SABIC’s High-performance Polypropylene Resin Helps the Flux® Junior Provide a Playful, Kid-friendly Experience

Sittard, the Netherlands – 12 April 2012 – Every child loves pint-sized versions of their parents’ belongings. To fulfil those desires, Flux Furniture B.V. has created a miniature version of its award-winning foldable and portable Flux® Chair. In line with the adult model, the new Flux® Junior is moulded from durable, colourful and lightweight polypropylene (PP) resin from SABIC. The high-performance SABIC® PP PHC series of impact block copolymers enables the Flux Junior to deliver strength and stiffness – commonly used in all sorts of child’s play, outdoors as well as inside – together with light weight for easy carrying and flexibility for rapid folding/unfolding.

Further, custom colourability of the SABIC resin allowed Flux Furniture to create three new, child-friendly shades – sky blue, rosy pink, and camouflage green. In addition to the three new colours, the Flux Junior is available in the three colours that match the original Flux Chair. Accessories include the Flux Wall Mount system for flat storage of up to eight Flux Juniors.

According to Douwe Jacobs, co-founder and lead designer for Flux Furniture, “When we decided to extend the Flux Chair line to children, we again selected SABIC polypropylene. The SABIC material has performed beautifully in the adult-size Flux Chair. Plus, it offers important properties to create a memorable experience for children. The material’s excellent strength to weight ratio enables the Flux Junior to withstand active use while allowing kids to move the chair easily. It also provides outstanding durability and resilience so the chair can be used outdoors. And the bright, appealing colours that SABIC helped us create are a magnet for youngsters.”

Like its parent, the Flux Junior unfolds from a flat, easily stored package into a distinctive chair. The SABIC® PP PHC series of impact block copolymers offer a good blend of properties that enable thin hinges to be incorporated into the thicker, rigid chair body. These hinges are key to the origami-based design.

“This new product is another stage in our continuing close collaboration with Flux,” said Paul Wanrooij, Technical Marketing Engineer SABIC. “The new Flux Junior shows how much enjoyment can be produced from a unique design combined with the versatility and performance of our polypropylene technology. SABIC® PP PHC series copolymers have enabled Flux to build on its success and reach an important new market segment.”

The Flux Chair, which has won the New Venture Award, the Philips Innovation Award and the Grand Designs Product of the Year Award, combines design excellence with environmental responsibility. Because the chair folds flat, it can be efficiently transported in bulk – helping to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption. (To discover how the Flux Chair folds, click here).

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 29.24 billion (US$ 7.80 billion) in 2011. Sales revenues for 2011 totaled SR 189.90 billion (US$ 50.64 billion). Total assets stood at SR 332.78 billion (US$ 88.74 billion) at the end of 2011.
SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 17 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with more than 33,000 employees worldwide.
SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
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 Flux Furniture B.V.
Designers Douwe Jacobs & Tom Schouten, having graduated in 2008 from the TU Delft, The Netherlands, won in 2009 both the New Venture entrepreneurs competition and the Philips Innovation Award. The Flux Chair is the fruition of Douwe Jacobs’ graduation project. In search of inspiration for a line of folding furniture, he became fascinated by the art of paper folding. Driven by the possibility of creating elegant shapes with curved fold lines and a single flat sheet, the miniature scale models quickly found the chair’s unique form. Together with fellow student Tom Schouten, Douwe formed the company Flux Furniture. This partnership enabled them to realise a production ready and patented product from the first folded paper designs. As of November 1st 2010 Flux Furniture will be located in Marcel Wanders’ Westerhuis, Amsterdam.

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

Kevin Noels
Marketing Solutions
Belgium
T +31 164 317 011
E info@marketingsolutions.be

This release was published on openPR.