BTC Europe (Monheim am Rhein / Germany; www.btc-europe.com), the European distribution arm of BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com), has added plastics processing additive “accelothene” to its product range. "We hope for a long-term partnership with swissGEL and do not rule out an expansion of our joint activities," a BTC spokeswoman told Plasteurope.com about its first distribution agreement with swissGEL (Schlieren / Switzerland; www.swissgel.ch).

In 2012, Polymer-Service PSG (Beckedorf-Seevetal / Germany; www.polymer-service.de) acquired the exclusive licence to manufacture and sell the process additive (see Plasteurope.com of 12.07.2012). However, PSG had been selling mainly in German-speaking countries. BTC will now be taking over sales outside that region, swissGEL told PIE.

The additive enhances the injection moulding process by reducing the processing temperature, enabling converters to significantly cut cooling time and shorten the total cycle time by up to 25%. This in turn yields energy savings as well as increased production. In addition, the lower temperature reduces internal stress, resulting in improved end-use properties such as impact resistance. BTC said accelothene can also be used in extrusion and blow moulding processes.