The plastic industry is in the middle of a breathtaking development. A development with a pace that keeps picking up, where intensive research and innovation keep generating new types of plastic granulate, with improved or entirely new characteristics – whether it comes to product properties, quality, reuse and environmental impact.
Processing techniques, tools and production technologies are undergoing a simultaneous development, the outcome of which is sensational plastic products and subcomponents that are launched at regular intervals. This development also results in products that were considered simply unthinkable to produce in plastic, either in whole or part, only a couple of years ago.
At HN Group, we have our finger on the pulse of the plastic industry. Always. We follow the market closely and are always in a close dialogue with our subcontractors, in particular, plastic granulate manufacturers. Today, we mould parts in more than 400 different types of plastic, with varied properties and in different colours.
In recent years, HN Group has built considerable experience within plastic moulding using PPS Ryton and PPS Fortron. Both types of plastic offer exceptional thermal stability and chemical resistance. Both types of plastic have excellent properties for water applications. PPS Fortron and PPS Ryton are both raw materials which have some of the lowest water absorption and water permeability on the market. Fifteen years ago, several customers started using PPS Ryton blended with 40% glass fibres. Back then, PPS Ryton from Chevron Phillips was a new and exotic material which only few knew how to process. Over the years, other types of plastic such as PPS Fortron from Celanese have been introduced in many new products. Today, we use more than 250 tonnes of PPS Fortron and approximately 10 tonnes of PPS Ryton.
In addition to these unique types of plastic, we also handle other high-temperature materials, for example PEEK from Victrex. The vast majority of our machines have therefore been equipped with heating systems facilitating mould temperatures above 160 degrees C.
In other words, we are always prepared to consult our clients about plastic types, processing and production technologies. Just ask!