color CompanyWebsite: www.teknorcolor.com

US company sells PVC colorants business

FDA approval for antistatic agentToyota Tsusho Corporation, the sole distributor of PELESTAT® permanent antistatic agents, has achieved clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing PELESTAT food contact applications. The company says PELESTAT 230 and PELESTAT 300 offer good static dissipative properties to the host thermoplastic product.PELESTAT 230 and PELESTAT 300 are based on a polyolefin resin with special polyether segments which makes it extremely suitable for polypropylene and polyethylene films. This compatibility results in good transparency and a smooth surface appearance to the finished product. Already widely used in Europe, PELESTAT has been shown to be an effective antistatic

agent for use in pharmaceutical packaging, which meets European regulations for the migratory effect of the antistatic agent from the host film/packaging. Static can also create hazards including electrostatic discharge (ESD) which could initiate sparks within a flammable environment. PELESTAT® reduces static accumulation by maintaining a resistance of 108-1012 ohms/sq at a relatively low humidity level (12-15 per cent) and ensures no release or migratory effect of the antistatic agent into the packaged content.Toyota Tsusho is looking to new applications in the areas of food contact packaging, medical device, healthcare, biomedical and various other pharmaceutical applications.Contact: Toyota Tsusho CorporationWebsite: www.toyota-tsusho.com

In BriefWittmann Group UK subsidiaries - Wittmann and Battenfeld - have been consolidated into one operation with it head office in Wellingborough. This site will coordinate all the sales and service activities for the whole of Great Britain and will have its own show room equipped with presentation equipment and peripherals – for presentation, test and training purposes. Machines will constantly be kept available to permit customers to be supplied rapidly when required. Barry Hill, previously managing director of Wittmann UK, will be in charge of the new subsidiary.Contact: Wittmann GroupWebsite: www.wittmann-ct.com