Packaging requirements of the personal care industry are complex, ranging from regulatory compliance to extended product shelf life and from mechanical performance to aesthetics.
To meet these diverse needs, SABIC is debuting its complete offering for cosmetic packaging today at Perfumes, Cosmetics and Design Packaging (PCD) 2013 (booth #P09-P11), bringing unmatched choice and the latest material technologies to customers. Not only is SABIC the sole supplier to offer both polyolefins and engineering thermoplastics in one portfolio, but the company is also adding significant value through its industry-leading color services, technical expertise and global presence.
SABIC materials solutions can address the full range of cosmetic packaging needs, including bottles, jars, tubes, caps and closures, dispensing systems, airless covers and packaging for lipstick, mascara, foundation and powder. The scope of these capabilities provides a one-stop-shop to customers and demonstrates SABIC’s commitment to outstanding technical innovation and service.
“The cosmetics packaging industry gains new solutions for meeting the latest regulatory, style and performance challenges by leveraging SABIC’s new materials portfolio and technical services,” said Eric Hogenboom, general manager, Performance Materials, SABIC. “By serving as a strategic supplier of materials, color services and technical support, SABIC gives customers a greater choice while streamlining product development and supply chain management. We are looking forward to building collaborative, long-term relationships to help personal care companies achieve greater competitive differentiation and business success.”
Polyolefin Solutions
At PCD 2013, the company is exhibiting polyolefin materials, which may be used for a variety of packaging applications, including:
- Tubes: Customers in the tube market are offered a full range of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) grades for the body, shoulder and caps of tubes. For example, SABIC® HDPE F4520 high-density PE for monolayer tubes, co-extrusions and laminates provides high consistency to ensure optimum results from decoration and printing. It combines a well-balanced set of mechanical properties with ease of processing and consistent quality. This grade may be blended with other PE resins with the same melt flow range and is already approved by several major specifiers.
- Bottles: Companies that design and manufacture bottles may benefit from SABIC’s leadership in the manufacture of HDPE and PP for blow molding. The company’s latest innovation, SABIC® PP QRYSTAL QR681K copolymer delivers good transparency and mechanical properties at lower processing temperatures that can save energy and accelerate cycle times.
- Caps, closures and dispensing systems: Whether the customer requirement is good organoleptics, environmental stress cracking resistance or low-stress whitening, SABIC® PP and PE grades deliver top performance for caps, closures and dispensing systems. The SABIC® PP QRYSTAL copolymer family offers good transparency in combination with improved processability for optimized production at lower temperatures.
The latest development for aerosol actuators is SABIC® PP Flowpact FPC55 copolymer with high impact properties and enhanced cycle times. This copolymer was developed with fast processing in mind. Lower processing temperatures and fast nucleation can deliver cycle time savings of up to 15 percent.
For can overcaps, new SABIC® PP QRYSTAL injection molding grades, with melt flows ranging from 25 to 80, offer very good transparency in combination with excellent processability. They provide an opportunity to improve production rates with no hardware investment. Compared with standard random copolymer PP materials, SABIC® PP QRYSTAL grades can be processed at temperatures 30°C lower without compromising optical performance. Lower processing temperatures can cut cooling and overall cycle times lowering energy consumption.
Engineering Thermoplastic Solutions
SABIC is also displaying a range of engineering resins, which may be used for cosmetic packaging. Most grades are approved for food contact applications by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have been registered in accordance with the European regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals).
- Jars and containers: Customers may take advantage of the excellent colorability and impact resistance of CYCOLOY™ resin, a blend of polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). CYCOLOY HC1204HF resin also offers a good balance of toughness, flow and chemical resistance.
- Caps and closures: Customers whose packaging uses caps and closures may find a perfect fit in the excellent impact properties of CYCOLOY HC1204HF resin and high-density VALOX™ 7062HP resin, which provides a weighty feel combined with nice aesthetic effects. The good thermal performance of polybutylene terepthalate (PBT) enables customers to use secondary operations such as vacuum metallization to provide a distinctive look to the finished product.
- Lipstick and mascara containers: Customers in this sector may achieve their goals of chemical resistance and friction resilience properties with VALOX resin.
THERMOCOMP™ HSG compound, a high specific gravity compound that imparts a feeling of substance, delivers strong chemical resistance and the freedom to use secondary operations for aesthetic effects.
- Dispensing systems: For pumps and valves, crystalline VALOX™ 325F and HX312C resins, both PBT grades, offer excellent chemical resistance, mechanical properties and good dimensional stability. Moreover, customers that select VALOX HX312C resin benefit from good flow, which enables very thin walls to be created.
SABIC also offers VALOX iQ™ copolymers, such as VALOX iQ 420HP resin, which are based on PBT incorporating post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) feedstock. This technology converts products whose useful life was measured in weeks into an engineering resin that may be an excellent candidate for durable, long-lasting applications. VALOX iQ resins help to divert waste from landfills, and provide up to a 49 percent reduction in both carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and process energy utilization per kilogram of PBT. Another sustainability advantage of VALOX iQ resins is molded-in color capability to replace secondary painting that can add cost and pose an environmental hazard from volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
- Airless covers: Packaging using airless covers can benefit from LEXAN™ PC resin, a tough, transparent material. LEXAN HF1140R resin, a grade approved for food contact, delivers good dimensional stability and offers a wide range of clarity from transparent to opaque. The high-flow grade provides the freedom to make unique shapes.
Using the SABIC website, www.sabic.com, cosmetic packaging customers enjoy fast, direct access to the company’s one-stop-shop product portfolio, from which they can identify the material best suited to their unique needs and individual design of their packaging.
SABIC Services
Customers may optimize cosmetic packaging aesthetics and achieve competitive advantage by using SABIC’s COLORXPRESS™ services, which help deliver the right colors, texture and effects for each package or component. Customers can request custom colors or select from thousands of existing colors to meet branding or aesthetic requirements.
With more than 30 years of experience and the availability of more than 18,000 colors and effects, the SABIC Color Innovation Center (CIC) in Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands, works with designers to select or develop the right color and/or effect for their applications. SABIC also offers comprehensive application development, testing and technical support services. The company’s global reach and local presence provide an ideal combination of strategic capabilities and region-specific knowledge.
Source: www.sabic.com
