Millad® NX8000 Opens Up Market Opportunities for Clear PP

Milliken Chemical, a division of Milliken & Company, has developed a high clarity packaging solution that will bring the cost and performance advantages of polypropylene (PP) and other propylene based polymers to more markets and applications than ever before. Millad® NX8000, Milliken’s latest clarifier innovation, provides 50% better clarity to PP than the current industry standard, providing designers and specifiers with a cost-effective new material for pack upgrades, re-designs or to meet environmental packaging considerations.

Millad NX8000 delivers previously unattainable levels of transparency to polypropylene based packaging. This makes PP clarified with NX8000 ideal for upgrading transparency and improving the shelf-appeal of existing PP applications, particularly where consumers place high value on having a clear view of content. For example, injection molded food storage containers and extrusion blow molded (EBM) bottles for cosmetics and personal care, in which better transparency and a fresh, pure appearance are known to increase consumer interest. Clear PP offers design flexibility and easy processing to allow the creation of attractive, unusual parts that further enhance product appeal.

Highly-transparent Clear PP based on Millad NX8000 offers a unique combination of benefits to packaging applications, including lower cost versus other clear plastics, low density, stiffness/impact balance, and thermal and chemical resistance. PP modified with Millad NX8000 does not impart taste or odour into products.

Clear PP provides a viable substitution for higher cost clear materials such as glass and clear plastics which have been traditionally used in injection molded or blow molded applications. These include water bottles, medical devices, appliances, and cosmetic and personal care packaging.

Clear PP’s superior lightweight and outstanding impact properties improve handling and storage, while its recyclability and lower weight address key sustainability issues regarding waste reduction and lower energy consumption. These important considerations are leading to a switch to Clear PP or Propylene based Polymers in a wide range of applications including baby bottles, cosmetic jars and CD cases.

During Interpack 2008, Milliken will exhibit various injection molding applications and EBM bottles to highlight the unprecedented optical performance that can be achieved with Clear PP based on Millad NX8000.

Dr Jeff Jones, Millad Global Market Manager, Milliken Chemical comments: “Millad NX8000 provides a breakthrough in clarifier technology that creates new opportunities to improve the visual appeal of polypropylene and allow the cost-saving and performance-enhancing advantages of polypropylene to benefit new applications.

There is now exciting potential for the growth of Clear PP into new market areas and we are looking forward to exploring these possibilities with the packaging industry.”

For more information on Milliken Chemical’s solutions for the packaging industry visit Interpack

Hall 10 Booth A06.