Teknor Apex reports it has made good progress in making available non-lead stabilised (NLS) alternatives to its complete range of Apex, Flexalloy and Fireguard compounds, thus adding to thousands of formulations.

Among the mandates to replace lead are the RoHS regulations that the European Union has scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2006.
“Our challenge was to develop compounds that are free of lead stabilisers yet entail no compromise in physical and electrical properties—and are priced comparably to their lead-stabilized counterparts. We have succeeded in meeting that challenge,” says industry manager Mike Patel.
Teknor Apex has commercialised the broadest range of NLS grades and has established the capability to provide NLS alternatives to any compounds now used by customers, according to Patel. 
“The NLS compounds that we have commercialised run the gamut from compounds for especially demanding applications like plenum data and video cable and wet-location control wire to formulations for electronic interconnect cable, telecom cable, appliance wire, automotive wire, flexible cords, building wire, and fixture wire,” Patel says. “These products cover a wide spectrum of temperature ratings and hardness and include extrusion and moulding grades.  There are formulations for clarity, sunlight-resistance, oil-resistance, and specific flammability requirements.”         
Like their lead-stabilised counterparts, virtually all of these NLS compounds are available throughout the world.  While the Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex manufactures wire and cable products at four plants in the US and ships directly to customers throughout the Americas, its sister division Singapore Polymer Corp (SPC) now can supply any Apex, Flexalloy or Fireguard compound required by customers in Asia.  In Europe, Teknor Apex has established a network of licensees and toll compounders that manufacture products made to Teknor Apex specifications.
SPC supports customers in a vast market stretching from Australia to the Middle East and including Africa.  The company recently relocated to another Singapore site whose new compounding plant has an annual capacity of 75,000 tonnes.  Earlier this year, it opened three representative offices in China.
Amidst this global expansion, Teknor Apex has not ceased to develop innovative products. Its new FreeFlex vinyl/elastomer alloy compounds, which are plasticiser-free yet provide levels of flexibility required for jacketing applications.  Because they lack plasticiser additives, FreeFlex products perform better at very low temperatures and avoid loss of physical properties caused by plasticiser volatilisation or migration.