Souce:  http://www.21cp.com/ 

The largest nylon producer in the world, Ascend Performance Materials Inc., highlighted its strength in vertical integration as it rolled out new polymers at the recent Chinaplas show in Shanghai.

Scott W. Rook, Vice President of Nylon Operation, said:

“We are the largest manufacturer of Nylon 66 polymer around the globe.”

Nearly half of Ascend’s sales are in Asia. Rook was optimistic about the company’s outlook in China. While the mainland’s nylon exports are slowing, domestic demand, particularly in the auto industry is strong. “There’s growing competition in this space. But we feel strongly about our position because we’re integrated. There are more companies producing nylon polymer, but they buy the intermediates, which are expensive to ship, and then turn them into polymers,” Rook said.

“We get asked all the time, why don’t we establish plants around the world? The main reason is that shipping polymer is much cheaper than shipping intermediates.”

Rook remarked,

“It’s a lower cost for us to take a container of nylon and move it from Pensacola to Shanghai than it is to move it from Pensacola to Detroit.” “

More than half of Ascend’s nylon goes into such automotive applications such as tyre cord fabric, air coolers, oil pans, radiator end tanks, cable ties, headlight bezels and lumbar supports.

“As they make cars smaller, the temperatures in the engines go up. So we’re being asked constantly by automotive customers to improve the thermal-aging capabilities — basically, higher heat-resistance — of our polymers. So we now have higher heat-resistant grades,” Rook said.

 Another key application is airbags. Rook is especially bullish on the Chinese market for airbags. While the typical car in Europe or the Americas has eight to 10 airbags, Chinese cars only average two airbags. But that figure is set to double in the next few years. 

Ascend continues to offer halogenated flame-retardant compounds, but the growth is clearly in non-halogenated compounds, Rook said.

 Ascend also announced glass-reinforced grades for automotive and electrical components and showcased food-packaging applications. Oxygen- and puncture-resistant nylon wrap — in as many as five layers — extends shelf life, especially of meats, Rook said.

 At last year’s Chinaplas, Ascend announced a strategic partnership with chemical giant Royal DSM. Ascend provides nylon polymer to DSM, which uses it to make its own compounds.

“We’re happy with how that relationship is working out,” Rook said.