GE ADVANCED MATERIALS’ NEW NIAX SILICONE L-650 SURFACTANT HELPS REDUCE USE OF FLAME RETARDANTS IN SLABSTOCK FOAM APPLICATIONS

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GE ADVANCED MATERIALS’ NEW NIAX SILICONE L-650 SURFACTANT HELPS REDUCE USE OF FLAME RETARDANTS IN SLABSTOCK FOAM APPLICATIONS
15 April 2005 - GE Advanced Materials

GE Advanced Materials’ NIAX surfactant is a brand that is a familiar one to manufacturers versed in flexible slabstock polyurethane (PU) foam applications, particularly those that require the use of combustion modification additives. Although GE’s NIAX surfactants are not inherently flame retardant (FR), they have been shown to deliver FR performance improvements to foam in small-scale combustibility tests.

Now, GE is launching NIAX silicone L-650, which offers a further 10 to 30 percent reduction by weight of flame-retardant use in slabstock foam applications, compared to earlier products in the industry. An additional improvement: new NIAX silicone L-650 can be applied in conventional foam manufacturing processes, as well as those that use carbon dioxide (CO2) as an auxiliary blowing agent.

NIAX silicone L-650 may be an excellent candidate for use in FR grades of foam for furniture, bedding, and automotive products, to reduce the amount of flame retardant required to pass small-scale tests like California Technical Bulletin 117 and MVSS-302. In addition to its outstanding FR improvement, this quality may also translate into reduced material costs for manufacturers who use GE’s NIAX silicone L-650.

“GE’s introduction of NIAX silicone L-635 in 2002 re-established equal processing performance for flame-retardant surfactants,” said Lee Lawler, GE Advanced Materials’ global technology leader, flexible slabstock foam. “Our NIAX silicone L-650 continues this level of processing flexibility with the added value of improved performance and costs.”

GE’s new NIAX silicone L-650 provides excellent froth formation and stability as required in CO2 processes to help make soft and low-density foam grades. It also delivers wide processing latitude, very fine cell structure in CO2 processes, and a very broad grade range latitude.

GE Advanced Materials’ new NIAX silicone L-650 is virtually unrivalled in boosting – at reduced use levels – flame-retardant performance for flexible PU foam.

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About: GE Advanced Materials
GE Advanced Materials is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicone-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Among its businesses are:

• Silicones, which includes GE Toshiba Silicones in the Pacific region and GE Bayer Silicones in Europe, offers silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, resins, and elastomers for a variety of industries such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, foam control, and consumer (http://www.gesilicones.com/gesilicones/am1/en/home.jsp);

• Plastics is a global plastics materials supplier and distributor, which serves customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (http://www.geplastics.com/);

• Quartz produces high purity materials for the semiconductor, fiber optic, lamp making and water purification industries. GE Quartz is a leading supplier of quartz materials to the semiconductor industry (http://www.gequartz.com/en/index.htm);

Established in 1968, GE Advanced Materials’ Specialty Film & Sheet business is a leading supplier of high-performance engineering film and sheet products to the United States, Europe, Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and operates a worldwide network of sales, research, manufacturing and technical services facilities.

Today, GE Advanced Materials, Specialty Film & Sheet employs about 600 people, and manufactures engineering sheet and film products at 12 facilities in 9 countries worldwide.

Recent investments:
• 2003 New Roofing Structures Line in Italy, Europe
• 2003 New Coating Lines in China & Malaysia, Pacific
• 2002 Acquisition of Plastech, China
• 2001 New Film Lines in USA and Europe
• 2001 Acquisition of Carboron, Malaysia
• 2000 Acquisition of Matraplast, Canada
• 2000 Acquisition of Nim Plastics, USA

Products:
GE Advanced Materials offers a variety of film materials are to meet different type of applications such as graphic film, coated products, electrical & electronic products, and specialties. The key film materials available today include:
• Lexan* Polycarbonate film
• Ultem* film
• Lexan* SLX film
• Valox* film
• Lexan* Illuminex* film

GE Advanced Materials’ sheet product line includes a wide range of structures from solid sheet, multi-wall sheet and corrugated sheet through to coated sheet and laminates and combinations of each of these.

The key sheet materials available today include:
• Lexan* Polycarbonate sheet
• Lexan* Solar Control IR sheet
• Margard* coated sheet
• Lexgard* laminated sheet
• Ultem* sheet
• Lexan EXL* sheet

GE Advanced Materials, Specialty Film & Sheet, serves customers in a variety of industries including aircraft, appliances, automotive, building and construction, business machines, electrical & lighting, furnishing, greenhouse, industrial roofing, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications and packaging.

In January 2004, in line with GE Corporate’ new brand architecture, GE Advanced Materials has announced the change of GE Structured Products business naming to GE Advanced Materials, Specialty Film & Sheet.

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