15 November 2006 – GE Plastics has unveiled a new family of high performance amorphous polyimide polymers which can be readily processed and require no subsequent curing. The fruits of a 13-year development programme, Extem resins provide a raft of high level performance parameters including continuous use temperatures of up to 230ºC, exceptional chemical resistance and inherent flame retardance.
The product has been made for the past two years at a pilot plant in the US and is now available from a semi commercial unit with full scale manufacture to follow. GEP is already working with a number of customers in key market for the product which include aerospace, automotive and electronics.
News of the Extem family accompanied details of the company’s commitment of some $280m to its engineering polymers business. The Cartagena site in Spain is winning the lion’s share of this total with a $250m investment to build a European plant for its Ultem polyetherimide engineering polymer as well as the capability to make Extem. GEP is also spending $30m at its Mount Vernon site in the US to expand its Ultem capacity and strengthen service and stability levels.
The company has developed a 30-strong patent position in Extem, which is its first new polymer for 20 years.
