LEVERKUSEN, Germany (April 18)—Bayer MaterialScience A.G. is joining forces with a German developer of styrene block-copolymer thermoplastic elastomers to develop and market TPE compounds based on Bayer's Desmopan thermoplastic polyurethanes.
Bayer and PTS Plastic Technologie Service Marketing & Sales GmbH of Adelshofen-Tauberzell, Germany, will develop a line of compounded TPEs to be called Desmoflex.
The deal gives the two firms "the opportunity to bring innovative products with new properties onto the market and in so doing expand our business considerably in the TPU and TPE market," said Klaus Zander, head of marketing and business development for Bayer's TPU Business Unit. Among properties to be incorporated would be the abrasion resistance, tear strength, tear propagation resistance and high chemical resistance of TPUs, combined with the softer characteristics of SBCs, the firms said.
PTS makes SBC-type TPEs under the trade name PTS-Thermoflex, as well as thermoplastic vulcanizates under the Uniprene name.
PTS has added small amounts of TPU to some SBC compounds for parts used in, for example, car engine compartments. Using larger proportions of TPU "offers new, very promising possibilities for combining the properties of both components," Bayer said.