Compounder Grafe (Blankenhain / Germany; www.grafe.com) and speciality chemicals company Brüggemann (Heilbronn / Germany; www.brueggemann.com) have jointly developed the new “eOrange” masterbatch, known by its trade name “PA-Tekolen”, whose properties allow polyamides to retain their striking orange colour even after 1,000 hours of service at 130°C.

The product can be used for PA 6, PA 6.6 and glass fibre-filled and flame-retardant PA. Its flexible rate of addition enables distinctly better control over the orange colour than commercially available compounds. Its performance is based on a combination of highly thermally stable dyes with special heat stabilisers. Possible applications include high-voltage connectors, insulation for high-voltage cables, cable conduits, charging sockets or fasteners for electric vehicles; wiring harness clips are already in series production.