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Hankook's chairman Cho Yang-Rai makes Forbes' list

Friday, May 17, 2013

New York, NY - Forbes reports, "Cho Yang-Rai, the chairman of the world’s seventh largest tire company, Hankook Tire of South Korea, has joined the billionaire ranks as shares of the company increased in value. Hankook Tire was founded by Cho’s father, Cho Hong-Je, in 1941. It now exports tires to 180 countries and had revenues of $6.44 billion in fiscal 2012. Cho Yang-Rai, 75, owns 15.99 percent of Hankook Tire, which trades on the Korean stock exchange. His stake in the company, combined with a stake in holding company Hankook Tire Worldwide and accumulated dividends, puts Cho’s net worth at just over $1 billion. His net worth has increased by slightly more than $100 million over the past month; for the 2013 Forbes list of South Korea’s 50 Richest, published in April, Cho was worth $905 million. Cho has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama. His four children also own separate stakes in the company which are not included in Cho’s net worth. His younger son Cho Hyun-Bum, 41, oversees marketing for the tire maker and helped it gain 15 percent market share in North America; Cho Hyun-Bum ranked #49 on Forbes’ recent list of South Korea’s 50 Richest. Cho Yang-Rai’s older son, Cho Hyun-Sik, is president of holding company Hankook Tire Worldwide." - * Email

Lubrizol and Merquinsa showcase innovative engineered polymer solutions at Feiplastic 2013

Friday, May 17, 2013

Sao Paulo, Brazil – The Lubrizol Corporation and Merquinsa, a Lubrizol company, announce that they will be participating at Feiplastic 2013, The International Plastic Trade Fair, in Sao Paulo, Brazil from May 20-24, at stand #F60. Lubrizol and Merquinsa will be showcasing their integrated portfolio of Engineered Polymer solutions. In addition to their wide-range of Estane engineered polymers, Lubrizol will be highlighting Merquinsa's new high-performance specialty TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) grades for industrial markets and applications. These grades are the latest TPU innovations for seals and gaskets based on PCL "H" technology, more specifically, Pearlthane D11H92S, D11H95S and 11H94. This technology is also applied in industrial tubing, like pneumatic tubing. Hard resins like Pearlthane 11T65D (64 durometer D) are also available for pneumatic piston seal applications. Alexandre Prado, Latin America business manager, Engineered Polymers, notes, "Merquinsa brings a great product portfolio enhancement to Lubrizol along with a unique network base of customers." With over 50 years of experience, Lubrizol is a global leader in Engineered Polymer technology and solutions. The addition of Merquinsa's line of innovative technologies, aliphatic, bio-based, polycaprolactone (PCL), copolyester elastomeric, Pearlstick TPU for adhesives and solvent-free Pearlbond TPU product ranges for HMPUR and footwear, allows Lubrizol to provide unique solutions to various market segments by providing one source for the different materials required in an end-use application. Lubrizol focuses on unique engineered polymer technologies and strong research and product development to help local manufacturers grow profitably in a wide-range of industries such as industrial, medical, electronics and sports and recreation. The opening last month of a new local office in Sao Paulo was driven by the willingness to offer close technical and marketing support, as well as highly technological solutions to local industries. Estane engineered polymers are highly versatile, thermoplastic elastomers that can be utilized in film and sheet, extrusion, blow molding, injection molding, over molding, calendering and solution coating processes for applications in the industrial, sports and recreation and electronics industries. - * Email

Ashland Performance Materials introduces Arocure, UV-curable hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive

Friday, May 17, 2013

Dublin, OH – Ashland Performance Materials is introducing Arocure 100 percent solids, UV-curable hot melt pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) into their commercially available adhesive range for specialty tapes applications. Compared with solvent-based PSAs, Arocure offers a more efficient avenue to create thicker adhesive film for specialty tape applications. Aroset UV-curable hot melt PSAs can be melted and applied at elevated temperatures (>100 degrees C). The adhesive film is cured by exposing to UV radiation. This process is more environmentally responsible, as there are no drying ovens or incinerators required. The instantaneous curing upon exposure to UV radiation also provides higher coating line speeds, thus helping to improve productivity. “Ashland’s UV-curable PSA technology platform provides a new way of making pressure sensitive adhesives,” said Dr. Zhaohui Sun, technical group leader and product specialist, UV PSA. “By controlling the design of the polymer, PSAs with different balances of adhesion and cohesion can be developed for various applications. For example, Arocure RPS-9100S pressure sensitive adhesive combines a unique balance in tack, peel and shear properties, and features adhesion to low surface energy (LSE) surfaces. It may be a good candidate for industrial tapes applications where adhesion to low surface energy surface is desirable.” “UV-curable PSAs have been an area of interests in the adhesives industry for decades,” said David Hatgas, global director, packaging and converting adhesives and coatings. “By adding the Arocure 100 percent solids UV-curable hot melt PSAs to our product offering, we have greatly expanded the technical capabilities for our customers and provided them with a greater range of solutions for their business.” - * Email

Thermoplastic elastomers market to reach $23.9 billion by 2018 at a CAGR of 8.1 percent

Friday, May 17, 2013

Dallas, TX - A new report by MarketsandMarkets, "Thermoplastic Elastomers Market By Types (SBC, TPO, TPV, TPU, COPE, PEBA), Applications & Geography — Trends & Forecasts To 2018" defines and segments the global thermoplastic elastomers market with analysis and forecasting of the global revenue and consumption. It also identifies the driving and restraining factors for the global thermoplastic elastomer market with an analysis of trends, opportunities, burning issues and winning imperatives. The market is segmented, and consumption and revenues are forecasted on the basis of major regions such as North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (ROW). The key countries are covered and forecasted for each region. Further, the market is segmented and revenues are forecasted on the basis of major types of thermoplastic elastomers used in various industries such as automotive, building and construction, footwear, engineering, wire and cable, medical and others. Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPEs) replaced natural and synthetic rubber due to its ability to form in various shapes adhering to many conventional and innovative processability techniques, hence resulting in shapes of complex designs. TPEs replace PVCs due to the hazardous chemical residue left by PVC. TPEs are environmentally friendly, as they can be melted and reshaped, thereby leaving very less wastage. TPEs have many advantages over the materials it is replacing such as resistance towards weather, chemicals, oxidation and delivering soft touch materials. Demand for soft touch applications adds to the growth of TPEs. Evolving bio based TPEs, and environmental regulation in sectors such as food, packaging and medical can create future market spaces for TPEs. The thermoplastic market is segmented by major types such as SBC, TPO, TPV, TPU, COPE and PEBA. These individual thermoplastic elastomers have application specific demands differentiated by cost and efficiency. TPEs are useful in applications such as automotive parts, paving and roofing, consumer and personal hygiene products, medical clothing, medical equipment, aircraft coating, rail track, sports and leisure equipment, various types of footwear, baby care, electronic appliances, baby-diapers, industrial and mining related cables, oil and gas pipelines and several others. These materials result in minimizing energy consumption and increase in efficiency of the applications. The global market for thermoplastic elastomers in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $15.1 billion in 2012, and is expected to reach $23.9 billion by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 8.1 percent, in terms of revenue, from 2013 to 2018. The APAC region dominated the global thermoplastic elastomer market, accounting for 42.4 percent of the global thermoplastic elastomer revenue in 2012. The APAC is expected to have the highest market revenue in 2018, followed by the North American market. ROW, a collection of individual country markets, is expected to be the fastest growing market in the future, growing at a CAGR of 10.1 percent from 2013 to 2018, owing to rising consumption in this region where the end-user markets of TPE are growing steadily. The European market is expected to grow at a rate of 6.7 percent, in revenue terms and 5.1 percent in consumption terms from 2013 to 2018. - * Email

PolyOne shareholders elect Sandra Beach Lin to board of directors

Friday, May 17, 2013

Cleveland, OH - PolyOne Corporation, a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, announced that shareholders at the annual meeting elected Sandra Beach Lin to the company's board of directors. She will serve on the audit committee and the nominating and governance committee, and her election expands the number of PolyOne directors to 10. Beach Lin, 55, retired as president and chief executive officer of Calisolar, Inc. (now Silicor Materials, Inc.), a solar silicon company. She previously held executive roles at Celanese Corporation; Avery Dennison Corporation; Alcoa, Inc.; and Honeywell International, Inc. Beach Lin currently serves on the boards of directors of WESCO International, Inc. and American Electric Power Company. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Toledo in Toledo, OH, and a master's of business administration from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. "We are extremely pleased that Sandy has joined PolyOne's board of directors and will bring her strategic insights, experience and perspectives to our already strong board," said Stephen D. Newlin, chairman, president and chief executive officer, PolyOne Corporation. "Her skills and leadership drove growth and success at several leading, public and global companies that were primarily focused in the chemical and specialty materials sectors. Her addition to PolyOne's board provides even greater depth of knowledge and experience as we aggressively pursue our specialization and growth strategy." In addition, shareholders re-elected the following individuals to serve on the company's board of directors until the 2014 annual meeting: Stephen D. Newlin, Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, Richard H. Fearon, Gregory J. Goff, Gordon D. Harnett, Richard A. Lorraine, William H. Powell, Farah M. Walters and William A. Wulfsohn. Shareholders also approved, on an advisory basis, the vote on named executive officer compensation, and ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as PolyOne Corporation's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2013. - * Email

Apollo Tyres' Chennai unit conferred with FICCI quality systems excellence awards

Friday, May 17, 2013

Gurgaon, India - Apollo Tyres’ Chennai Unit, in the southern part of India, won the Platinum (first) Prize in the large size category of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Quality Systems Awards for Manufacturing 2012. The award was presented to Apollo Tyres by Saurabh Chandra, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India. Satish Agarwal, chief, corporate manufacturing, Apollo Tyres Ltd., who received the award, along with John Devadason, unit head, Chennai, Apollo Tyres, said, “While planning this manufacturing facility, we have ‘questioned’ existing practices, studied benchmarked systems within Apollo and outside with a desire to create an iconic manufacturing facility. Recognition like the FICCI Quality Systems Award strengthens our resolve towards further improving our quality systems across manufacturing locations.” FICCI Quality System Awards have been institutionalized to recognize the robustness of quality systems in organizations. Companies that display high performance quality systems, leading to systematic improvement in their performance, are felicitated. The Quality Council of India is the knowledge partner for these awards. Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Bhatia, jury member and chairman, FICCI Manufacturing Committee, said, “Apollo Tyres’ Chennai plant is a state-of-the-art facility, with very high standards and consistent quality systems. We would be keen to share the best practices of Apollo Tyres with other applicants and also with the industry at large, which would act as a catalyst to encourage other manufacturers to adopt robust quality systems and thereby face competition in the global market.” - * Email

Book of the day - Practical Guide to the Assessment of the Useful Life of Rubbers

Friday, May 17, 2013

Akron, OH - The object of this publication is to provide practical guidance on assessing the useful service life of rubbers. It describes test procedures and extrapolation techniques together with the inherent limitations and problems. This guide seeks to be comprehensive, but concentrates on the most common environmental effects causing degradation of the most important mechanical properties of rubbers. The test procedures used are outlined and the relevant textbooks and international standards are referenced. By Roger P. Brown, 156 pages, $144.00 plus shipping and handling; For more information visit Rubber World's book store or click here. - * Email

Dow Corning introduces new silicone fluid for color

Friday, May 17, 2013

Edison, NJ – Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicone-based technology and innovation, introduced at the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists Suppliers’ Day 2013 new Dow Corning PH-1560 Glossy Fluid. This advanced silicone fluid combines a high refractive index and high viscosity for lip gloss and lipstick, enabling formulators to meet the three top worldwide consumer demands for performance-rich lip color cosmetics. These include high shine, a plumped appearance and long-lasting durability. Further, unlike traditional materials such as polyisobutene (PIB), which can be tacky and heavy, the new Dow Corning fluid provides an exceptionally pleasant sensory experience in premium lip products. “Consumers across the globe are increasingly calling for beauty care products that can do more to enhance their appearance, attractiveness and style, and beautifying the lips is a very important part of this,” said Stewart Long, global Skin Care market leader, Beauty Care at Dow Corning. “Products that make the lips look fuller and give them a long-lasting shine are particularly in style, and our new Dow Corning PH-1560 Glossy Fluid provides the unique pairing of qualities needed to deliver the appearance consumers want. In addition, this new product minimizes the appearance of fine lines around the lips and enhances shine and color vibrancy.” Dow Corning PH-1560 Glossy Fluid is a high-phenyl-content silicone fluid that is colorless in appearance. Compared to low- and high-viscosity PIB and other phenyl silicones, it has a unique combination of high viscosity (10,000 square mm/sec.) and high refractive index (1.58 at 25 degrees C), maintaining a glossy layer on the lips and providing the fuller, shinier appearance desired by consumers. It also improves resistance to transfer, reducing the need for frequent reapplication. High reflectivity contributes to a wet look and color intensity. Lip products containing the new Dow Corning fluid are easy to apply and provide a smooth feel without the stickiness typically associated with organic oils. - * Email