Sayed M. Husaini: Premium grades for demanding applications

Mr. Sayed M. Husaini, Technical Support Services Manager

IRNEA: What are the recently launched products from NATPET intended for the Middle East and Asian markets?
Mr. Husaini: The Saudi Arabian National Petrochemical Industrial Co. (NATPET) has recently launched few Homo-, Random-, and Impact grades in its Teldene range to cover the market demands in several areas. Adding to our existing selection of homo-grades, we have introduced a highclarity nucleated grade H03TF for the thermoforming application, which can successfully cater to the growing trend, amongst others, in food containers and disposable drinking cups market. We are using the latest generation innovative nucleating agent to provide such advantages as enhanced aesthetics,  organoleptically neutral, dimensional stability, and for deepdrawing applications.

Lower investment and production costs, ease of production, and recent advances in cast film applications have prompted some sectors to move attention from conventionally preferred higher-end solutions in PP films. Cast film application, thus is significantly gaining such markets, and our grade H08CFM successfully provides the solution for regular and metalizeable film applications.

Noticeably increasing demand towards very high clarity packaging articles at reasonable price has led us to expand our range of polypropylene random copolymers. We have introduced two new reactor grades, R25MLT and R40MLT, both containing Milliken's Millad NX 8000 latest-generation clarifying agent. Those are aimed principally at markets for thin-walled injection moulded food  containers, CD and DVD cases, fancy packaging for cosmetic articles, and other consumer applications, especially in the Middle East and Asia.

Additional advantage of this grade is that it enables the converters to achieve added benefit of considerable energy and cost savings - value for price - by processing the grade at lower temperatures and cycle times than by similar products in the market. Moreover, by using these new grades the processors can reduce carbon dioxide emission by 5% to 8%. We have also embarked in introducing a relatively unique extrusion grade, R01EX, for pipe application with very low MFR.

This grade is normally avoided by resin producers due to its inherent processing difficulties. With some real efforts we were successful in producing this grade, which was tested in the market and the initial evaluations exhibit distinctively better behaviour. On the Heterophasic (Impact/Block) copolymer side, we have introduced three new grades for injection moulding applications. B07M is specifically designed for storage battery cases – an industry currently catching up and has further prospects. B30ML targets, amongst others, washing machine tubs and frames, and large containers. B45ML is a higher melt flow reactor grade suitable for larger parts needing easy injection of the fluid resin, and performed well for caps of milk containers.

IRNEA: What market trends in the food and non-food containers do these new products aim to meet or support?
Mr. Husaini: Addressing food and non-food container and packaging, our recently introduced grades addresses the aesthetic and transparent requirements of the present markets. Our grades, R40MLT and R25MLT, are excellent for TWIM application having the quality of highly transparent and dimensional stability. Converters who processed our grades are highly satisfied with the performance
of these grades regarding both ease in processing and energy saving, besides its excellent aesthetic bearing and pleasing organoleptic property to end-users. The same grade is highly acceptable for DVD covers and cosmetic packaging for non-food applicatiNike Air Max 1 For Sale