Nov 13 2007
The Dow Chemical Company today announced the introduction of four new and upgraded polypropylene products for rigid packaging and films converters in Europe. The new products include two new additions to the family of INSPIRE™ Performance Polymers and two new developmental resins. These products are part of the wave of new offerings from the Dow Horizon Project, a new initiative by Dow to stretch the polypropylene performance envelope by leveraging the latest high activity catalyst from UNIPOL™ PP Process Technology.
“Dow is launching these new polypropylene products to help European rigid packaging and film converters overcome the challenges on their horizon,” said Julie McAlindon, global business director for polypropylene for The Dow Chemical Company. “Our intent is to deliver high performance solutions that help them compete better with finished goods from emerging markets, reduce final part costs, deliver better taste and odour quality, and improve aesthetics and differentiation.”
The new INSPIRE™ products launched at K2007 are INSPIRE™ 702 and INSPIRE™ 147, both of which comply with EU-Directive 2002/72/EC requirements for use in food contact applications.
INSPIRE™ 702 Performance Polymer is developed for use in rigid packaging applications such as buckets and pails. It is designed for fast cycle time and offers a good balance of stiffness and impact properties, together with excellent mould release and improved long-term anti-static performance.
INSPIRE™ 147 Performance Polymer is developed for use in high throughput thermoforming applications requiring increased dimensional stability. Offering a high clarity finish, it is targeted for use in rigid packaging applications such as vending cups and dairy pots, trays for biscuits and other food products, and blister packaging. It can also be blended with VERSIFY™ Plastomers and Elastomers for use in applications that require improved impact performance, such as meat trays.
Also introduced at K2007 are two new developmental random polypropylene resins offering high performance solutions for thin-wall injection moulded applications.
The first new developmental product is DR7023.00, a 42 melt flow rate random copolymer that offers exceptional taste and odour performance. This resin was designed for use in thin wall injection moulded applications, particularly in food contact applications where excellent taste and odour performance and good clarity in finished parts is required. Offering a good stiffness and toughness balance, it also allows for cost reductions for converters through optimised down-gauging.
The second new developmental product is DR7032.00. This is Dow’s first random copolymer to combine a 100 melt flow rate with exceptional taste and odour performance. The high melt flow rate facilitates thin-walling and excellent processability, enabling converters to make complex parts with extremely long flow lengths and with low warpage. In addition, DR7032.00 offers a good visual appearance in finished injection moulded articles, which is a top priority for brand owners and consumers.