DSM Engineering Plastics has introduced Akulon XP, a high productivity grade of PA6 for film applications.

Akulon XP offers a broader processing window leading to more flexibility and more uniform thickness distribution in cast film, more melt strength and better parison stability leading to optimised LDPE/LLDPE ratio in multi-layer films without sacrificing the mechanical properties, more shear thinning than with standard PA6 enabling thus higher coating velocities possible and still absolutely gel free.
Akulon PA6 is well-established for food packaging applications. Amongst the benefits for producers are thermoformability, printability, transparency and heat resistance. Key user benefits include oxygen barrier, aroma and flavour barrier, mechanical protection, puncture resistance.
Today, more than three quarters of PA6 film is being used for food packaging applications such as meat, cheese, fish, sausage skins and coffee packs. Non-food applications include medical and pharmaceutical films, protective packaging (bubble film), agricultural film and industrial films.
The development of Akulon PA6 for packaging applications is in line with DSM’s investment programme for PA6: in 2000 DSM opened state-of-the-art PA6 polymerisation plants in Emmen (Netherlands) and Augusta (USA). In 2005, the company extended its polymerisation unit in Emmen dedicated for film. Recently the company announced the start-up of a new production facility in Jiangyin (China) in 2008. With its backwards integration to Caprolactam across the globe DSM Engineering Plastics is one of the leading PA6 film resin suppliers in Europe today.
DSM Engineering Plastics is a business group in the performance materials cluster of DSM with sales in 2006 of around 1 billion euros (which number includes the sales of DSM Dyneema).