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Arkema re-launching Kynar® 460 PVDF resins after expanding capacity at newest production facility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stan Howard
Phone: 610.205.7027
King of Prussia, PA - December 03, 2012

Arkema Inc. is re-launching one of its longest standing PVDF resin grades, Kynar® 460 PVDF as a result of significant capacity expansion at its newest production facility in China. Originally introduced in the 1960s, Kynar® 460 PVDF resin was recently in short supply due to a high demand for the whole Kynar® PVDF product line. 

“With the new capacity, we have a virtually unlimited supply of this standard workhorse grade of Kynar® PVDF,” said Rosemary Heinze, Marketing Manager for Arkema’s fluoropolymers business. “Customers love the special properties and processability of this product that are unmatched with any other PVDF product for wire and cable extrusion, monofilament extrusion, membrane manufacture, and extruded profiles,” said Heinze.

When melt processed into wire and cable coatings and into piping systems, Kynar® 460 resins offer high chemical, radiation, and abrasion resistance, excellent thermal stability, and resistance to creep under mechanical stress and load.  These same properties are demonstrated when Kynar® 460 is solvated to form strong and tough micro-porous membranes for water treatment and bio-medical applications. 

Kynar® 460 resin is produced at Arkema’s Calvert City, Kentucky, USA facility, and is available in pellet and powder forms. It has a low enough melting point that it can be processed on standard polyolefin extrusion equipment, provided the barrels and screws are chrome or nickel plated.  This ease of handling makes nearly all of the available Kynar® PVDF grades an economical way to add high performance fluoropolymers to a product line without major investment in processing equipment.

In July 2012, Arkema announced the successful start-up of a 50 percent increase in Kynar® PVDF production at its Changshu, China operation.  This new capacity enables Arkema to offer an even broader range of Kynar® PVDF resins, ensuring that it meets demand in both traditional markets such as coatings, chemical engineering and offshore oil extraction, which is experiencing strong growth, and in emerging applications such as water treatment, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic panels for solar energy.

A global chemical company and France’s leading chemicals producer, Arkema is building the future of the chemical industry every day. Deploying a responsible, innovation-based approach, we produce state-of-the-art specialty chemicals that provide customers with practical solutions to such challenges as climate change, access to drinking water, the future of energy, fossil fuel preservation and the need for lighter materials. With operations in more than 40 countries, some 14,000 employees and 10 research centers, Arkema should generate annual revenue of approximately $8.3 billion, and holds leadership positions in all its markets with a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.

Press Contact:
Stan Howard Tel.: 610 205 7027 E-mail: stan.howard@arkema.com

Technical Contact:
Rosemary Heinze Tel.: 610 205 7223 E-mail: rosemary.heinze@arkema.com

Kynar® is a registered trademark of Arkema Inc.

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