Chemicals for Polymers & Plastics

Plastics rarely leave a factory as pure polymer. Compounders and converters blend base resins with antioxidants to protect against heat during processing, UV stabilisers for outdoor life, plasticisers to soften PVC, lubricants and metal stearates to aid extrusion, and fillers and pigments to control cost, stiffness and colour. Resin producers themselves use initiators and catalysts to start and control polymerisation.

Our industrial and inorganic divisions supply these additives and raw materials, including hindered phenol and phosphite antioxidants, non-phthalate and phthalate plasticisers where permitted, zinc and calcium stearates, peroxide and azo initiators, titanium dioxide, carbon black, calcium carbonate and epoxidised soybean oil. Polymer testing labs also source reagents and solvents for melt-flow, extraction and residual-monomer analysis. Typical buyers are masterbatch and compound producers, pipe and profile extruders, film and packaging converters, cable compounders and rubber goods manufacturers.

Regulatory requirements are especially important where plastics touch food or children. Food-contact rules such as EU Regulation 10/2011 and US FDA 21 CFR, and restrictions on certain phthalates under REACH and similar laws, determine which additives a converter may use. We provide COAs and GHS SDSs with every lot and can request food-contact or composition statements from manufacturers where they exist. Organic peroxides need temperature-controlled, dangerous-goods shipping, while most other additives move as non-hazardous cargo in bags or drums.