Building/construction

A new system for corrugated plastic drainage pipes is said to offer throughput of up to twice as much as conventional systems. PVC, PE, and PP all can be processed on the new systems.

Shown is a mold block with the typical tunnel profile and a tunnel-shaped drainage pipe.

Only six months removed from the merger that created it, extrusion equipment supplier battenfeld-cincinnati (Bad Oeynhausen, Germany) is promising advances from all three of its divisions at the K (Oct. 27-Nov. 3; Düsseldorf, Germany).

Superior creep resistance at room temperature and comparable creep resistance at elevated temperatures when compared to long-glass-filled PP. That's the claim for a new polypropylene grade that gets its reinforcement from short glass fibers.

Cabot Corp. (Boston, MA) has opened a new black masterbatch manufacturing facility in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. The plant has an initial production capacity of 25,000 tonnes/year with provision to expand to 75,000 tonnes in the future. The supplier built the new plant to help service what it says is an increasing demand for masterbatch in the Middle East, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

With the excitement high, many of the fans attending the World Cup soccer matches in South Africa probably won't have much use for their seats. But should they need a break, they can rest assured those seats were molded with a recipe of color, FR, and UV additives designed to keep them safe, attractive, and comfortable.

Asia Pacific currently accounts for approximately 30% of global composites demand but come 2015 it will be home to around half of global consumption.

Indeed production looks set to more than double to ten million metric tons by 2015. This bullish forecast comes from Frédérique Mutel, president and CEO of JEC Composites, organizer of the eponymous trade show in France and Asia. Mutel was visiting Singapore as part of an Asian roadshow for the JEC Composites Show scheduled for Singapore October 12-14.

PVC profile processors, take note: the K 2010 tradeshow will be the official market launch of a new range of parallel twin-screw extruders, said to offer throughput increases of 25% above current machines, while also offering an improvement in energy efficiency.

Newly launched polycarbonate-based laminate composites provide blast resistance that exceeds current anti-terrorism force-protection standards, including those with the highest defined levels of pressure loads and shock waves.

Pipe processors in Asia now have a new choice when it comes to specifying materials for hot and cold water pipe applications. Marketed by PolyMirae Company Ltd, a joint venture between polyolefins supplier LyondellBasell Industries and Korean polypropylene (PP) supplier Daelim, the new grade, Hostalen PP H5416K, is a random copolymer (PP-R) intended for use in hot and cold water pipe applications.

JM Eagle, a global manufacturer of plastic pipe, asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a fired ex-employee because it lacks any evidence the company's pipe was substandard and failed to achieve basic legal thresholds for success. Additionally, JM Eagle filed a motion with the court to strike what it called "certain irrelevant and objectionable references in the complaint to the ethnicity and nationality of individuals connected with the company."