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The specialist UK manufacturer Flexadux Plastics Ltd. has switched to the new Crystic® Crestapol® 1214 pultrusion resin after 14 years of using a competitor resin. This significant raw material specification change by Flexadux Plastics is one of the recent successes from their continuous improvement and product innovations program which evaluates new materials; initial tests showed mechanical performance improvements of the urethane acrylate based Crestapol 1214 resin over Modar 826. They then worked closely with Scott Bader Ltd., who manufacture Crestapol resins in their UK plant in Northamptonshire, to ensure that Crestapol 1214 met both their technical and production needs.
Flexadux Plastics Ltd. has now fully approved Crestapol 1214 and specifies it for GRP pultruded profiles used in high performance energy, gas, minerals, mining and tunneling applications. As part of this approval process, Crestapol 1214 had to undergo repeated flexural, torsion, flammability and electrical testing to a variety of British Standards (BS) and National Coal Board (NCB) approvals. Comparative performance tests were done between Crestapol 1214 versus their previous pultrusion resin. The results consistently showed a significant improvement in flexural strength with Crestapol 1214 test pieces, which comfortably exceeded the 750 MPa minimum pass level for the BS standard; similar levels of improvement in stiffness and torsion strength properties were also seen. In other flexural tests, Crestapol 1214 has achieved in excess of 1000 MPa performance. All torsion testing is carried out in-house by Flexadux Plastics Ltd. using a digital torsion wrench of their own design which they have used for many years. The flammability and electrical testing is performed by Nottingham University’s engineering department. The flexural testing is now carried out for Flexadux Plastics Ltd. by Scott Bader’s Measurement Science Group to their specified test standards; this testing is part of an additional QA and customer support service provided by Scott Bader. In addition to technical performance improvements in their pultruded profiles, the switch to Crestapol 1214 resin has also provided production, supply chain and environmental benefits. Mr. Ian McComb, operations manager for Flexadux Plastics Ltd. explains: “A major plus for us is Scott Bader’s flexibility. We can order in optimal batch sizes, which we prefer. Scott Bader is also happy to do production process development work with us. In fact, we are just about to test a ‘higher reactivity’ version of Crestapol 1214 to try to improve line speeds.” Mr. McComb went on to say: “Another advantage is that we can opt to have Crestapol resin supplied to us in 1000kg IBCs instead of 225kg drums. An IBC is much more convenient to store and use on the shop floor. They also help us to be more environmentally friendly as a business, as we need fewer deliveries. Scott Bader-Packcare Ltd. provide us with an integrated supply chain drum and IBC recycling service, which make life even easier for us.”
Flexadux Plastics Ltd., part of the Schauenburg Group, is based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, where they have been producing a wide range of high performance phenolic, GRP and polyurethane products for over 40 years. Their products are found in specialist equipment used for many different types of energy, gas, minerals, mining and tunnelling applications such as: methane gas transportation systems, concrete finishing, mineral recovery, tunnel and mine strata support systems, water treatment plants and electronic gas equipment. They have a shared philosophy with their parent company of quality, innovation and growth.
Crestapol® 1214 is the latest addition to Scott Bader’s pultrusion resin range. It has been developed for making profiles where there is a requirement for very low shrink and a high quality surface finish. As with other Crestapol resins, it can be heavily ATH filled up to 200phr to achieve a range of fire, smoke and toxic fumes standards specified for certain building, construction, rail and road mass transportation applications. It is available in either 225kg drums or 1000kg IBCs. For more information about Crestapol resins go to www.crestapol.com or www.scottbader.com. Further details about the range of products and worldwide services offered by Flexadux Plastics Ltd. can also be found on line at www.flexadux.co.uk. Flexadux Plastics Ltd. pultrusion line now uses Crystic® Crestapol® 1214 pultrusion resin for GRP high performance application pafter 14 years of using a competitor resin.
About Scott BaderScott Bader was established in 1921. Today it is a £180 million multinational chemical company, employing 560 people worldwide. It is a common trusteeship company, having no external shareholders, with a strong commitment to support its customers, workforce and the environment. Scott Bader’s headquarters is based in the UK where they have purpose-built, state-of-the-art technical facilities that provide R & D as well as complete evaluation, testing and application support. They have manufacturing facilities in the UK, France, Croatia, The Middle East and South Africa. For further information regarding Scott Bader, please call +44 (0)1933 663100, visit www.scottbader.com or e-mail info@scottbader.com.
About Schauenburg Group
Headquartered in Mülheim-Ruhr, Germany with more than 40 subsidiaries worldwide, the Schauenburg Group is a family-owned international group of companies that specialize in electronic safety instrumentation, satellite communication technologies, plastic processing, machinery and equipment, and engineering products. The name is well known throughout a broad spectrum of industries worldwide. Schauenburg has also made significant progress in becoming a recognized and trusted supplier of electronic instrumentation for gas detection applications in the mining and tunneling sectors as well as other hazardous working environments as Schauenburg Electronic Technologies (SET). In addition, Schauenburg’s most recent venture into the supply and support of satellite communications equipment and systems has proven to be very successful as Stratosat Datacom (Pty) Ltd. and Astrosat Datacom (Pty) Ltd.
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