Apr 15 2009
Kraton Polymers LLC (Kraton), a leading global producer of engineered polymers, announces it received the Frost & Sullivan 2009 North American Technology Leadership of the Year Award.
Frost & Sullivan honored Kraton Polymers for its pioneering efforts to drive innovation in the elastic nonwovens industry. The award was presented to Lothar Freund, Vice President of Technology of Kraton Polymers Freund, at the Excellence in Industrial Technologies Award Banquet on April 8, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas.
Kraton Polymers received the prestigious award for developing a new generation of styrenic block copolymer (SBC) grades, which are highly suitable for high-speed processing in nonwoven manufacturing. In addition, Kraton Polymers elastic meltblown grades allow customers, who do not have bicomponent fiber technology, to replace the elastic film in the current laminated construction. The resulting spunbond-melt blown-spunbond (SMS) laminate has the flexibility to be produced in a single step process, which provides a significantly reduce manufacturing costs.
"We are extremely proud Frost & Sullivan has recognized our relentless efforts to develop and deliver next generation technology to the market," stated Lothar Freund, Vice President of Technology of Kraton Polymers. "The award validates our successes and motivates our team to continue to lead this industry as we are committed to providing our customers with innovative solutions to enhance their products' performance."
Frost & Sullivan presents the technology award each year to the company that has successfully developed and introduced innovative technology into the market. "Kraton Polymer's cutting-edge technology allow their products to offer key processing advantages which include high process stability, no requirement of pre-drying, single-step conversion from pellet to fabric, commercial spinning speeds, and no post-processing wait times," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Christina Priya Dhanuja. "The product's wide range of potential applications includes diaper waistbands and ear tabs, training pant side panels, adult incontinence cover sheets, feminine hygiene products, medical devices, food services, automotive and sporting goods."
Kraton Polymers plans to relocate its North American Research and Development operations to a new world-class facility in early May 2009. The multi-million dollar Kraton Innovation Center (KIC) is located in Katy, Texas, and it will feature 85,000 sq. ft of state of the art laboratory and office space. The new Kraton Innovation Center demonstrates the company's commitment to continue deliver custom solutions for products in wide range of applications.
International Nonwovens Technical Conference Award
Kraton Polymers Senior Staff Research Engineer, John Flood was recently honored at the International Nonwovens Technical Conference with the INTC 2008 BEST PAPER AWARD for his paper entitled "Styrenic Block Copolymers for Elastic Fabrics and Yarns." In addition, his paper received the highest honor, best overall paper for the conference at the world's largest technical conference devoted to nonwovens.