10 Sept 2012

Collapsible tubes have improved aesthetics and optimal squeezability, thanks to new SABIC® HDPE

SITTARD, The Netherlands, September 10, 2012 - Collapsible tubes have an improved aesthetic appearance and squeezability when they are extruded from SABIC® HDPE F4520. It combines a well-balanced set of mechanical properties with ease of processing and consistent quality. It can be typically used for tubes for cosmetics, toothpastes, food pastes, and household and industrial products.

For tube manufacturers, the high consistency of SABIC® HDPE F4520 is important, as this helps to ensure optimum aesthetics when it comes to decoration and printing. SABIC believes it will enhance chances of approval of the new grade at our customers. “Even very small imperfections in the polymer could show up on the printed surface,” says Shyam Parameswaran, Technical Marketing Engineer at SABIC. “We have a stringent internal gel count control in place to ensure material quality.”

Tubes extruded in the new material are very flexible, making it easier for users to squeeze out the contents. In addition, the tubes can be squeezed repeatedly without puncturing – an important advantage over aluminium. SABIC® HDPE F4520 also has very good resistance to stress cracking. Furthermore, tubes and necks can be welded together easily, thus optimizing production.

Very strong optical properties, gloss and transparency, providing good contact clarity when required are the main characteristics of SABIC® HDPE F4520. It is easy to process and can be used in monolayer tubes, in coextrusions and laminates. It can also be blended with other polyethylenes with the same melt flow range and is already approved at several major tube manufacturers.

“We are operating in a market where the quality of the primary packaging plays a very important role,” says Hubert Polak, Purchasing Director Tubes at Albéa. “Using SABIC® HDPE F4520, with its excellent aesthetics and squeezability, makes a lot of sense for us, and we expect it to quickly have a positive effect on our bottom line.”

“We expect SABIC® HDPE F4520 to make important inroads into the European market for collapsible tubes, which currently numbers around 10 billion units per year,” says Patrick van der Meer, SABIC Technical Marketing Engineer. “At present, just over half of these are in plastics. The total market is increasing above GDP growth levels, and the share of plastics in that market is also increasing.”

SABIC has a complete portfolio of polyolefins for flexible tubes, with grades for injection moulded shoulders and caps as well as for extruded bodies. Mono-material solutions have obvious advantages for post-consumer recycling. In addition, SABIC has a comprehensive range of low and linear low density polyethylenes, and polypropylenes, for the tubes market.

Van der Meer concludes: “We have a long-term commitment to this important market. SABIC will continue to develop new and innovative products for it in close cooperation with our customers.”

Reader enquiries

SABIC

WTC Tower Ten Strawinskylaan 1475
1077 XX Amsterdam
Netherlands

+31 46 722 2399

rachel.kundra@sabic.com

www.sabic.com

Notes for editors

Notes to Editors

• * Trademark of SABIC Petrochemicals B.V.

• SABIC is a registered trademark of SABIC Holding Europe B.V.

• High-resolution photos are available upon request

About SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 29.24 billion (US$ 7.80 billion) in 2011. Sales revenues for 2011 totaled SR 189.90 billion (US$ 50.64 billion). Total assets stood at SR 332.78 billion (US$ 88.74 billion) at the end of 2011.

SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 16 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.