SABIC to showcase new material technologies at NPE 2009 in Chicago

Shanghai, China – May 14, 2009 – SABIC will showcase advanced new material technologies at NPE 2009 in Chicago, June 22-26, aimed at helping customers meet today’s tough economic challenges and drive long-term growth opportunities. The company will exhibit high-end solutions that improve environmental sustainability, reduce system costs and enable customers to compete and succeed in the markets they serve. SABIC will be located in the West Hall, booth W123011.

The SABIC booth will display the following: 

•New LNP* composites reinforced with natural fibers
•New forms of high-performance, inherently flame-retardant Ultem* polyetherimide (PEI) resins, film and fiber/foam composites
•New high-density polyethylene (HDPE) natural and black pre-compound resins for pressure pipe
•Advanced, eco-progressive iQ* resins made from upcycled water bottles
•High-flow Valox* resins that enable greater miniaturization
•Long glass fiber polypropylene (PP) materials for higher strength vs. competitive materials

Customer innovation seminars featuring these and other product technologies will be held at the SABIC booth during the course of the week. These will focus on new SABIC advanced materials technologies and new innovations that can help customers grow their businesses.
 
“SABIC is fully committed to investing and driving growth in the global plastics industry through innovation and customer co-development,” said Charlie Crew, president and CEO, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “Our number-one priority is to help our customers succeed by continuing our long, rich history of innovation. We continue to introduce technologies that link materials, design and processing. Our expansive product portfolio along with our focus on application development and investments in technology will help our customers innovate and grow in the future.”
 
“Our participation at NPE 2009 allows SABIC to demonstrate our commitment to the plastics industry and our customers,” said Khaled Al-Mana, vice president, Polymers, SABIC.  “That’s why we are here in Chicago – to emphasize our innovative technologies and outstanding polymers that create a vast range of applications.”
 
Customer Seminars
 
As part of its NPE offering, SABIC will host a series of 30-minute customer seminars on a range of topics, designed to help customers be more successful. These include new innovative materials and processing techniques, healthcare, metal replacement, and sustainability. These sessions will be held in a special theater in the SABIC booth.
 
System Cost Reduction
 
In the current economic environment, reducing costs is a critical customer requirement. Advanced materials solutions that address this will be featured at the SABIC booth. These include:

•Super High-Flow Valox polybutylene-terephthalate (PBT) resins, which offer double the flow of traditional glass-filled PBTs to reduce cycle times by up to 25 percent
•LNP Verton* and Stamax* long glass fiber specialty compounds that can significantly reduce weight and assembly steps
•New blends of polycarbonate (PC) resin that can eliminate the need for hard coating steps
 
Booth visitors can also learn about SABIC’s broad portfolio of polyolefin grades and other materials that offer customers the ability to choose specialized materials to meet their application requirements, thus minimizing the need for costly blending of different resins and additives.

Application Innovation & Differentiation
 
SABIC is also helping customers set their products apart through a combination of exceptional materials and world-class application development expertise. The company’s advance materials can improve performance and aesthetics, enable new designs, and support new molding processes.
 
SABIC will demonstrate how its Ultem PEI resin portfolio meets critical customer needs. Ultem resins, foams, fibers and blends provide inherent flame retardance and high-heat resistance for some of the most demanding applications:  

•In aircraft composite skin/core/skin structures, Ultem foam reduces density by up to 30 times vs. traditional materials
•High-flow Ultem resin makes it possible to mold ultra-small parts to support miniaturization
•Ultem resin’s exceptional heat resistance supports autoclaving beyond 4,000 cycles for medical devices

SABIC will also feature the Gocycle – an electric, lightweight urban two-wheeler – which was launched in this month and utilizes LNP Verton specialty compounds in many of its gear and wheel components.
 
Service is another aspect of giving customers a competitive advantage – providing them with what they need, when and where they need it. How SABIC enables customers to accelerate speed to market through company production facilities and distribution centers across the globe will be highlighted.
 
SABIC’s global availability of HDPE, linear low-density and low-density polyethylene (LLDPE, and LDPE) and PP products for a wide range of applications – from flexible packaging to rigid applications – will also be an NPE focus. Another key topic will be the company’s investment in production assets for polyolefins (PO) in the Middle East, Europe and China, as well as in existing logistics centers. 

Sustainability
 
As industries from automotive, building & construction and aerospace to electronics, healthcare and transportation seek new ways to improve the environmental responsibility of their products, SABIC will display new composites reinforced with natural materials. Compared to traditional composite reinforcements, such as glass fiber, natural materials offer a host of superior environmental benefits. They are renewable, recyclable, require less energy to produce, and also help to neutralize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
 
The company will also showcase high-performance materials that incorporate renewable resources and upcycled content, eliminate hazardous additives, reduce energy consumption and support recyclability. Lexan* Constant Clear adhesive polycarbonate film that prevents fogging of freezer and refrigerated case doors will be on display. This new technology dramatically reduces energy consumption by enabling grocery stores to turn off energy-intensive heaters.  

About SABIC
 
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top five petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 22 billion (US$ 5.86 billion) in 2008. Sales revenues for 2008 totaled SR 152.4 billion (US$ 40.6 billion). Total assets stood at SR 272 billion (US$ 72.5 billion) at the end of 2008.
 
SABIC operates seven interlinked strategic business units:  Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals, Innovative Plastics and Manufacturing. SABIC has significant research resources and has 15 dedicated research and technology and application centers in the Middle East, the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with 33,000 employees worldwide.
 
The company has 20 world-scale complexes in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, SABIC manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. SABIC’s overall production has increased from 35 million metric tons in 2001 to 56 million metric tons in 2008.
 
Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.