SABIC extends its impact copolymers with the new phthalate-free SABIC® PP FLOWPACT FPC70 grade for rigid packaging

Sittard, the Netherlands, May 16, 2017 - With tomorrow’s resource challenges, packaging has a crucial role to play, particularly in helping to reduce waste in the global food supply and in protecting goods for consumers while complying with ever more stringent regulations that are put in place to increase food and consumer safety in packaging industry. Today’s fast-paced lifestyles also are driving demand for pre-packed food; for hot filled packaging such as cups and bottles as well as microwave use. At the same time, consumer expectations are driving OEMs and brand owners to create packaging that is robust, easy to open and distinctively shaped with vibrant graphics. These challenges need to be met while lowering weight and cost by reducing packaging thickness with down gauging, faster production cycle times, and minimizing waste and the environmental impact.

SABIC is helping customers in packaging industry to meet these challenges by extending its FLOWPACT impact copolymers family with a new SABIC® PP FPC70 Polypropylene solution for rigid packaging. This high flow (MFR 70) impact copolymer grade based on a phthalate free catalyst is an injection-molding grade developed for applications such as containers, caps and closures in rigid packaging and for consumer goods.

SABIC has a strong focus on sustainability in its solutions for the packaging industry. “Our new FLOWPACT grade SABIC® PP FPC70 is a part of the new wave of products from SABIC for rigid packaging—and for other segments as well. It is an important step forward that should enable our customers to use less material and less energy to produce rigid packaging with the same or even better properties than before, more quickly than before”, says Lada Kurelec, Global Business Director PP for Petrochemicals at SABIC. “SABIC has a team of experts dedicated to packaging with polypropylene and our phthalate free portfolio is designed to cater needs of our customers in the market. This is part of a major innovation drive in the company.”

Trials at several packaging manufacturers have already demonstrated the benefits of the new product’s market-leading combination of high stiffness and high impact strength. “We believe SABIC® PP FPC70 answers the continuing trends in thin wall packaging by enabling up to 10% thinner walls and fast injection, thus reducing energy consumption and increasing productivity , not only help our packaging customer save on material cost but also production costs,” Kurelec further notes.

SABIC® PP FPC70 is a new addition to the recently introduced FLOWPACT grades FPC45 (MFR 45) and FPC100 (MFR 100). Rigid packaging made with SABIC® PP FPC70 polymer, including applications that can be filled with hot content, has considerably higher top-load strength than identical products made with current benchmark materials. This in turn improves stackability, providing better economics in transport and storage. SABIC® PP FPC70 incorporates important advances in polymer chemistry that yield a material with a great balance between high stiffness, impact strength and high heat distortion temperature than a standard impact copolymer. SABIC® PP FPC70 can be used for containers intended for packaging foods and non-food products, caps and closures, as well as for production of housewares.

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