Superb quality and flexibility hit the mark

Taoyuan-based Ever Polymer Co. Ltd's General Manager Gary Tu took the time out to discuss the company's thermoplastic elastomer technology that has put Ever on the global map. IRNA: How would you trace the company's entry into this market? Tu: Like many Taiwan companies, we started as a trading enterprise in 1998 to serve local and foreign customers. It did not take us long to realise that there was real demand for the cutting edge technology we offer to manufacturers of many consumer and medical products. So the innovation we took as our "company watchword" became, with excellent teamwork and management, our constant and enduring goal. We have never taken our eyes off the ball and so our reputation as a leader in TPR has been truly established. Our Taoyuan factory in Taiwan began production in 1999 using a unique compound TPR formula to build our two brands, Everlon and Everton. The Everton trademark thermoplastic elastomer styrene system is central to all our products and marketing success. IRNA: How did the company develop the properties of your products? Tu: Our compounds are high performance thermoplastic elastomers designed specifically for the production of moulder and extruded conventional thermoplastic processing equipment and do not need vulcanisation. This adds to the superb quality and flexibility of our products which can be processed using such techniques as injection moulding, blow moulding, compression moulding and extrusion. In all of these processes Everlon scrap can be recycled without loss of its physical properties. IRNA: What are some of the products where Everlon compounds are used? Tu: The list is almost endless -- products most consumers take for granted these days and that would not fit so neatly into their pockets, the palm of their hand or even into their ears if they were not made of our thermoplastic elastomer compounds. Apart from mobile phone housings that are more flexible, rugged and durable thanks to our compounds I could name a complete cross section of items used by people everyday - from bicycle and screwdriver grips to baby bottles, car mud flaps and flexible cords to toys and tooth brushes. A Bluetooth earphone for instance has good adhesion with PP and is soft and comfortable to wear. An MP3 on the other hand has a smooth surface and is scratch- and shock-proof because of our compounds. In the medical field, our compounds are used for medical drips or the OPC cap that conform to the FDA standards. They serve as replacement for glass bottles and PVC. These too are more portable and easy to uncap or cork. Other items are smart phones and GPS devices. IRNA: How would you describe your product development efforts? Tu: Without intense focus on R&D, no company turning out highend products like ours could survive for long. That's why we continuously put lot of energy and effort into our R&D. We have an experienced team of engineers in Taiwan and overseas and they put in long hours refining and testing to the limits the flexibility and usability of our compounds in the very diverse number of products they are used in today. We develop all our R&D projects for new products in Taiwan laboratory. IRNA: How do you view the Asian market now? Tu: Very important because it happens to be our biggest market at present, especially the China market. We presently have a 10% market penetration in the world at large. But shows like TaipeiPlas and Chinaplas are our windows to the world as we look forward to expanding our markets.(the end)

Ever Polymer Co. Ltd

Tel: +886-3 312 5717 Fax: +886-3 312 5718 E-mail: everlon@everlon.com.tw Website: www.everlon.com.twAdidas