Strong commitment to soft PVC: The Evonik Plasticizers Symposium
This series of events organized by the Plasticizers market segment of Performance Intermediates went into its second round at the end of June as the “1st Evonik Plasticizers Symposium 2017.”
The many guests from Germany and abroad entered into intensive discussions on market trends and regulatory challenges as well as product and service innovations in the area of plasticizers.
“Plasticizers are used in a very large number of PVC products. But public discussion on plasticizers and soft PVC centers mainly on their feared impact on health, rather than the outstanding benefits and sustainability of soft PVC products. We want to provide our business partners with the information they need, in communicating with PVC processors, policy makers, and the public at large, to bring the discussion onto a more objective level,” says Hinnerk Gordon Becker, head of the Plasticizers market segment, on one of the key points of the symposium.
One particular focal point was the applications and perspectives of diisononyl phthalate (DINP). Performance Intermediates offers this versatile plasticizer under the brand name VESTINOL® 9. It is used in thermoplastic as well as plastisol processing of soft PVC.
Discussion also focused on the regulatory challenges currently confronting the sector. Thanks to the support of the experts of Evonik Product Stewardship, interesting discussions developed in the course of the presentations in which many unresolved questions could be answered. “It’s important to inform our partners in more detail of technical facts as well as current activities in the work of our industry associations. This prepares them optimally for discussions with their customers,” said Dr. Hendrik Fischer, who represents Performance Intermediates in the relevant industry associations, such as European Plastisizers.
The focus then shifted to the important future trend of digitization. Frank Dallmann, head of the Systems & Services unit of Marketing, who is responsible for digitization at Performance Intermediates, says: “Thanks to discussions with our customers we now have a better understanding of what they expect from us in regard to digitization.”
In a subsequent visit to the advanced technical service laboratories of Performance Intermediates in Marl Chemical Park, the guests obtained a realistic insight into Evonik’s research work on plasticizers, which also extends beyond the existing products VESTINOL® 9, VESTINOL® INB, and ELATUR® CH. The day ended with a guided tour followed by a joint dinner on the Zeche Zollverein World Heritage Site in Essen.
“The Plasticizers Symposium is the ideal format for us to intensify dialog with our customers and raise awareness of our excellent positioning as a solutions provider in the plasticizers sector,” says Dr. Hinnerk Gordon Becker, head of the market segment.