With that in mind, plastics remain the best choice to protect a product against moisture and humidity, dust or other conditions. A recent plastics development for consumer electronics packaging is the new Sconapor N grades of expandable polystyrene (EPS) being marketed by styrenics supplier Styron.

Styron has been producing EPS under the brand name Sconapor since 1996 at its facility in Schkopau, Germany. These EPS beads were initially developed for thermal and acoustic insulation purposes, but the supplier has optimized them for plastics packaging, with the result this new Sconapor N series, with four grades currently available: N-438, N-338, N-238 and 
N-138A EPS. The four grades have different bead sizes that can translate into different packaging foam densities.

These EPS grades are marketed to processors seeking non-flame-retardant EPS for consumer electronics and appliances packaging. The Schkopau facility is especially convenient for those manufacturers of these devices who have established operations in Central and Eastern Europe.

Styron management has announced plans to change the company name to Trinseo, effective in late 2011.