ClickPlastics (Bensheim / Germany; www.clickplastics.de) has become the exclusive European distributor of the TPE-E range produced by China’s Hetron (Jiangyin, Jiangsu; www.hetron.cn). In addition, the German group will also oversee all sales of Hetron parent company Jiangsu Heshili New Material’s (Jiangyin, Jiangsu / China; www.jsheshili.com) polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) in Germany and Switzerland.

Sold under the “HextroFlex” brand name, Hetron can produce 8,000 t/y of the TPE-E at its plant in Jiangyin, with plans to double output to 16,000 t/y by 2017. The company’s portfolio includes solid polymer, compounds, fibres as well as customised solutions, and it is capable of providing different grades for injection moulding, extrusion and blow moulding. The hardness of the materials ranges from 25D-82D, with the main areas of application said to be airbag covers, railway gaskets, industrial seals, hoses and tubes, automobile ducts and thin-film electric wire, among others.

Also located in Jianyin, parent company Jiangsu Heshili purports to be one of China’s leading PBAT producers, with overall capacity for 8,000 t/y. Potential applications for this fossil-based, biodegradable polymer include coffee caps, shrink and mulch film as well as paper coatings.