Engineering Resins
Pricing Update - November 2006
After a brief surge upward, prices of polyolefins and PVC have softened again.
Read More
Plastics, Electronics and the Environment: How New Global Regulations Affect Materials Choices
Increasing concerns about the impact of chemicals on health and the environment are being translated into strict legislation that may have significant impact on the use and disposal of plastics, particularly those used in electrical and electronic equipment.
Read More
Pricing Update - October 2006
Polyolefin prices rose a bit last month as suppliers implemented summer price increases to make up for higher energy and feedstock prices.
Read More
Prices Rise As Leaves Fall
After a mid-summer respite from price increases in commodity resins—with some prices actually declining—processors face rising prices again heading into fall.
Read More
Olefin Prices Take a Breather
Midsummer brought a sudden pause in price escalation—at least for polyolefins—after a storm of increases announced in June.
Read MoreCorn-based Biopolymers Make News
Recent news testifies to growing momentum for biopolymers derived from corn by bacterial fermentation: --As reported on p. 22, DuPont Co., Wilmington, Del., is developing engineering thermoplastics and TPEs derived in part from fermented corn sugar. --Mazda Motor Corp., Tokyo, and a Japanese consortium of other companies, universities, and research institutes developed a heat-resistant plastic consisting of 88% corn-based polylactic acid (PLA) and 12% petroleum-derived materials.
Read More
Summer Storm of Price Hikes
Soft or flat prices in the first five months of the year ended with a thunderclap in June.
Read More
NPE 2006 News Wrap-Up: Chemicals and Additives
There were new additives for every need at NPE 2006: Make your plastics prettier with new colorants. Make them stronger with new fillers and reinforcements. Make them lighter with foaming agents. Or just make them go away with improved purging agents and biodegradable masterbatches.
Read More
Polyolefin Prices Flare Up Again
In the first four months of the year, commodity resin prices took a breather from their relentless uphill march.
Read More
New Materials and Methods for Optical Discs
The so-called “format war” has finally hit the streets.
Read More