Newly independent Victrex seeks high-performance niches.

The mission for Victrex USA Inc., following its management buyout last year from ICI PLC of England, will be to provide a full range of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) grades to molders, extruders, and compounders by tailoring properties of this high-performance thermoplastic to specific niche applications.

Victrex USA is the North American sales and marketing unit of Victrex Ltd. in England. Officials at the firm's new headquarters in West Chester, Pa., say that with their more focused management they can offer greater flexibility in forming strategic alliances and more competitive resin pricing in the future.

Victrex managing director David R. Hummel and commercial director Daniel P. Lazas expect no near-term changes in PEEK pricing. In the longer term, they expect a downward pricing trend (from around $33/lb tl for neat resin today) to result from improved productivity at Victrex's recently expanded PEEK plant in Blackpool, England.

Worldwide sales of PEEK this year are projected at about 1.1 million lb, 40% of that going to the U.S., 40% to Europe, and the balance of sales going to Japan. The Blackpool plant has an annual capacity of 2.5 million lb.

PEEK is noted for its high-performance engineering properties, such as continuous-use temperatures in the 480-500 F range, high chemical and fuel resistance, UL-94V-0 flammability rating down to a 0.057 in. thickness, and high mechanical strength over a wide temperature range.

One of the current marketing challenges for the new Victrex PEEK group is to distinguish its identity from ICI's unsuccessful polyethersulfone (PES) line, which also bore the trade name Victrex. ICI withdrew that product in 1991. While ICFs PES was an unprofitable venture, PEEK had maintained a double-digit growth rate from 1987 to '93.

NEW GRADES & COMPETITORS

PEEK typically competes against thermosets, other polyketones, and high-end fluoropolymers. A new competitor is Aurum thermoplastic polyimide from Mitsui Toatsu of Japan. Under development for several years, Aurum is being commercially launched this month at NPE by Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals Inc., N.Y.C. (see PT, June '93, p. 13; May '94, pp. 117, 194).

One of the newest grades in the Victrex portfolio is PEEK 150FC30, a high-flow, hot-runner injection molding grade containing a 30% lubricant and reinforcement package, which includes carbon fiber, graphite powder, and PTFE. This grade is designed for wear components such as bearings, thrust washers, seal rings, and bushings.

The second new grade is PEEK 381G, an untilled extrusion grade that targets film, wire coating, thin-wall/small-diameter tubing, and monofilament.

NEW VICTREX PEEK 150FC30 FOR HOT-RUNNER INJECTION MOLDING

Specific Gravity                 1.44
Mold Shrinkage, %                0.9
Tensile Strength, psi            19,000
Elongation at Break, %           3
Flexural Modulus, psi            1,175,000
Flexural Strength, psi           30,450
Notched Izod Impact, ft-lb/in.   1.69
Melting Point, F                 644
HDT
Continuous-Use Temperature, F
(UL 746B)                        482

NEW PEEK 381G FOR EXTRUSION

Specific Gravity                 1.30
Mold Shrinkage, %                1.0-1.8
Tensile Strength, psi            13,500
Elongation at Break, %           50
Flexural Modulus, psi            594,000
Flexural Strength, psi           24,650
Notched Izod Impact, ft-lb/in.   1.57
Melting Point, F                 644
HDT
Continuous-Use Temperature, F
(UL 746B)                        482

PEEK sales to custom compounders will continue to focus on "black-box" applications, where PEEK is an additive in resin blends and alloys, according to Hummel and Lazas. Available as a fine or coarse powder, PEEK typically is used by compounders as a flow enhancer and stiffener for PTFE and a toughening agent for various thermoplastic elastomers.

Hummel and Lazas expect new conductive PEEK grades to be developed by custom compounders for the electrical/electronic sector. Components of silicon-wafer carriers and computer disk drives will spawn new niche grades of PEEK blends, they predict.