Another significant advance made with thermoplastic-based composites has been exhibited during the 2013 JEC Show in Paris, confirming the need for other performance improvements beyond increased toughness. The Finnish UPM Company highlighted not only its current wood ply solutions to the composite industry but also its new cellulose fiber reinforced plastic compounds. The UPM ForMi® compounds are currently based onpolypropylene; however other resins might be used to further develop the product offering. The company UPM has its own forests and keeps a tight control on the quality of the fibers. Its ForMi® compounds show a fiber content ranging from 20% up to 50%. These fibers are also made out of wood coming from sustainably managed forests (FSC and PEFC certified), which may help brand owners to implement their environmentally friendly policies. Stefan Fors, the UPM ForMi® Director, has been with the company for more than 15 years and intimately understands the paper industry. Mr. Fors stated that this this new thermoplastic-based composite addresses the need of UPM to find new or adjacent markets to paper which has shown annual shrinking in both Western Europe and North America. These new composites also address the need for more environmentally friendly polymer compounds without sacrificing performance. Although many bio fillers have already been tested in thermosets and thermoplastic resins, the final performance did not always meet the application requirements. this is why commercial successes to date lie in single-use tableware and disposable products because of these applications' low technical requirements. This is much different with the UPM ForMi® compounds. Stefan Fors is not afraid to compare the ForMi® grades to other talc-filled and glass-filled PP. When asking the question on why these cellulose fiber reinforced compounds would beat the other wood flour and other bio fillers compounds, Mr. Fors does not hesitate a second to answer: the performance is much higher when the quality of the fibers is kept under control. Furthermore UPM developed its own treatments on fibers to ensure a good adhesion with the polymer matrix. In other words, it does not deal with finding an outcome for scrapped wood products. ForMi® compounds have indeed specific performances. Mr. Fors gave the example of the excellent acoustic properties of the ForMi® compounds, leading to a first commercial success with the Finnish high-end loudspeaker brand Aurelia. The ForMi® material was selected thanks to its excellent acoustic properties and its high stiffness, making this compound ideal for the loudspeaker enclosures. There is another project going on with the same type of applications at another OEM, which should soon be commercialized.
Another significant advance made with thermoplastic-based composites has been exhibited during the 2013 JEC Show in Paris, confirming the need for other performance improvements beyond increased toughness. The Finnish UPM Company highlighted not only its current wood ply solutions to the composite industry but also its new cellulose fiber reinforced plastic compounds. The UPM ForMi® compounds are currently based onpolypropylene; however other resins might be used to further develop the product offering. The company UPM has its own forests and keeps a tight control on the quality of the fibers. Its ForMi® compounds show a fiber content ranging from 20% up to 50%. These fibers are also made out of wood coming from sustainably managed forests (FSC and PEFC certified), which may help brand owners to implement their environmentally friendly policies. Stefan Fors, the UPM ForMi® Director, has been with the company for more than 15 years and intimately understands the paper industry. Mr. Fors stated that this this new thermoplastic-based composite addresses the need of UPM to find new or adjacent markets to paper which has shown annual shrinking in both Western Europe and North America. These new composites also address the need for more environmentally friendly polymer compounds without sacrificing performance. Although many bio fillers have already been tested in thermosets and thermoplastic resins, the final performance did not always meet the application requirements. this is why commercial successes to date lie in single-use tableware and disposable products because of these applications' low technical requirements. This is much different with the UPM ForMi® compounds. Stefan Fors is not afraid to compare the ForMi® grades to other talc-filled and glass-filled PP. When asking the question on why these cellulose fiber reinforced compounds would beat the other wood flour and other bio fillers compounds, Mr. Fors does not hesitate a second to answer: the performance is much higher when the quality of the fibers is kept under control. Furthermore UPM developed its own treatments on fibers to ensure a good adhesion with the polymer matrix. In other words, it does not deal with finding an outcome for scrapped wood products. ForMi® compounds have indeed specific performances. Mr. Fors gave the example of the excellent acoustic properties of the ForMi® compounds, leading to a first commercial success with the Finnish high-end loudspeaker brand Aurelia. The ForMi® material was selected thanks to its excellent acoustic properties and its high stiffness, making this compound ideal for the loudspeaker enclosures. There is another project going on with the same type of applications at another OEM, which should soon be commercialized.
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