A. Schulman forms strategic alliance with S Korea's INITZ for commercialization of PPS Compounds

15-Oct-14

A. Schulman, Inc.-leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, powders and resins, has signed an agreement and a strategic partnership with the South Korean polymer producer INITZ for the compounding and marketing of INITZ Co. Ltd.'s ECOTRAN® Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) compounds. A. Schulman will be producing, selling and distributing the ECOTRAN® compounds in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. INITZ Co., Ltd. is a joint venture of SK Chemicals Co., Ltd., Korea (66% of the shares) and Teijin Limited, Japan, (remaining 34% of the shares). "The combination of INITZ's know-how and A. Schulman's state-of-the-art global manufacturing capabilities and application development will support our customers in markets such as automotive, electronics, industrial, filtration and coatings to meet and exceed their halogen-free industry standards. Unlike other conventional PPS, ECOTRAN® will enable them to differentiate their product offering and further strengthen their market position," said Bernard Rzepka, COO and Executive Vice President of A. Schulman. "Through almost 100 patents, SK Chemicals constructed its own technology systems and succeeded in developing the world's first environmentally friendly PPS production process without using chlorine and solvent," said Cheol Kim, CEO of SK Chemicals. "According to our partnership, INITZ will focus on customers in the rapidly growing Asian markets. In the Americas and in Europe, we are counting on A. Schulman's extensive compounding know-how and excellent market coverage," said Hyokyung Kim, President of INITZ.