The next-generation consumer electronics

The market for consumer electronics and lifestyle products has grown rapidly throughout the years due to the rising middle class segment of the society. According to a report conducted by Clearwater Corporate Finance in 2012, annual spending by the global middle class will reach $20 trillion by 2020. Global Industry Analysts Inc. has calculated the consumer electronics sector alone will be worth up to $1.4 trillion by 2015.

But consumers are now getting wiser. They want more from their gadgets and these are highly visible in the rising demand for environment-friendly products utilising the most advanced technologies. With these developments, the sure winners are materials solutions companies that are able to deliver highly advanced polymer and engineering thermoplastic solutions that allow manufacturers in the consumer electronics and lifestyle industries to create sleeker, more stylish products that meet environmental, high-performance and aesthetic requirements.

Style, functionality and eco-friendly features

At K2013, SABIC demonstrated a range of relevant applications, including the new SONY DSC-HX300 Cybershot? camera and a Canon Inkjet printer. The company has been developing material technologies that help them adapt to the rapidly growing and evolving global consumer markets. As Matt Gray, Director, Consumer Electronics Marketing for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics put its: “Our solutions help our customers create more sustainable products, while simultaneously enhancing design freedom to help set their brands apart in the ultra-competitive consumer markets. In addition, a suite of SABIC material solutions has been developed with an eye on sustainability, allowing customers to use post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, as well as achieve enhanced energy efficiency and flame retardance. Our innovations enable our customers to not only meet consumer needs today, but also the needs of tomorrow in a more resource tight and environmentally savvy world.”

In its collaboration with Canon to incorporate more recycled content in its Inkjet Printer, leading to a closed loop recycling program. SABIC’s recycling initiative helped convert parts of used copiers into raw material that is then reused in ink-jet printers. The most recent generation, the NORYL? GN390 resin, was launched in 2012 to help Canon become registered with EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. In the closed-loop recycling process, Canon’s High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), collected from returned copier machines, is converted to SABIC’s NORYL? GN resin which is then used to manufacture new products and achieve green procurement standards. The system helps Canon use recovered resources to manufacture their printers, helps create value out of post-use materials, as well as returning valuable materials to the life cycle.

SONY, as part of its global environmental plan, “Road to Zero,” turned to SABIC when seeking a sustainable material solution for its DSC-HX300 Cybershot ? compact digital camera. For the first time, SONY was able to use a post-consumer recycled thermoplastic material to achieve high quality and performance standards suitable for its external camera housing, where surface aesthetics, impact resistance and flame retardance are key considerations. SONY incorporated its proprietary coating technology with SABIC’s CYCOLOY? RCY6214 grade of recycled material, expanding the use of recycled materials to 10 parts for this model, or 30% of the camera’s plastic materials. The SABIC material also providNike Air Max 97