TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 5 identifies market trends in the additives business, and mentions a number of new and recently introduced product ranges. A few well-established products are also discussed.
New additive products are usually promoted on the grounds that they help by:
reducing material costs
minimising problems of storing, conveying, handling, metering and dispersing additives
improving worker hygiene and minimising health risks to fabricators or end users
improving fabrication speed and efficiency; reducing defects and energy consumption
improving the performance of the finished product
eliminating side effects such as colour changes
reducing interaction with other additives
enabling additives to resist migration or loss by extraction or volatility
complying with regulatory requirements or meeting environmental concerns
extending product lifetimes.
The first objective above is sometimes met by enabling customers to lower the dose level, or by designing a new additive that fulfils more than one function at a time.
To help meet the second objective, multipacks reduce customers inventory costs, simplify metering and facilitate the addition of the additives to the base polymer. As for the third objective, manufacturers are always striving to supply their products in convenient and hygienic format, e.g., liquids, pastes, pastilles, flakes or pellets. In recent years there has been an emphasis on no-dust or low-dust blends.
The way the other objectives are being addressed will be evident from the subsequent pages.
