SABIC Announces Portfolio Expansion with Launch of Three New Engineered LEXAN™ Film Products for Display, Electronics and Auto Sectors

SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business announced a major expansion of its industry leading LEXAN™ polycarbonate (PC) portfolio: three new engineered LEXAN PC film grades to help customers in the consumer electronics and automotive sectors meet growing demand for cost reduction, greater design flexibility, higher performance and compliance with global environmental regulations. The new grades – LEXAN HP92TTY, LEXAN 6060 and LEXAN OQ8DA films – provide outstanding optical quality and specialized functionality for in-mold decoration (IMD) overlays in consumer electronics and automotive applications. These new additions to its flagship LEXAN product portfolio also demonstrate SABIC’s ongoing investment in world-class technologies and underscore the company’s unyielding commitment to the technical requirements, application development needs and business goals of global customers and converters.

“Now, with the introduction of the three new LEXAN film grades, our customers have an even wider range of materials from which they can choose to meet their specific requirements, from higher performance and improved cost-out to greater sustainability,” said Lennard Markestein, global film portfolio & North Asia director, Innovative Plastics. “These new materials also illustrate SABIC’s solid commitment to helping our customers’ growth and success in Asia and around the world. SABIC actively supports our Asian customers with a dedicated local team, complete supply chain support and an efficient distribution organization to ensure a steady and reliable source of our films.”

New High-functional Films Offer Greater Design Freedom

The three new high-functional LEXAN films provide new design options for IMD overlays and lenses, and are suitable for embossing and printing. LEXAN HP92TTY coated film for 2.5-dimensional formed parts delivers good chemical and abrasion resistance is embossable and requires no post-curing step. Target applications are IMD overlays for consumer electronics and automotive parts. LEXAN 6060 film for IMD overlays on 3-dimensional parts is printable and provides high gloss, light transmission and provides increased surface hardness. Applications include housings for portable electronics. LEXAN OQ8DA dual-coated sheeted film provides excellent impact performance and is printable. It can be used for lenses and keypads on electronic devices.
Flame Retardant Products for Electrical Insulation Applications

In addition to the new grades, SABIC is displaying its non-halogenated, UL-compliant
LEXAN EFR film portfolio. These environmentally responsible translucent or opaque films deliver non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardant performance at various gauges, enabling electrical and electronics OEMs to meet and to go beyond current environmental directives by voluntarily eliminating halogenated additives in their products while meeting the requirements of the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous substances (RoHs) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE 2006) directives.

Another highlight of the company is NORYL™ EFR735 film featuring non-halogenated flame retardance with the UL 94 V-0 compliance. This product may be used as the photovoltaic back sheet substrate by replacing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, providing superior hydrolysis stability and good lamination and adhesion properties. Additionally this product may be used in the battery spacer insulation of hybrid and electrical vehicles, providing excellent chemical resistance to corrosive electrolyte solutions in the battery case.

Enabling Advanced LED Lighting and Display Technologies

SABIC offers a wide range of LEXAN ILLUMINEX™ films with engineered random, lens and prism surface texturing. The diffuser films provide excellent hiding power, good light transmission and luminance which can be used for liquid crystal displays (LCD), handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets; automotive LED dials and HVAC panels and LED lighting applications.

LEXAN films are available in monolithic gauges up to 500 μm and provide excellent optical quality and good dimensional stability at elevated temperatures. Several of the grades are suitable for printing and can be formed in 3D shapes. LEXAN films with engineered surface textures provide a cost-effective value proposition by using a one-step melt extrusion manufacturing process with PC resin. This in combination with LEXAN film’s lower density of 15 percent less than PET and ability for recycling may provide significant cost savings compared to PET alternatives.

Investing in Global and Local Capabilities

SABIC offers mono- and multi-layer extrusion capabilities and in-line master sheeting. Through its distribution and convertor partners, the company also offers roll slitting and cut-to-size services. SABIC’s application development facilities provide lamination, folding, die cutting, screen printing, laser marking and 3D forming services to customers.

Further illustrating its commitment to Asian markets, SABIC also recently expanded LEXAN Optical Quality film production at its Nansha, China, facility with a state-of-the-art extrusion line. Subsequent capability and capacity additions in Asia are planned for the 2012-2015 period.

For additional information on SABIC’s LEXAN film solutions, please go to www.sabic-ip.com. For technical product inquiries, please contact us at www.sabic-ip.com/prtechinquiry.

Notes to Editors

• Brands marked with ™ are trademarks of SABIC
• SABIC is a registered trademark of SABIC Holding Europe B.V.
• High-resolution photos are available upon request

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 16 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 around 40,000 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 Innovative Plastics

SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with an 80-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

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This release was published on openPR.