Frost & Sullivan Recognises KRAIBURG TPE for Excellence in Product Innovation

LONDON, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- Revolutionary THERMOLAST® W, OBC and OBC Overcome Technical Restraints of Conventional SBC Elastomers

Based on its recent analysis of the styrenic block copolymers (SBC) elastomers market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG (Kraiburg) with the 2011 European Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award. The company's innovative products including THERMOLAST® W, OBC and Polar Alloys have overcome certain inherent technical challenges faced by conventional SBCs, such as wet grip and mechanical properties.

Apart from its innovative wet grip technology - THERMOLAST® W, Kraiburg has also developed high performing copolymer blends that render good adhesion properties to ETP (engineered thermoplastic elastomers) and OBC compounds with good adhesion to nylon 12 and HPPA.

"In addition, the Polar Alloys as well as the OBC compounds exhibit superior oil resistance, abrasion resistance and tensile strength compared to conventional SBC elastomers," remarks Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Deepan Kannan. "These materials have demonstrated increased tensile strength of as much as 70 per cent."

Kraiburg has successfully leveraged leading edge technologies in its products. For the THERMOLAST® W products, the company has focused on its expertise in additive technology. By developing a unique and proprietary additive formulation of styrenics, the company has managed to induce wet grip properties to SBC elastomers.

"Besides innovative features such as wet grip and improved mechanical properties, Kraiburg's products can be customised to offer value added benefits to customers," adds Kannan. "For example, its products offer ample scope for colourability or transparency as per customer requirements."

Also, the OBCs support good flow properties. This leads to better extrudability of the product which may be a challenge in certain grades of SBCs. The products are also odour-free and offer high oil resistance.

"Kraiburg has developed OBC products and Polar Alloys in such a way that use of these materials will lead to cost savings for customers," states Kannan. "For instance, the use of secondary sealants is not required while using these products which results in significant cost saving for customers."

Kraiburg's innovative products can be employed in a wide range of applications in the consumer goods, automotive, medical and sports arenas. In packaging, the company targets food applications such as reusable and re-sealable lids. The OBC and Polar Alloys can be used in a variety of durable and consumer electronic applications such as cell phones.

"Moreover, Kraiburg works with OEMs and compounders directly on specific projects to expand the presence of SBC elastomers in applications where it is generally dominated by other elastomers," concludes Kannan. "As a result, the company is competitively positioned to tap into a wide range of opportunities."

Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in developing a product with innovative elements, leverages leading edge technologies, offers valued added features and benefits, supports increased customer ROI and has the potential for enhanced customer acquisition/penetration.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Kraiburg

KRAIBURG TPE (http://www.kraiburg-tpe.com) manufactures thermoplastic elastomers based on HSBC (hydrogenated styrene block copolymers) and markets them all around the world. In addition to custom solutions, the company offers under the THERMOLAST® brand name a broad spectrum of standardized compounds to cover a wide range of applications. With its high-performance HIPEX® compound, KRAIBURG TPE is opening up the world of rubber for all the companies that process thermoplastics. The TPE specialist has production sites in Germany, the USA and Malaysia. The sales organization covers Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Taiwan and Brazil. In Japan KRAIBURG TPE is represented by a distributor.

About Frost & Sullivan

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Contact:

Emily Bailey
Promotions Coordinator - Europe
Frost & Sullivan
emily.bailey@frost.com
P: +44-(0)20-7915-7869

Lars Goldmann
Head of Corporate Marketing
KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG
lars.goldmann@kraiburg-tpe.com
P: +49-(0)8638-9810-278