Kuraray's U.S. TPE plant to open soon. (Your Business: In Brief).

This summer, Septon Co. of America (Sepco) in Pasadena, Texas, a part of Japan's Kuraray group, plans to bring on line a 26-million-lb/yr plant for making hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBCs). The plant will make crumb and powder forms of SEBS, as well as a unique variant known as SEEPS, short for styrene-ethylene-ethylene/propylene-styrene. These products will be supplied to compounders of TPEs for uses such as soft-touch molding and engineering thermoplastics modification. "Our plant brings a new source of high-quality SEBS to the U.S.," says Thomas Bell, director of sales and marketing. Sepco has no plan to process its HSBCs into market-ready TPE compounds.

SEEPS is a promising new option for U.S. end-users, says Ron Foster, Sepco's director of market development He says the $2/lb material offers higher tensile strength and heat resistance than SEBS. It also improves absorption and retention of oil when compounded with PP. That makes one SEEPS grade, Septon 4077, a potential replacement for thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) in certain soft-touch applications like grips, handles, and control buttons. SEEPS, a non-vulcanized product, offers Shore A hardnesses from 5 to 95, plus excellent weatherability, Foster says.

Polymer modification is another promising area for Sepco's resins. Foster says SEEPS is a cost-effective impact modifier for PPO (GE's Noryl) and syndiotactic polystyrene (Dow's Questra SPS). Other HSBCs made in Japan and sold here by Sepco are used as impact modifiers and compatibilizers in ABS/PP blends. In Japan, Hybrar 1725 styrene-isoprene copolymer is used in an EVA/PP/EVA film that replaces PVC in food and meat wraps. Hybrar is blended with PP in the core layer to increase resiliency and softness while retaining clarity. Septon America: [phone], www.kuraray.co.jp/en