TechnoCompound plans further expansion of LFT and engineering polymer production

06-Jun-08

German compounding specialist TechnoCompound plans to further expand its production of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics (LFTs) and engineering polymers in the next few years. After the successful installation of two new compounding lines towards the end of 2007, annual production capacity has mounted to 50,000 tons, of which 15,000 tons are reserved for special-purpose LFTs. TechnoCompound has more than doubled its compounding capacity after it split with PolymerChemie at the end of 2005. Demand for rod-shaped LFT pellets totalled 60,000 tons in Europe in 2007 and is expected to grow to 100,000 tons by 2011 as per a report by Townsend Polymer Services. TechnoCompound's share of the market was about 6% last year, set to increase to over 20% by 2011 - an annual growth rate of almost 50%. A particular feature of the LFT compounds from TechnoCompound is their very high degree of impregnation: thanks to optimized pultrusion technology, each individual glass filament is completely enveloped in the polymer matrix. This affords the glass fibres better protection during the various stages of the injection moulding process, i.e. homogenizing, plasticizing and injection. Moreover, the complete envelopment of the glass fibres makes for a high surface quality of the moulded part. The density of the surface also reduces corrosion, as no moisture can penetrate it. TechnoCompound product range includes emission-optimized LFT-PP compounds that are particularly suitable for use in vehicle interiors. Long fibre reinforced PP grades and long fibre reinforced PET grades are currently under development. The new magnetite-filled PP compounds from TechnoCompound are ideal for applications in which noise must be reduced as much as possible for improved user comfort. Possible areas of application are sewage piping in the interiors of buildings and ventilation valves, shafts and housings for microfilter systems in the automotive industry. Compared with conventional, barium sulphate-filled compounds, magnetite-filled compounds manifest a better surface quality and can therefore be used for parts that are exposed to view. By reason of its high density, magnetite (Fe3O4) possesses extremely good soundproofing properties. The compounds come in a choice of 'light' (density: 1.8 g/cm³), 'heavy' (density: 2.1 g/cm³) and 'super heavy' (density: 3.1 g/cm³) grades.