The Innovative Plastics strategic business unit of SABIC today announced that it is adding new production lines of the company's world-renowned Lexan* polycarbonate (PC) resins and films in Shanghai and Nansha, China.
These additions are part of the company's strategy to support the dynamic growth of key plastics sectors in this region, particularly the consumer electronics, electrical, solar, security and automotive industries. Building on over 80 years of advanced technology breakthroughs, Innovative Plastics continues to be a leader in the plastics industry with its flagship PC material. It is continually developing distinctive new Lexan material solutions to meet evolving technological, environmental, performance and regulatory challenges.
SABIC’s Lexan* OQ Film Clean Room in Nansha, China.
"Our nearly 60-year-old commitment to polycarbonate remains unmatched - from a relentless focus on innovation, to continued investments in global capacity, to a team of polycarbonate experts including a highly trained sales force, application development specialists, and process development engineers around the globe," said William Russell, polycarbonate business leader, Innovative Plastics. "The size and diversity of our performance-rich Lexan polycarbonate material portfolio is an excellent case in point, illustrating how we deliver tailored materials solutions to meet our customers' specific needs. These expansions will enable Innovative Plastics to provide a stronger, localized supply of Lexan resin and film to meet Asia's accelerating demand of these tough, high-performance and versatile material technologies."
Reliable Supplies of Lexan Resin Help Drive Asian Customer Growth
Innovative Plastics is adding dedicated compounding production lines of its iconic Lexan PC resin at its Shanghai facility in early 2012. This capacity increase will ensure ample, reliable supplies of Lexan resins and Lexan specialty copolymers to help drive Asian customer growth. This addition comes on the heels of a similar Lexan compounding expansion in Nansha in late 2010.
The company's Lexan resin is known for its broad, global portfolio and is produced to meet increasing capacity demand for key industries including consumer electronics, electrical, solar and automotive. Lexan specialty copolymers provide extreme high heat resistance; excellent flow/ductility; virtually unbreakable impact strength; scratch protection; flame-smoke-toxicity performance; and ultra violet (UV) protection to higher levels. These high performance properties give customers exceptional design freedom to meet increasing consumer demand for top-performing products with eye-catching aesthetics.
Increased Production of High-Demand Specialty Films
Innovative Plastics is also adding a new, state-of-the-art extrusion line of Lexan PC optical quality (OQ) and textured film products to its Nansha facility, with subsequent capacity additions in Asia planned for 2012-2014. This new specialty film line, which opened in the first quarter of 2011, uses class 1,000 clean room technology to produce Lexan OQ optical performance film. The new production line makes custom textured materials and surface polished Lexan OQ films that can be embossed or selectively textured by screen printing for aesthetic purposes and a mar-resistant finish.
This expansion addresses accelerating market demand for specialty film materials for high-end film applications in consumer electronics, automotive and security segments where these materials are widely used in applications such as automotive navigational display units; notebook PCs; monitors; and liquid crystal display/light emitting diode (LCD/LED) TVs.
This Innovative Plastics investment of specialty film lines in Asia underscores the company's commitment to the consumer electronics OEMs and converters by providing high-functional film products that can significantly reduce total system costs.
Since its invention in 1953 by Dr. Daniel Fox, Lexan PC resins have made history in diverse industries. The versatility, clarity and high performance of this unique material have led to thousands of applications for work and play. Today, the Lexan portfolio encompasses a tremendous range of resins, compounds, sheet products and films, many with specialized attributes such as non-halogenated flame retardance, low-temperature ductility, optical properties and special colors and effects.