SABIC’s New PP Homo polymer spun bond resins meet full range of customer needs

Sittard, the Netherlands – 07 July 2011 – Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world’s top petrochemical companies, proudly announces the introduction a new set of PP resins for spun bond applications. Together, these high-performance, food contact-compliant materials address the full spectrum of customer needs, such as consistent quality, cost/energy savings, reliable supply and impact on sustainability. Both SABIC® PP 511A and SABIC® PP 519A allow for a variety of applications ranging from hygiene products, roofing, building and construction, as well as automotive applications.

“SABIC’s launch of these spun bond grades will help our customers to achieve their goals with resins, providing a broad performance window and allowing for efficient very high-speed production with a wide supply coverage,” said André Kamycki, SABIC technical marketing engineer, PP.
“Our strong logistical network ensures availability of these materials throughout Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia. We are currently the only provider to offer two grades that can serve as a total package for nonwoven manufacturers in these areas. Also, because the new grades address a wide range of customer requirements and applications, SABIC can serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ for polypropylene homo-polymer materials – the most widely used resins for fiber production.”

Both of the new SABIC grades are tailor made (very narrow molecular distribution, optimized additive package) and hence achieve highest throughput at latest spun bond machine technology, along with excellent fiber thickness uniformity, typically leading to much lower number of filament breakage, excellent fabric appearance, softness and tensile properties.
Spun bond producers will be able to choose either SABIC® PP 511A or SABIC® PP 519A, to optimise for two different market sectors.

SABIC® PP 511A is designed for a broad array of applications, from hygiene products to technical applications such as automotive liners and anti-damping for roofing. It offers a balance between high production speed and uniform fiber thickness, typically leading to reduced fiber breakage reflected in less spinning defects, suction filter deposits and excellent fabric appearance.
The optimized additive recipe will potentially reduce machine cleaning frequency due to slower build up of die deposits. PP511A has the potential to achieve throughput improvements on the latest extrusion machine generations with mechanical performance at acceptable levels.

SABIC® PP 519A is excellent for spinning ultra fine, consistent filaments at very high production speeds. It produces lightweight, very soft non woven fabric ideal for diaper liners and feminine hygiene products. Importantly, this resin features optimised rheological properties, with the potential to be processed at 10-15º degrees lower than the average temperature for conventional materials. Significant energy and cost savings can be achieved, making
SABIC® PP 519A resin an excellent choice for sustainability initiatives.

Both grades are compliant with U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Commission regulations for food contact.

About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 21.5 billion (US$ 5.73 billion) in 2010. Sales revenues for 2010 totaled SR 152 billion (US$ 40.5 billion). Total assets stood at SR 317.6 billion (US$ 84.5 billion) at the end of 2010.

SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 18 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and China. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with 33,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. SABIC’s overall production has increased from 35 million metric tons in 2001 to 66 million metric tons in 2010.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

About SABIC in Europe
In Europe SABIC has 12 world-scale production facilities which manufacture polyethylenes, polypropylenes, engineering thermoplastics and chemical products. An extensive network of local sales offices and logistical hubs are responsible for sales of these products as well as those manufactured elsewhere in the world. In addition SABIC has three research facilities based in the region, which form part of its global Technology and Innovation organization.

SABIC employs approximately 6000 people in Europe.

Media Notes
• As an acronym, SABIC should be all caps whenever it appears in print.
• ® Trademark of SABIC

Kevin Noels
Marketing Solutions
Lelyweg 6
4612 PS, Bergen op Zoom
The Netherlands
T +31 164 317 011
E knoels@marketingsolutions.be

This release was published on openPR.