The Grafe Design Center of Grafe Advanced Polymers GmbH, Blankenhain, Germany, has devised very special shades for plastic products. The masterbatch series "Mermaid Effect" makes for eye-catching color changing effects – also known as interference effects. The special shades create a color contrast, which allows the viewer depending on the viewing angle and light incidence a changing optical impression. 

Interference Color Effects for Plastics 

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Additive

Farbstoffe

Masterbatches

Like Shimmering Mermaids

 

Contact and friction with other materials can create a static charge on plastic surfaces. A sudden discharge can damage sensitive components. Now, a special masterbatch is able to prevent this with many plastics used in industrial applications. Not only is it suitable for automotive and industrial applications, it is also approved for use in food contact related applications. 

Masterbatch Prevents Electrostatic Charges and Has Approval for Food Contact  Related Applications 

Simulation Verpackung

Antistatika

Verpackungsmaterial

Antistatic Packaging 

The Sanitized AG, the leading worldwide producer of antimicrobial hygiene function and material protection for textiles and polymers, expands and accelerates the laboratory service for masterbatches with a new twin-screw extruder. 

New Twin-screw Extruder for Faster Development of Masterbatch Combinations  

Kunststoffhandel

Sanitized AG Improves Laboratory Service  

Bioplastics, biodegradable plastics and recyclates pose individual demands on colorization. BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, presented Sicoversal B, a biodegradable masterbatch for coloring compostable plastics. With this product, bioplastics can be colored in an environmentally friendly manner. 

Masterbatches for Polyethylene 

Biokunststoffe

Ecological Coloring of Bioplastics  

Plastics processors have a wide range of colors at their disposal to color their products. Choosing the right color can ultimately be the key to success. But colors are just as subject to trends as materials and designs. Kunststoffe asked manufacturers of pigments, masterbatches, and colorants which colors would be particularly popular in the coming year.

Colors inspired by nature will also be very much in demand in2021. They give products a more sustainable appearance

Trend Report on the Coloration of Plastics

Pigmente

Pigmente, bunt

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Kunststoffe

Photonik

Optik

Streifinger, Florian

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Effektpigmente

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Farben, flüssig

What Will Be the Color of 2021?

Grafe’s color experts not only had a very special presentation but also a good cause in mind for this year’s color preview. A bold and informative campaign has been developed in cooperation with a youth initiative. Colors are becoming more natural in pastel hues with a disco revival of pink, purple, and gold in 2020.

Fig. 1. Managing Director Matthias Grafe (left) and Roman Malessa, Secretary General & spokesperson for Youth Against Aids, wanted to send a message with the color preview

Grafe Trend Colors Are Presented together with the “Youth Against Aids” Association

Einfärben

Educational Design

Besides compounds modified for special applications and lightweight components, sustainable materials are also becoming an increasingly important focus. In the additives sector, too, recyclates, the circular economy, and reprocessing are now playing a key role.

Not only Polymers but also Additives and Masterbatches Must Be Sustainable

Zubehör / Hilfsmittel Wärmebehandlung

Wärmebehandlung

Compound

Thermoplaste

PVC-Additive

Andere Werkstoffe

Werkstoffe für additive Verfahren

Vernetzungsmittel

Compoundeure

Dienstleistungen

Handel

PVC-weich (Compounds)

Verarbeitungshilfsmittel, allgemein

Flammhemmende Mittel, allgemein

Betriebsausrüstung / Betriebsmittel

Verarbeitungshilfmittel

Filamente für additive Verfahren

Flammschutzmittel

Gleitmittel für Kunststoff

Attention to Detail

BASF Colors & Effects announces its new brand Spectrasense for their highly innovative functional pigments. The pigments enable the management of near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths.

The special functionalities of Spectrasense pigments significantly reduce the thermal load of dark surfaces through solar heat management

Pigments Enable Near-Infrared Management in Plastics

New Spectrasense Brand for Functional Pigments

Many LED light sources have a problem to create uniform diffused light, resulting in brightness concentrations – so-called „hot spots“ – on backlit surfaces. Light-diffusing (LD) masterbatches from Tosaf Color Service effectively prevent this undesirable phenomenon.

Only minimal quantities of the light-diffusing masterbatches from Tosaf Color Service are enough to effectively diffuse the light when it impacts a surface. The light transmission remains at a high level.

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Lohnfertigung

Light-diffusing Masterbatch for Evenly Backlit Surfaces

Colored plastics are not just a marketing gimmick, but fulfill important functions with technical components. In particular, they warn of hazards and permit the fast and direct identification of components. However, when coloring such plastic components, the processors are faced with several difficulties. For example, the colorants used must exhibit long-term resistance to high temperatures and must not impair the polymer’s mechanical properties. Therefore, when selecting the colorant, compounders and processors must observe several important points.

How Plastics Processors Find the Most Suitable Colorants for High-Performance Polymers

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Hochleistungskunststoffe

Colors for the High-Performance Sector

The circular economy and more sustainable additives are the focus of AF Color’s Fakuma presence this year.

The circular economy and more sustainable additives are the focus of AF Color’s trade show presence this year

Messe Fakuma

kunststoffe-international.com

Polyamide

Biobased Additives and Orange for PA

Sustainable development is the focus of the Israeli company Tosaf’s trade show presence. The company presents functional, color and combined masterbatches for processing by extrusion and injection molding. These will include color masterbatches for recyclates with a special focus on post-consumer plastics as well as biodegradable masterbatches.

Special masterbatches can be used for permanent orange coloring of high-voltage components in electric vehicles

Elektromobilität

Mobilität

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Masterbatches for Current Trends

At Fakuma, Granula presents masterbatches specially tailored to more sustainable plastic products. For this purpose, the company has developed grades with biological pigments and degradable additives for injection molding and extrusion.

The masterbatches are used, e. g., for pigmenting the lids of to-go cups 

Bio- and PCR-Based Masterbatches

The masterbatch producer Grafe has developed an antistatic treatment that achieves a significantly lower surface resistivity and can be used together with color masterbatches and various fillers.

Antistatic systems for dust-free plastic parts are developed in the pilot plant at Grafe

16:9

Better Protection against ESD for Plastic Parts

No Chance for Dust

 Tosaf presents flame retardant masterbatches and compounds which are either free of halogens such as bromine and chlorine or free of antimony.

Tosaf has been able to develop masterbatches and compounds that offer highly efficient halogen-free flame retardants and that are unproblematic to recycle

Environmentally Friendly and Effective

Today, the masterbatch manufacturer is one of the leading specialists for colouring, stabilising and functionalising plastics in Europe. The next goals are already set.

Lifocolor Farben was founded in Lichtenfels (Germany). Today, the masterbatch manufacturer is one of the leading specialists for colouring, stabilising and functionalising plastics in Europe. The next big target has already been set.

Lifocolor emerged 35 years ago as an independent production company for masterbatches for polyolefins, styrenics and engineering plastics from the company Horst Müller Kunststoffe. In the same year, Gustav Grolman took over the company with a staff of 15 members.

 The following decades were characterised by continuous growth and investments. Already in the 90s, the headquarters in Lichtenfels was expanded several times. In 1993, the subsidiary in the Czech Republic was founded, and in 1997, an existing trade cooperation led into today‘s Polish site. The acquisition of a compounding and recycling company marked the start of sales activities in France in 1998.

In 2012, Lifocolor took over the business and production facility of MicroColor Masterbatch GmbH in Straufhain-Adelhausen. Today, Lifocolor is one of the leading specialists for colouring, stabilising and functionalising plastics in Europe – with around 300 employees in four countries and an annual production capacity of up to 10,000 t.

A History Marked by Investment and Progress

In the past decade alone, the masterbatch supplier has invested a mid-double-digit million amount in the expansion and sustainable modernisation of all sites. After successively expanding its European plants between 2012 and 2018, Lifocolor completed new construction and renovation work on the now 2,800 m² modern KfW 55 warehouse and logistics building in Straufhain-Adelhausen in 2020. In 2021, the company inaugurated the newly built KfW 55 production plant at its headquarters in Lichtenfels. The new plants in Germany and France have been equipped with systems for regenerative energy generation such as photovoltaics and heat pumps.

Dr. Martin Fabian, who has been managing Lifocolor‘s business for more than 20 years, states: „The production sites in Lichtenfels and Straufhain are important success factors for our group. We employ valuable and long-standing employees there who have advanced our company with their commitment and know-how. At our German locations, we create the new developments as well as the high production and quality standards for our products. Our foreign subsidiaries implement them ideally with a feel for and knowledge of local market needs, so that today we supply a large number of internationally active plastics processors and renowned brand companies“.

Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050

Lifocolor now produces masterbatches, additives and compounds for almost all industries and applications. The focus is on the segments of general and cosmetic packaging, consumer goods for household, garden, sports, leisure or toy sectors, as well as industrial applications with technically high material requirements. In recent years, Lifocolor has primarily expanded its expertise in sustainable solutions for the circular economy of plastics: „With our eternity colours, we develop masterbatches that ideally support plastics before, during and after the use phase. We are guided by the attitude of using only harmless, recyclable colourants in our research and development, through which plastics can remain colourful and sustainable in the future,“ explains Fabian.

Lifocolor takes the concept of sustainability into account not only in its product development, but along the entire supply chain. As part of the Grolman Group, Lifocolor has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent until 2050. To this end, an official progress framework has been defined on the basis of 2019, which is approved and verified by the recognised Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). „With the science-based targets formulated there, we are making our contribution to taking responsibility and to limiting global warming as well as counteracting climate change. We are proud to be one of the first medium-sized companies in our industry to commit so extensively to the validated and consistent SBTi framework. This sets standards and a clear statement of the extent to which we understand sustainable thinking and action. In this way, our masterbatches will remain environmentally conscious products in every respect.“

Lifocolor Farben GmbH & Co. KG  

https://www.Lifocolor.de

Lifocolor celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and optimises its masterbatches as eternal colours with regard to their recyclability.

As most recently with the construction of the new KfW 55 production plant in Lichtenfels, Lifocolor has invested in progress and renewable energy sources. The company aims to reduce its emissions by 90 percent by 2050.

2023-02-10 - Lifocolor

Lifocolor: Masterbatch Manufacturer Celebrates 35th Anniversary 

Unternehmen

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issue 07/2023

issue 06/2023

issue 05/2023

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