EoW November 2010

Compounds & colourings

A return to rubber compounds?

Mixer began manufacturing cable compounds in 1996 to meet the specific demands of the wire and cable industry. Fully automated production lines and advanced testing facilities maintain consistent quality of an annual production of over 20,000 metric tons of cable compounds. Banbury internal mixers and strainer extruders are used to manufacture compounds in granular (pellet) form. The company now produces insulation, sheathing, bedding and masterbatch cable compounds with both rubber and thermoplastic. The trademark Ekopren ® products are based on halogen-free polymers and additives with low toxicity and clear smoke emission. The Mixer range includes heavy metal free, high LOI and fire, oil and ozone resistant compounds. Mixer is now producing a new line of colour masterbatches especially designed for cable producers who may use half the normal concentration rates because of the high pigment concentration and high dispersion rate. These products can be used in any type of polymer, eliminating the need to purchase several masterbatch types of the same colour. Several recent technical studies are said to have demonstrated the advantages of EPDM insulation over XLPE for medium voltage cable insulation. EPDM continues to be the top insulation choice due to its record of long service life, flexibility and performance in the medium voltage cable market. Mixer offers a range of EPDM medium voltage insulation compounds to supply this returning market trend to rubber compounds. Mixer’s on-site laboratory is at customers’ disposal for testing material properties and behaviours. Clients can request tests of their products in order to verify the correct cross-linking of materials, the correct extrusion behaviour and whether their product complies with standards. Technical assistance is available to optimise the operational parameters of existing extrusion equipment. Mixer SpA – Italy Fax : +39 0545 47038 Email : info@mixercompounds.com Website : www.mixercompounds.com Compounds for every demand AlphaGary has developed wire and cable materials for electrical, mechanical, thermal and fire performance for over twenty years, taking into account all the most rigorous codes, testing procedures and global standards, and the challenges encountered by customers involved in copper and fibre optic cable design. AlphaGary’s comprehensive product portfolio offers solutions in sheathing and insulating materials, including low smoke vinyl alloys, halogen-free olefin blends, fluoropolymer compounds, thermoplastic urethanes and a variety of thermoplastic elastomers. AlphaGary’s range includes: Smokeguard • ® FP (with DuPont Teflon ® ) and Smokeguard ® HP fluoropolymer compounds Smokeguard • ® LSFR PVC low smoke, fire retardant vinyl alloys Megolon • ® halogen free sheathing and insulation materials for low smoke and fume emissions Garaflex • ® thermoplastic elastomer compounds, including styrenic, nylon, vinyl, olefin/EPDM, and vulcanizate blends Garathane™ thermoplastic urethane flame retardant blends and alloys • Fire retardant vinyl compounds (GW Series) • Sheath and insulation/buffer compounds for communication, industrial, automotive • and power transmission applications Colour concentrates to support all compound types, either custom-matched or to • standards such as Munsell or RAL AlphaGary Corporation – USA Fax : +1 978 537 8385 Email : info@alphagary.com Website : www.alphagary.com

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EuroWire – November 2010