US compounding and TPE manufacturer Teknor Apex is going to become as familiar in Europe as it is in the US. That, at least, is the goal set by Teknor Apex executive vice president Bertam Lederer.

The renaming of the former UK-based Chem Polymer engineering thermoplastics compounding business, which it acquired in 2005, and the announcement that it is to start manufacturing TPE’s at its plant at Oldbury was a first step in that direction. That is being underpinned with a series of additional European investment and distribution moves.

Simon Hubbard, managing director of the Teknor Apex facility at Oldbury in the UK, says the focus is now on providing the laboratory testing and development capabilities appropriate for the company’s TPE drive into Europe.

July saw the installation of a new 45mm, twin screw laboratory compounder that will enable it to sample customers locally. Full scale TPE production will follow in the shape of a new 82mm diameter twin screw compounding line.

Hubbard, who was formerly managing director of AlphaGary in the UK, says the TPE investment spend at Oldbury totals around $2m (€1.3m). This is on the top of the $3m (€1.9m) commitment made earlier to the plant’s engineering polymer capabilities.

The capital investments follow the appointment of two new TPE specialists: Nick Sandland joined as TPE manager in 2006 and Bhawan Patel joined this year as European TPE technical manager. Simultaneously, the business has been developing a network of distributors extending as far afield as Russia.

With the exception of co-polyester and co-polyamides, Teknor Apex has most TPE bases covered. The portfolio spans the Uniprene PP/EPDM TPV blends, two styrenic variants for the automotive and consumer markets in the Tekron and Monprene lines, the Tekbond family for bonding to engineering polymer substrates, and the Elexar SEBS line acquired from Shell in the early 1990s.

The latest addition to the portfolio is the Telcar OBC family of TPO products (thermoplastic olefin elastomers), which are a blend of a rigid polyolefin with Infuse block copolymers from Dow.

The Infuse copolymers replace the EPDM or random ethylene copolymer component of a typical TPO.

“Olefin block copolymer technology from Dow yields elastomers that bridge previous cost-performance gaps and enable Teknor Apex to provide customers with a true alternative to styrenic block copolymer TPEs,” says Suresh Swaminathan, Teknor Apex vice president of the company’s TPE division.

Compared to conventional TPOs, the new materials provide more rubber-like elasticity, improved tensile and tear strength, and greater elongation and processibility. The range of available hardness values is also extended and ranges from less than 10 to more than 90 Shore A, according to the company. Conventional TPOs rarely come in with hardness values below 70 Shore A.

Against styrenic TPEs at the same hardness value, Telcar OBCs are said to provide better compression set performance, along with improved heat ageing, chemical resistance and processing.

According to Teknor Apex, the Infuse technology also delivers a TPE with a very smooth and silky surface, making it a good choice for soft-touch grips, and there is no surface tackiness.

The company is initially supplying Telcar OBC compounds for injection moulding and extrusion and covering the hardness range from 30 to 75 Shore A. Filled and unfilled formulations are available, including three oil and plasticiser-free products. A number of super-soft, gel-like compounds and formulations suitable for blow moulding are also said to be under development.

www.teknorapex.com

John Whitehead is deputy editor of Plastics & Rubber Weekly