Polymax Thermoplastic Elastomers Inc., a leading manufacturer and custom compounder of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) materials, today announced the availability of new grades of premium quality TPE for sensory-sensitive applications.

In response to the high market demand for better packaging materials that protect the freshness, quality and safety of food and beverages, PolymaxTPE has developed new formulations that now provide low extractables, organoleptic neutrality, excellent sealing properties and superior clarity. As a result, the company’s new sensory-sensitive TPEs offer solutions for a wide range of applications in food and beverage packaging, transport and storage. These new materials will be showcased at the upcoming NPE2015 (Booth #S19058, South Hall Level 1).

“The development of TPE for sensory-sensitive applications was extremely challenging,” said PolymaxTPE Chairman Dr. Martin Lu. “It required extensive polymer science and compounding expertise, customized manufacturing equipment, and close teamwork with our customers.”

Specialty compounds and formulations of PolymaxTPE sensory-sensitive materials can be used to manage permeation of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and oxygen, in addition to improving sealing properties in applications such as screw cap liners and engineered wine closures. Furthermore, these materials can be used in tubing for the delivery of dairy products, commercial food packaging, and bag-in-box wine. The PolymaxTPE sensory-sensitive product grades meet most food and beverage contact standards of the FDA, EU and GB, and are fully recyclable.

The new PolymaxTPE full-service facility in Waukegan, IL was engineered to produce the company’s current range of more than 500 grades of thermoplastic elastomers, as well as the next-generation of TPE innovations such as its sensory-sensitive range. The plant includes highly automated production equipment that was custom designed for PolymaxTPE by some of the world’s leading providers of extrusion and compounding technologies. The company’s investment in top-of-the-line production and testing equipment ensures premium product quality, consistency, and performance at optimum production speed and cost.