New RC-PUR® Additive - High-performance Stabilizer for Flexible Polyester Slabstock Foam
March 30, 2006
MANNHEIM -- A new high-performance blend of emulsifier and stabilizer from the polyurethane laboratories of Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH guarantees the precise and safe setting of the cell parameters for flexible polyester-based polyurethane slabstock foams. The cell structure can be set from very fine to very coarse without having to make any special changes to the formulation.
Density and hardness can be adjusted as usual. The new RC-PUR® additive KE 9859 achieves these properties by ensuring a good balance between nucleation, cell stabilization and cell opening. The product is safe to use and guarantees a high level of productivity. The foam only has minor bottom and edge zones, meets the highest standards in terms of cell size distribution and is free of distortions.
Although flexible polyester-based polyurethane slabstock foam counts for only five percent of global flexible slabstock foam business, it is remarkable for its special properties. Its temperature stability and chemical resistance make it applicable for a wide range of uses, such as filters, scraper sponges for windscreens, underlays for ironing boards, vehicle interiors, paint rollers or ink cartridges. Unlike flexible polyether slabstock foam, these applications frequently demand a very even cell structure. The challenge facing the foam manufacturer is to ensure the right specifications quickly and safely since the individual foam blocks are often fairly short and the accurate adjustment has to be performed quickly.
Rhein Chemie is a medium-sized chemical company that has been successfully making a name for its customized additives and service products for over 100 years in very mobile markets. Year in, year out, the staff of some 970 employees produces and globally markets numerous products for various applications in the plastics, rubber, lubricants and polyurethane industries. Some 550 employees work at headquarters in Mannheim-Rheinau. The company operates subsidiaries and production facilities in Europe, Asia and North/South America. Rhein Chemie is a wholly owned subsidiary of LANXESS Deutschland GmbH, Leverkusen.
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by the management of Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of our sole stockholder LANXESS Deutschland GmbH and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in LANXESS AG's reports to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. LANXESS AG and Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH assume no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
