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Aug 27th, 2008                                Print this article

DSM adds polyester production, expands EPDM line

By Tony Deligio

Adding polyester polymer production in Emmen (Netherlands), which will be integrated into its polyester compounding facility at the same site, DSM Engineering Plastics (Geleen, Netherlands) has acquired the polymerization assets of Diolen Industrial Fibers BV. As part of the deal, DSM has said it will offer employment to 45 Diolen employees.

The company says the acquisition gives DSM backward integration into polyester polymer production for its Arnitel TPC, Arnite PBT, and Arnite PET engineering plastic product lines.

In related company news, DSM’s Elastomers unit also introduced a new range of Keltan EPDM grades, which are produced with colorless paraffinic oil, instead of yellow paraffinic oil, as the company moves to phase out the latter. To that point, DSM says test results indicate that the revised product offers improved efficiency in peroxide curing and is suitable for a wide range of applications including low hardness profiles, hoses, seals, bellows, and bull-eyes. In addition, the new chemistry offers opportunities for colored products and applications. Other grades that will switch to white oil are K708x15, development code Keltan DE 6531A, and K512x50, development code Keltan DE4331A.

New white grades of Keltan reportedly offer all the benefits of standard yellow oil grades, with the specifications and main characteristics remaining unchanged. From a processing standpoint, DSM says with equivalent compound mixing and rheology, the new Keltan 4551A offers improved peroxide cure efficiency, while allowing peroxide loading to be reduced by more than 30%.”—tdeligio@modplas.com

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