Midland, MI - September 15, 2009
The Dow Chemical Company has recently earned the prestigious R&D 100 Award for INFUSE™ Olefin Block Copolymers (OBCs), a revolutionary block copolymer that delivers new-to-the-world to adhesives and foams.
"We are extremely pleased to receive the R&D 100 Award for INFUSE OBCs as it recognizes the breakthrough nature of this material and Dow's strategic commitment to provide high-value performance solutions to customers around the world," said Luis Cirihal, Dow Elastomers business director. "I'd like to thank the dedicated team of people behind the development of INFUSE OBCs, including a highly motivated group of customers whose collaboration continues to drive global success."
INFUSE OBCs provide breakthrough performance in two key areas: catalyst technology and material performance. In the first area, Dow developed a catalytic block technology and patent-pending shuttling process that uniquely controls the hard and soft segments of a polymer chain. This enables OBCs to be made - for the first time -- via a cost-effective continuous process, while providing outstanding design freedom. The resulting INFUSE OBCs offer highly differentiated material properties that break traditional relationships and create opportunity for customers. They offer, for example, the flexibility of polyolefin plastomers and elastomers along with the heat resistance of high density polyethylene - a combination previously not possible.
"INFUSE OBCs are already enabling customers to deliver new solutions to end users in a variety of markets and applications, including those that are currently served by high-performance thermoplastic elastomers," said Karen Fennessy-Ketola, global platform director. "Because they offer a blend of flexibility, heat resistance, elasticity, and durability - along with the processability of a polyolefin - INFUSE OBCs are quickly earning a name as a next-generation specialty material that defies the old and defines the new."
Tim Diephouse, research & development leader concurs. "The shuttling process developed by Dow provides an unheard level of design flexibility for OBCs that enables us to dial into the different performance and processing needs of customers, creating tailor-made OBCs for specific end-use applications. This opens an entirely new realm of possibilities for customers and Dow, and we're all excited about what the future holds."
For 47 years, the prestigious R&D 100 Awards have identified revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market. Winners are selected by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine.
For more information about INFUSE OBCs, see www.dow.com/infuse. For more about the awards, see www.rdmag.com.
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Cone, Kelley
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