LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany — June1, 2011 — BASF increases prices globally for antioxidants and process
stabilizers for plastic applications up to 15 percent, in selected cases up to 25 percent and for
selected products across the portfolio of additives and pigments for plastic applications up to 25
percent. New prices are effective for deliveries starting today or as contracts allow. These price
increases are applied in addition to the prior announced December and February increases.

These price increases are necessary to cover further significant increase in raw material
cost, mainly fatty alcohols, methyl acrylate and phenols as well as increases in other raw
materials.

BASF is committed to the plastic additives business. However, the past and future expected
raw material cost escalations and volatility combined with current profitability levels require an
increase in prices to sustain BASF’s ability to invest.

BASF, as a leading supplier for plastic additives, intends to secure future product
availability, supply reliability, continuity in quality, service and innovation to best meet our
customers’ needs and market conditions.

Posted June 3, 2011

Source: BASF

Austria-based cellulosic fiber producer Lenzing AG has introduced various forms of TENCEL® as
sustainable solutions for automotive applications ranging from carpet and seat covers to
injection-molded plastic components and nonwoven components and battery separators.

“TENCEL® supports the trend towards more nature in cars and, with its fiber properties,
boasts numerous advantages for the automobile sector,” said Friedrich Suchomel, automotive project
manager, Lenzing. “We started the project five years ago after speaking to all the international
car manufacturers to understand their requirements. Sustainability was one of their most important
criteria,” he continued, noting that Tencel — which is derived from sustainably managed eucalyptus
plantations and produced using a physical dissolution process in which nearly all of the solvent is
recovered — fulfils those criteria.

According to Lenzing, special textile-grade Tencel fibers are especially appropriate for car
seat cover fabrics, in which they can be blended with conventional fibers to enhance
moisture-management performance. The company also notes that thick fibers are appropriate for
carpets, while powder forms can be incorporated into plastics to provide reinforcement for
injection-molded parts, in which its 10-percent fiber elongation — compared with 2-percent
elongation offered by glass fiber — enhances impact strength. Other forms can be used in special
nonwovens used in electronic applications including separators in condensers for air conditioners
and audio equipment; battery separators; and oil and fuel filters.

May 31, 2011

Germany-based polymer manufacturer Bayer MaterialScience AG has introduced Impranil® brand
polyurethane (PU) dispersions for coating the textile substrate of lined gloves. Protective gloves
made with the dispersions contain no plasticizers or allergenic proteins; and are strong and
abrasion-resistant, yet comfortable, the company reports.

Gloves incorporating Impranil dispersions may be produced on conventional molds in dip
processes, which require lower temperatures than those necessary for producing gloves made using
conventional materials such as latex and nitrile, according to Rolf Irnich, textile coatings
specialist, Bayer MaterialScience.

“The grippiness of the glove surface can be precisely adjusted — from sticky to dry and
flexible — by the choice of the PU dispersion and the formulation,” Irnich said. The amount of grip
also may be adjusted on fabric-free disposable gloves. Gloves coated using Impranil XP 2772 offer
good resistance to alcohol-based cleaning agents and solvents, the company reports, and the coating
is odor-free.

May 31, 2011

Atlanta-based Process Control Corp. (PCC) — a manufacturer of auxiliary machinery for the plastics
processing industry — has introduced a new drive/gearmotor package for its auger based, continuous
loss-in-weight feeders and blenders. Its X-Series blenders and AFG Gravitrol Additive Feeder and PF
Powder Feeder formerly included a pulse width modulator (PWM) drive and a permanent magnet direct
current (DC) gearmotor to rotate the metering auger. The new motor drives control both the older
permanent magnet motors and the new generation of brushless DC motors.

The new brushless and encoderless gearmotors offer improved reliability, performance and a
longer lifespan than previous versions, according to PCC. They have more torque and a larger speed
range, and only require two power/gear ratio combinations to cover the required revolutions per
minute range for PCC’s line of blenders and feeders, as opposed to eight power/gear ratio
combinations for the previous permanent magnet gearmotors. The new drive/gearmoter package is
100-percent compatible with currently operating PCC blenders and feeders.

“This new auger drive package represents a major advancement in the performance and
reliability of our premium line of gravimetric blenders and feeders,” said Dana Darley, general
manager, PCC. “We are so confident in this new system, that we are considering a three year
warranty on both the drive and gearmotor, whether purchased as an upgrade, spare part or on a new
blender/feeder.”

May 31, 2011

Wichita, Kan.-based Invista — an integrated fibers and polymers manufacturer — reports that
France-based workwear manufacturer Kiplay has selected Cordura® brand fabrics for use in its
Techniforce and Techniprotect garment lines.

Kiplay selected Invista’s Cordura Classic — a high-tenacity, 100-percent nylon, 560-decitex
fabric — to strengthen high wear- and tear-prone areas in its Techniforce garments.
Waterproof-treated panels comprising Cordura fabric also are used to reinforce areas such as the
front of a jacket, shoulder and sleeves of a cardigan, and knees of pants. Cordura Classic fabric
reinforcements may be combined with either polyester/cotton, 100-percent cotton, or Cordura
nylon/cotton (NYCO) base fabrics for various end-uses.

Kiplay chose a 50/50 Cordura NYCO fabric for a three-quarter-length Pecari trouser in its
Techniprotect line.

May 31, 2011

Wichita, Kan.-based global integrated fibers and polymers manufacturer Invista is investing more
than $100 million to build a new LYCRA® fiber production plant in Paulínia, Brazil, to replace its
existing Lycra plant at that location. The project is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs
during the construction phase, which will begin immediately, and a considerable number of jobs
after operations begin in late 2012.

“Brazil is a growing market for our business and our customers,” said David Trerotola,
president, Invista Apparel. “As the only spandex producer currently in Brazil, Invista’s presence
plays an important role in our global apparel sales volumes.”

Invista also will put in place new technologies to improve the new plant’s production
system’s automation and efficiency.

“Textile companies must continually advance their technology to maintain a world-leading
position in the marketplace,” said German Silva, Invista Apparel business director, South America.
“We are always looking for new ways to develop Lycra fiber with value-added attributes.”

In addition to the Lycra plant in Paulínia, Invista has a SUPPLEX® fabric production site in
Americana, Brazil.



May 31, 2011

MILAN — May 27, 2011 — During the first quarter of 2011, Italy’s textile machinery sector continued
on its positive trend started the previous year. The orders index for the period ranging from
January to March reached 164.6 points, marking a 12% growth rate over the previous quarter, and a
rise of 42% over the same 2010 quarter period. Orders are on the rise both for the domestic market
(with an index of 143.9 points) and foreign markets (176.3 points). This comparison with the last
quarter of 2010 shows a significant increase for domestic orders (+33%), whereas the index for
exports is less decisive (+10%). The order portfolio as it stood on 30 March 2011 ensured work for
the next 5 months. The spinning machinery sector has orders lined up for the next 10 months, while
those of “other productions” exceeded 5 months, and from 2 to 3 months for other sectors.

In spite of the consolidation in orders for the first quarter of 2011, Italian machinery
builders remain cautious in forecasting a further increase in the order gathering levels achieved
thus far. For both the domestic and export markets, the majority of manufacturers believe that the
second quarter of 2011 will record stable orders compared to the three previous months.

Posted on May 31, 2011

Source: ACIMIT

Editor’s Note: Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Helbing is manager, Research & Development, Gear Pump
Division, at Oerlikon Barmag, a business unit of Germany-based Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co.
KG.

Overview:

In the case of many production processes in the plastics-processing industry, the polymers
used require dyes or additives. Dyeing polymers frequently takes place during the manufacture of
films, pipes, profiles, etc., but also in the production of yarns. Here, it is common to use
colored master batch granulates, which are usually added to the main polymer by means of
gravimetric metering systems in the hopper zone of the extruder. The drawback of this method is
that manufacturers must warehouse a separate mast batch of each shade f the end produce, which
results in considerable warehousing and logistics costs. Furthermore, determining the pigment
ratios of each individual master batch requires comprehensive preliminary trials to be carried out,
whereby the master batch granulates must first be manufactured followed by testing of the
production process. Liquid dyes — which can be mixed continually during production — are an
extremely efficient alternative to the above-mentioned utilization of dye master batches. This
offers two decisive alternatives:

• Manufacturers only have to stock a few basic dyes on the basis of which all final dyes are
  mixed. This substantially lowers warehousing and logistics costs.
• The color of the end product can be corrected during on-going production, which can
  significantly reduce time and costs.

Please click the link below to read the complete paper.

May 31, 2011

Source: Oerlikon Barmag