Saudia Arabia-based SABIC, the global manufacturer of diversified chemicals with a presence in America, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, has launched the SABIC PP-UMS (Ultra Melt Strength) resin, a completely new generation of melt strength polypropylenes. 

The new resin, according to the company, has a melt strength of more than 65 cN and outstanding foamability. It can be used by all industry segments as a building block to develop new foaming solutions that enable sizeable gains in lightweighting. 

“Looking to the future of lightweighting, we see that foaming is a key technology to push the boundaries and create even more down gauging opportunities in the industry. For this reason, our global teams are busy developing the next generation of foamable resin solutions for the market. These solutions can be used in many processing technologies to best meet the unmet needs of the value chain,” said Frank de Vries, SABIC’s global Foam and Lightweight Leader.

SABIC states that its new SABIC PP-UMS material can be used to enhance lightweighting in the automotive, packaging and building and construction markets. The material has been evaluated and optimised for foaming at SABIC’s Foam Innovation Center (FIC) in the Netherlands, which is equipped with most foam technology capabilities as well as analytical equipment. 

“We all face many global challenges due to an ever-growing population and increasingly limited resources. Foaming is key to help solving these challenges, by pushing industries to invest in solutions that are both sustainable and cost-efficient, with enhanced material properties. We are keen to invite customers and value chain partners to work with us to further develop these innovative solutions,“ concluded Frank de Vries.