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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global
materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and
synthetic rubber, has announced the inauguration of its Thermoplastic
Elastomers (TPE) pilot facility in Hsinchu, Taiwan, as per the company's press
release as of 2 December.
The new pilot facility represents a major step
in Trinseo’s wider growth strategy for TPEs, enabling it to locally produce
custom-engineered TPE and thermoplastic urethanes (TPU), together with its
leading bioplastics portfolio, for key customers in the Asia-Pacific
region.
The state-of-the-art pilot facility is built at Trinseo’s
existing manufacturing site in Hsinchu, and will enable faster innovation cycles
in close collaboration with customers for sustainably advantaged materials in
the Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Footwear and Medical markets. It
complements Trinseo’s existing main TPE development center in Mussolente, Italy,
which is leading industry developments in the design and production of
sustainable soft-touch plastics.
The new Hsinchu plant has been launched
on schedule, despite the challenges associated with constructing a
state-of-the-art facility during the global Coronavirus pandemic. Upon its
opening, Trinseo celebrated 15,000+ safety hours in a development project that
spanned three regions under the most challenging circumstances.
“We are
very excited to start up the pilot facility for our custom-engineered TPE and
thermoplastic urethanes (TPU) closer to customers in Asia-Pacific,” said
Francesca Reverberi, Vice President, Engineered Materials and Synthetic Rubber,
Trinseo.
“The pilot plant offers a potential platform through which
Trinseo can fulfil increasing demand for TPEs, brought about by megatrends such
as the growth in telemedicine and the convergence of medical and consumer
electronics. These trends bring a requirement for more user-friendly and
sustainable devices with greater use of soft-touch materials and bio-based
plastics.”
The pilot plant will play a significant role in helping
Trinseo achieve its 2030 Sustainability Goals, which specify that sustainably
sourced materials will form the basis of 40% of Trinseo’s portfolio within a
decade. Trinseo’s biobased and biodegradable TPE and TPU materials comprise a
significant portion of the company’s environmentally friendly portfolio, and the
pilot facility is expected to accelerate adoption and development of these
solutions.
The Hsinchu plant is already supporting Trinseo’s
sustainability aims by compounding best-in-class resins made with post-consumer
recycled plastics, used primarily in consumer electronics. Furthermore, the
plant will enable Trinseo to continue its evolution into a true solutions
provider to customers in Consumer Electronics, Footwear, Medical, Automotive TPE
and Appliances & Tools - with a strong focus on
sustainability.
As MRC reported earlier,
Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price increase
for all polystyrene (PS) an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) in Europe.
Effective December 1, 2020, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract
and spot prices for the products listed below rose as
follows:
- STYRON general purpose polystyrene
grades (GPPS) -- by EUR250 per metric ton;
- STYRON
and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene
grades (HIPS) - by EUR250 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM
ABS resins - by EUR305 per metric ton.
According to ICIS-MRC Price
report, Russian producers are expected to settle December selling PS prices
this week. Buyers anticipate an increase of about Rb8,000-10,000/tonne in
December prices of Russian PS on the back of higher feedstock
prices.
Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of
plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in
industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction,
carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting,
medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly
known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had
approximately USD3.8 billion in net sales in 2019, with 17 manufacturing sites
around the world, and approximately 2,700 employees. |
