NOVA to expand foam resin capacity

NOVA Chemicals Corp. has announced plans for a series of expansions of its Arcel moldable foam resin manufacturing capacity to 100 million lb. per year by the end of 2006. The capacity increase is in response to a rapid growth in the demand for the resin, which is primarily used as a foam for protective packaging.
"Our Arcel business has tripled in size during the last two years by delivering significant benefits to the multi-billion pound protective foam packaging market," said Chris Pappas, senior vice president and president of styrenics for NOVA.
Arcel combines the toughness of polyethylene and the processability of polystyrene to provide a resilient inter-polymer packaging material.
"In addition to offering superior multiple-impact resistance and damage protection, Arcel resin delivers a lower total cost to OEMs by reducing package sizes, lowering transportation costs and improving space and cube efficiency,” noted Pappas.
Arcel resin runs on standard expandable polystyrene (EPS) molding equipment and is recyclable in the polystyrene recycling stream.