Extrusion International USA 2-2022

30 Extrusion International 2/2022 INDUSTRY NEWS US-Based Sulfone Polymers Business Expanded „ Solvay announced an ambitious expansion plan for its U.S.-based sulfone business, which focuses on polymer so- lutions for various critical life science applications, as part of its ongoing commitment to build capacity in this fi eld to support a growing global customer base. The full scope of the multi-year expansion plans will ulti- mately touch all of Solvay's sulfone polymers including Udel ® polysulfones (PSU), Veradel ® polyether sulfones (PESU) and Radel ® polyphenyl sulfones (PPSU). The fi rst major invest- ment steps will include a capacity increase for Udel ® PSU of over 25% by 2024 at the company’s production site in Mari- etta, Ohio, with much of this increase expected online by early 2023. Likewise, to strengthen Solvay’s leading position in the market, production capacity for dichlorodiphenyl sul- fone (DCDPS) – an important common building block used in all sulfone polymers – will also be expanded by more than 25% by 2024, resulting in capacity increases at the compa- ny’s Augusta, Georgia site by end of 2022. “This new multi-year program marks an important step in our strategy for future growth and af fi rms our number one Personalia „ Giovanni Spitale has been named Chief Executive Of fi cer of Davis-Standard, a portfolio company of Gamut Capital Management. Giovanni Spitale replaces Jim Murphy who has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Board of Direc- tors. In addition, Davis-Standard has elected several indi- viduals as members of its Board of Directors, including Brian Marston, Bill Barker and JohnMcGrath, each of whomhave signi fi cant experience within Davis-Standard’s markets. “I am extremely excited to join the Davis-Standard orga- nization,” said Spitale. “Having spent considerable time in the polymer processing and broader capital equipment industries, I have long admired Davis-Standard’s leading position in the market, its unmatched engineering capa- bility and the Company’s reputation as a strong partner to its customers through both original equipment and after- market support. I look forward to working with the Davis- Standard organization to continue to grow the business globally and support our world-class base of customers with differentiated product offerings and services.” “I want to thank the entire Davis-Standard organization for the many years of strong performance that we have collectively executed upon under my tenure as CEO,” said Murphy. “I am thrilled to continue to serve the Company as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and look for- ward to collaborating with Giovanni alongside the broader Board of Directors in this next and very exciting phase of Davis-Standard’s long history.” Alongside Spitale and Murphy, the Davis-Standard Board of Directors includes Dan Guthrie, Chief Operating Of- fi cer of Davis-Standard, representatives from controlling shareholder Gamut Capital Management, as well as Brian Marston, Bill Barker and John McGrath. Marston is current- ly President & CEO of Uniloy and was previously President of the Blow Molding and Extrusion businesses of Milacron. Barker was previously the President and CEO of Mold-Mas- ters. McGrath was previously the CEO of Pactiv Evergreen. Davis-Standard, LLC www.davis-standard.com TCO Certi fi cation Received „ FRX Polymers has announced that the Company’s No fi a ® branded polymeric phosphorus-based fl ame retardants, No fi a ® Homopolymers and Copolymers, have been added to the TCO Certi fi ed Accepted Substance List. TCO is the most recognized and world-leading sustainability certi fi ca- tion for additives in the electronics and information tech- nology industries. Only fl ame retardants on the widely used TCO Certi fi ed Accepted Substance List may be used for TCO Certi fi ed Products. Marc Lebel, CEO of FRX Polymers, stated that, “This news from TCO con fi rms that No fi a fl ame retardants are ideally suited for use in electronics equipment to replace haloge- nated fl ame retardants that will no longer be allowed.” Lebel continued, “Once again, it is con fi rmed that OEMs, retailers, and the general public do not need to compro- mise on sustainability in order to be protected from the catastrophic risks of fi re.” The European Court of Justice ruled on March 16, 2022, that a ban on halogenated fl ame retardants in enclosures and stands of TVs and monitors, is in conformity with European law. FRX has developed a line of patent protected products under its No fi a ® brand that address the very real and signi fi - cant problem around the use of certain harmful chemicals that are currently used as fl ame retardants in several indus- trial and consumer applications. FRX has been built on over $US120million of investment and is positioned to be a leader in the transition to environmentally friendly solutions within the $US30 billion fl ame retardant plastics industry. FRX Polymers www.frxpolymers.com