TPI April 2009

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20 Tube Products International April 2009
newsbusiness & market
Pipe convertersWavin Hepworth, Aikang
China, George Fischer and Weixing
have announced that they will develop
uniform standards for LyondellBasell’s
recently launched Akoafloor PB-R 509
polybutene-1, which represents a new
high-performance class of resin used
in under-floor, low-temperature pipe
heating and cooling systems.
According to Dr Mattis Gosmann,
LyondellBasell’s marketing manager for
polybutene-1 in Asia Pacific, “Achieving
this company standard for pipe
converters is a necessary first step in
the development of a Chinese National
Standard for the commercialisation
of a new class of resins for pipe
applications. Our Akoafloor PB-R 509
resin is a new alternative to incumbent
materials, offering the performance
and reliability customers demand in
sustainable pipe heating and cooling
systems.”
The initiative is also supported by
Chen Jiaqi, chief secretary of China’s
National Technical Committee of
Standardization for Plastic Products,
and Wei Ruoqi, director of the Chinese
National Test Center of Polymer and
Building Materials.
“We discovered that Akoafloor PB-R
509 provides excellent processability,
with reduced tooling modification
requirements, ” commented Frank
Huang, production manager of Wavin
Hepworth. “Furthermore, the resin only
requires one to two days of aging time,
which we believe will help shorten our
lead time.”
New chief executive officer and
chief financial officer
RathGibson, a manufacturer of welded, welded and drawn, and seamless
stainless steel, nickel, and titanium tubing, has appointed Michael Schwartz as
chief executive officer (CEO).
Mr Schwartz joined RathGibson in April 2008 as president and chief operating
officer, and assumed the position of interim CEO in August 2008. Before
joining RathGibson, Mr Schwartz served as president and CEO of Airoom,
Inc. In addition, he brings over 15 years of experience with companies within
Lennox International Inc, including president and COO for Heatcraft Worldwide
Refrigeration, Lennox North American Distributed Products, and Armstrong Air;
vice-president for Heatcraft Commercial Products; and sales and marketing
director for the Heatcraft Heat Transfer Group.
RathGibson has also announced the appointment of Jon Smith as chief financial
officer (CFO), as of 3 February 2009. Mr Smith joins RathGibson from the
engine and transmission components group of Magna Powertrain. As Magna’s
senior director of finance, Mr Smith led key business initiatives around strategy
development and implementation, process standardisation, and structural
cost improvements. As RathGibson’s CFO, Mr Smith will provide enterprise-
wide leadership across the functional areas of IT, finance, accounting and
tax, while also maintaining existing relationships with respective business unit
controllers.
RathGibson – USA
Shi Guojun, vice general manager of Zhe
Jiang Weixing New Building Materials
Co Ltd, said, “Under-floor heating is
a rapidly-expanding market in China.
We believe Akoafloor will provide this
market with a premium and competitive
solution that meets end users’ needs for
safety and reliability. ”
LyondellBasell launched Akoafloor
PB-R 509 in May 2008, at a customer
event held in China. The product is the
first random polybutene-1 co-polymer
based on the company’s proprietary
processing and catalyst technology
designed for use in customer under-
floor heating and surface cooling
systems.
Customers report that the resin offers
superior flexibility, durability and creep
resistance, as well as reduced jointing
and fitting requirements.
LyondellBasell Industries –
The Netherlands
Uniform standard for
high-performance resin