German engineered plastics distributor Tekuma (Reinbek; www.tekuma.de) has added UPM’s (Helsinki / Finland; www.upm.com) wood plastic composite (WPC) “UPM ForMi” to its sales portfolio for Germany and Benelux. Made of pulp fibres and plastic polymers, the material consists of 50% wood and is thus recyclable.

The cellulose fibres in “UPM ForMi” WPC serve to increase the stability of PP, which makes the material particularly resilient and strong, Tekuma said. The German group added that the bio-composite is designed for injection moulding applications and does not require any modification in existing production capacities. It even can act as a substitute for engineering plastics, Tekuma said.

Key applications include the industrial and consumer goods industries, where ForMi already is used in furniture and E&E goods, including vacuum cleaners and televisions, among others. In addition, several qualities have been approved for direct contact with food.