Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) highlighted at Plastics Caps & Closures 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, its innovative polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) materials and application development capabilities that can help customers achieve key goals, including enhanced sustainability, competitive advantage and a reliable source of supply.

Stephan Eltink, international account manager for caps and closures, presented “Culture of Innovation in Caps and Closures,” highlighting Sabic solutions that address key industry trends: creation of more environmentally responsible products; the growing division between commodity and value-added closures, and volatility in raw material markets. Eltink demonstrated how the Sabic Culture of Innovation was helping customers create, differentiate and optimise new caps and closures.

Sabic says it is strongly committed to the caps and closures industry and offers a unique value proposition: a global presence, financial stability and reliable access to assets in both Europe and the Middle East to ensure a steady, long-term supply of resins. To provide customers a single source for materials and expertise, the company continues to develop new PP and PE materials that improve performance, enhance sustainability and reduce system costs in applications ranging from healthcare to speciality and high-volume packaging.

Sabic serves the global caps and closures sector by providing one source for diverse, innovative materials and services

High sustainability, low costs
Sabic HDPE organo grades for still water caps utilise high-efficiency slurry technology to help reduce off-flavours while offering a reduced carbon footprint of up to 17 per cent vs gas phase technology.

According to Mario Scholle, business manager, HDPE Europe, “Sabic successfully tackled the sustainability challenge of removing residual chemicals from our HDPE resins to reduce off-tastes from plastic caps. Traditional methods used a great deal of energy. We used our innovative slurry process that produces HDPE with superior organoleptic properties but requires much less energy. This is a great example of how Sabic has raised the bar for both product quality and sustainability.”

A number of Sabic resins have been developed to reduce system costs through optimised processing, faster crystallisation and improved mechanical properties to enable downgauging. Sabic PP Qrystal clarified PP random copolymers for crystal-clear overcaps and airless closures enable lower processing temperatures that reduce energy by up to 15 per cent, cutting costs and emissions.

Qrystal’s advantages
Guido Croonen, business manager, polypropylene, noted, “Our Qrystal grades, which process at lower temperatures than traditional materials, not only save energy but also accelerate crystallisation and cooling for shorter cycle times. These innovative materials can make a significant contribution to lower system costs and higher productivity.”

To assist customers with application design, development, testing and process optimisation, Sabic has a dedicated team focused on the caps and closures sector and a comprehensive sustainability department. Sabic experts can help customers target the best materials instead of going through a time-consuming trial-and-error process. Technical specialists collaborate with customer teams early in the process to align materials with design, streamline the transition to commercial production and accelerate time to market.