Building products and engineering polymers emerge as key application areas for colour masterbatches in the Middle East

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Increased order and enquiry levels from Middle Eastern countries for specialist colour masterbatches for use in building products and engineering polymers have been reported by Colour Tone Masterbatch.

Infrared heat reflective colour masterbatches that lower surface temperatures and reduce heat on the street are growing in popularity in the Middle East where temperatures and light energy are particularly high.  Typical applications include outdoor roofline products such as guttering and soffits on housing and conservatories, furniture, leisure and agricultural goods as well as automotive industry components.

Originally developed for use in PVCu compounds for Northern European markets, Colour Tone’s infrared colouring technology is now available in other materials.

Products coloured with conventional pigments fade, especially darker shades. Also, retained heat causes thermal expansion and physical degradation which leads to buckling. Eventually products fail, for example, because joints and seals on guttering shift out of line and leakages occur.

Masterbatches incorporating the latest heat reflecting infrared pigment technology enable any colour to be used successfully and offer temperature performance profiles of up to 40% lower than plastics coloured with conventional pigments. Manufacturers benefit from enhanced product performance including increased thermal stability and dramatically increased service life.  Environmental benefits follow too. Cooler plastics mean less heat on the planet and this translates into greater energy efficiency and increased quality of life for everyone.

Colour Tone’s polymer specific colour masterbatches for engineering polymers such as PC, PA and PET have also found success in extruded sheet glazing products, automotive and lighting component as well as injection blow moulded bottle applications in the Middle East. Specially developed so they can be pre-dried with the host polymer these masterbatches can be introduced without compatibility issues, even in thin wall applications where high loadings are required to achieve opacity.