Styrolution Advances Material Innovation and Customer Care in the Medical Industry

At the K 2013, healthcare manufacturers facing increased regulation and escalating costs can get an inside look at how Styrolution—a global styrenics producer with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, standard ABS and styrenic specialties—is offering new solutions to ease their product development. The company says it is doing this through "cost-effective material advancements supported by reliable formulations and unparalleled service packages". 

Healthcare applications of styrenics are growing as manufacturers look for more effective and safer delivery systems, state-of-the-art solutions to new challenges, and reliable formulations to reduce costly approval procedures. Styrenics are attractive to healthcare and diagnostic providers due to their cleanliness and safety, lower density, balanced performance, superior processing, excellent aesthetics and unsurpassed value for money.

As a leader in styrenics with a legacy of more than 15 years serving healthcare and diagnostics, Styrolution will feature styrenics-based materials for sterilisable healthcare applications. Also presented will be an array of customised solutions that are giving manufacturers a competitive edge and patients more range of choice.

Key points:

• Styrenics are among the most important thermoplastics, with a broad range of applications for the healthcare and diagnostics market. In an industry with strict regulation and a focus on the long term, the potential for styrenics exists in the introduction of new polymers and potential substitutions for traditionally used PC, TPE and PVC, in key applications.
• Styrenics have a proven record of good to excellent chemical resistance to saturated hydrocarbons, ethanol, solutions containing alcohol, fats and oils, water, aqueous solutions of salts, detergents, mineral acids, glycerine, dilute acids and alkalis, and aliphatic amines and amides.
• Styrolution is revitalising customer care in the healthcare industry with best-in-class service packages, a broader medical-grade portfolio and product co-creation for customized solutions.
• Styrolution’s full HD service package helps save time and money, so customers can focus their energies on product vision and design. Styrolution’s team of passionate professionals helps with everything from technical innovation and high-quality product development, to meeting strict worldwide regulatory requirements.
• The Boehringer Ingelheim HandiHaler uses two Styrolution grades: Novodur HD is used in the mouthpiece and housing due to its mechanical properties and surface appearance. Terlux HD, which is durable enough to withstand the forces applied during the piercing process within the device, is used in the transparent capsule chamber for easy patient monitoring.
• Co-creation for innovative infusion bags and medical tubing: visitors to the K can experience first-hand the results of Styrolution’s collaboration with a leading medical supply producer to develop an innovative multi-layer film technology for infusion and collection bags, medical tubes and multi-layer tubes. Using Styroflex (SBC), a cost-attractive, plasticiser-free alternative to current materials, film thickness is reduced by up to 50 percent while maintaining extremely high tear and perforation resistance and incredible transparency. For medical tubing, it also offers outstanding bonding performance and lower drug absorption compared with other plastics. Styrolution is fully committed to the healthcare industry, investing in its staff and resources with the ambition to be among the top three leading resin suppliers in healthcare and diagnostics.
• Held from October 16-23, 2013 in Duesseldorf, Germany, the K is the number one trade fair for plastics and rubber worldwide and an international marketplace for visionary themes and innovative, sustainable solutions.

Visit http://www.k-tradefair.com/ for more information.

Product innovations featured at the K 2013:

• Adhering to the highest medical standards, Zylar 960 is enhanced for medical devices, infusion chambers and reusable drink ware used in the healthcare and diagnostics industry. Zylar 960 is an impact-modified styrene acrylic copolymer that provides toughness, transparency and superior processing characteristics for demanding injection-molding applications.
• Providing parts with an excellent balance of transparency and toughness, Styrolux 3G 46 is used as a performance modifier for polystyrene, making it more impact resistant while maintaining transparency. Used in infusion chambers and food container packaging, it features excellent thermoformability, heat resistance and very low permeability to aromas and gases.

Quotes:

Alexander Silvestre, Global Director of Healthcare & Diagnostics, Styrolution:

“We bring care into healthcare product innovation by offering full-service product packages that include everything from product co-creation to global industry compliance. We help our customers every step of the way to get innovations to the market faster.”

Roberto Gualdoni, CEO, Styrolution:

“In our ambition to lead healthcare and diagnostics as the most reliable partner in the industry, we invest strategically in research and development to help deliver solutions for age-related disease, point-of-care diagnostics and lighter, more portable devices.”