Soft Elastic News 11/2019 | New portfolio of TPE dispersions


Dear Customer,

If you visited the K-Fair, you are sure to have noticed something: once again, it was packed in Düsseldorf. Around 225,000 visitors from 165 countries were able to confirm at the 3,333 exhibitor stands representing 63 countries that plastic is still an innovative, indispensable and future-oriented material. This was also reflected in an extensive willingness to invest on the part of the trade visitors.

K Fair - Strong impulses for the sector

A particularly high degree of interest was shown in topics such as recycling systems, sustainable raw materials and environmentally-friendly methods. Flexible materials in particular – rubbers and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) – were an established entity at this K-Fair and the exhibitors presented a surprisingly high number of elastomer-specific products and services, e.g. special machinery and equipment for treating and processing or raw materials, additives and compounds.

Just as we did at ACTEGA DS. At our stand in Hall 8A, we presented our extensive TPE product portfolio for consumer goods, applications which come into contact with food, and medical technology.

Apart from topics such as syringe plunger seals, infusion therapy, baby pacifiers or the dental hygiene market, we were also able to present our brand-new portfolio of TPE dispersions for the very first time.

The new generation of polyolefin dispersions

In the form of YUNICO TPE dispersions (thermoplastic Elastomer dispersions), a new, patented generation of dispersions  is brought into the market which, thanks to high-tech TPE materials, offer a wide range of coating solutions for packaging materials and substrates. The new, innovative technology makes it possible to combine various specific features in a single dispersion. Accordingly, maximum customer benefits are offered through individualized application solutions.

Exclusively water-based, these dispersions are free of emulsifiers and solvents (VOCs, i.e. volatile organic compounds such as hydrocarbons, alcohol, aldehydes, or organic acids). This is a key aspect for the protection of employees and consumers as nothing can be released into the air or migrated into contents such as food or beverages. Furthermore, these dispersions meet all of the requirements associated with direct contact with food and have the corresponding FDA/EU approvals.

Variable customizable

YUNICO TPE dispersions are distinguished by the fact that their properties can be adapted variably thanks to compounding of TPE components. This permits a high degree of flexibility. They can be hot-sealed in high and low temperature ranges which means their mechanical properties, e.g. for bags, paper packaging or carry bags, are decisively improved.

The dispersions can offer barrier properties e.g. against water, steam, oil, grease etc. which makes them suitable for food packaging, e.g. dry food (flour, sugar), as well as for frozen packaging, packaging for pet food, cookies and meat, or even pizza boxes, to name but a few examples. The barrier protects the contents from external influences over the entire BFD and helps to retain quality.

This barrier function is important in terms of food safety but also as protection from migration by undesirable substances such as mineral oil or other contaminants into the filled material, i.e. food. The most important requirement on these barriers is that the so-called breakthrough time, i.e. the duration until a barrier is no longer tight and substances which are harmful to health can migrate into food, is longer than the shelf life of the packaged product.

Haptic effects

Haptic effects are key functions when it comes to packaging. The touch and feel of a product packaging are more important than ever before – in a world of visual overstimulation which is becoming increasingly virtual, real and authentic experiences are what count. They not only attract a higher degree of attention – they also linger longer in memories. A 2018 study by Hubert Burda Media first documented the impacts of types of advertising with haptic effects.

It came to the conclusion that special surfaces within adverts increase reader attention, thereby ensuring that the advert achieves a higher emotional feeling of depth. The effect: the product advertised has better chances of staying in long-term memories and is therefore classified as being more relevant. It is not just the actual surface but also the feel of the material which has an effect.

Finally, YUNICO TPE dispersions feature one other major advantage: they are recyclable. This has been confirmed in the PTS test which was conducted in accordance with PTS-RH: 021/97 “Indication of recyclability of packaging made of paper, cardboard and paperboard as well as graphic print products”, the following criteria are applied: defibration, separation of existing impurities by means of sorting, potential for sticky formation (easy sheet formation), properties of the recycled fiber in terms of optical inhomogeneities.

As always, if you wish to receive details on this or the many other applications or you have an idea of your own, please contact us.

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