Document dYwgmLO0BaaDaLVD8Ed5D2Nme

. < > 7;* [**x *?* A:,t 'C- -f - ..A- -'W i`-' /AAliA. -'-T-A. c. "V' (J;A' ' ' A AAr - vA'' -; ' AAr"? A *' A;.v v.' t' -' t*~''-,c'r *y "'''A'-,rV *7 _ -A VA'i-'i- ` Ll 'v ' ' r'' , *.>|A..A. L<rt-, rv -T- '? fc -, ^ V.. \ v ' * 1a * .. ^ i^wa-v i jud \u<,,\\7*\ /ypFhfjYuT'i? r!:a,.n[rin!s!-,`/UT^!t^'iansiiT.,^'.'r'b sales_____|__ ___ climb__|-___ but low prices pose big problems C consumption of polyvinyl chloride swept past the 2-billion-lb /year mark during the dosing days of 1966, touching off speculation that sales would reach a 6-billion-lb./year level by mid-1970. Yet there was as much concern as elation. Price-cutting at a time when supplies were said to be tight puzzled many and led others to some serious stock-taking. The situation got so unsatis factory that by Oct. 1966 Monsanto Co. announced it would discontinue manufacture and sale of poly vinyl acetate copolymers in the U. S. The copolymers are used primarily for vinyl-asbestos flooring and phonograph records, and at one time during the year were selling for as Low as 124/lb. On the other hand, hundreds of millions of dol lars continued to be spent for new plants and ex pansions; it was the knowledge of this new capacity and the number of new companies coming into vinyls for the first time that was blamed for part of the price instability. A more significant factor, how ever, may have been a whole series of extensive modernization programs now under way in the in dustry. These started rumors of a 10^/lb. polymer by 1970. However, some suppliers express doubt, pointing out that this overlooks the fact that the cost of the material also must include the cost of test ing, packaging, delivery, and selling. By the time these modernization programs are completed, most of the higher-cost, acetylene-based' monomer facilities will be phased out Those that remain will manufacture specialty polymers. For the immediate future, prices will remain firm. General-purpose resins, which sold for 38$!/lb. in 1955, will not go below the 13 to 14^ range as long as monomer and other raw materials remain at pres ent supply and price levels. Flooring shows good growth The big increase m vinyl consumption in flooring came as-a surprise to many who had felt that com petition from carpeting had cut into that market. What apparently saved the day was cushion-backed vinyl roll goods, much of it selling for as high as $12 and $14/sq. yd. The flooring is a further de velopment of the cushion-backed yard goods de veloped several years ago for upholstery and lug gage. Almost the same techniques are used. Recently, the appeal of vinyl foam flooring has been further advanced by a novel and rather brilliant decorating - technique developed by Congoleum-A Naim. The essence of the invention is that a number ' of chemicals have been found that retard the decom position of azodicarbonamide. The finished product is a multi-level embossed surface in perfect register with the multi-colored print pattern. Cushion flooring is going into two markets. One is loose-lay; the other, in-lay--a wall-to-wall type '. of installation that is winning over flooring that was A being lost to carpeting. The success of this new vinyl covering has been so phenomenal in the past two years that several big flooring companies have followed Congoleum-Naim into production Originally going into the home, this type of flooring is now. also moving into hospitals, supermarkets, and^ schools The government's urban renewal programs could also open an attractive market, since this flooring can fill the need for a medium priced covering that installs quickly and without expense. At stake here are large runs, in keeping with the government's ' practice of letting out bulk contracts. Hundreds of thousands of housing units, mostly run-down apart ments, are scheduled for renovating. Injection molding progrest CBY 1i 04 755 7 Lower costs have opened new markets to injection molded vinyls, The industry has developed the needed compounds; and equipment manufacturers are becoming vmyl-oriented In 1966, these factors combined to what amounted to a revolution in soles and heels for adults' and children's shoes, Injection molded in a JANUARY JVA7 f- I I | j f < 'r l i i ii if i 1 i1 ( i a i1 RSV0032924 MORE BOTTLES. While the industry Is still working hard at coming up with a clear and FDA-approved formulation, bottles almost doubled their consumption of polyvtnyl chloride in 1966--from S to 9 million pounds. Projections call for a 100-mlllion-lb. market by 1970. (Photo, Diamond Alkali Corp.) single piece, they gained 600% in a single year, from 12 to 80 million pounds. One segment in molding that did not register significant growth was phonograph records, gaining about 5% over 1965--the growing popularity of recording tape cut into this market. Slush and rotationally molded toys and slush molded overshoes gained little Competition from other plastics, imports, and a change in toy-buying patterns were responsible. The newest idea for plastisol use is in do-it-yourself toys. Surprise in extrusions Generally regarded as a sleeper, the extrusion end of the vinyl industry showed a growth that was just short of phenomena] Blown film, piping, and sheet grew away beyond expectations. Blown film moved particularly well. The film is clear, and now competitive in price with cellophane. Supermarkets rapidly are converting to it for pro duce and fresh meat wrap. Three reasons are given; low cost, appearance, and bloom retention (the red color) in fresh meat. Use of biaxially oriented vinyl shrink film for overwrap of all types, from phonograph records to toys, grew rapidly. Here vinyl is beginning to replace polypropylene and cellophane. The market poten tial is 300 million lb. annually. Wire and cable extrusions gained again last year amidst talk of high-molecular-weight resins with insulating temperatures up to 125 C. When this happens, sometime around the end of 1967, vmyl may replace high-costing silicones, fluorocarbons, and nylons as a wire insulation wherever good phy sicals are needed in high temperature environments. It will also greatly broaden the use of vinyls in existing wire insulating projects. Rigid extrusions, pipe and conduit, window pro files, and sidings all moved ahead strongly in 1966, justifying the Jong research and development pro- CBY 1047558 94 MODERN PLASTICS RSV0032925 V /r I p 5 I FLOORING. Seamless and foam-cushioned flooring brought new vigor to the vinyl flooring busmess, helping it to resist inroads from the carpeting industry. Growth of the market was from 320 to 370 million pounds. (Photo, Monsanto Co.) grams in the building fields by such companies as B. F. Goodrich Chemical Co., Monsanto Co., etc. A great deal of 12- and 18-in. piping was used for well casings. Smaller diameters began to find big markets in irrigation' projects, especially in the California and Florida vineyards A new type of pipe-joining system that is relatively simple and inexpensive contributed to growth. It does away with fittings One pipe end is heated and then ex panded by forcing into it a bell-shaped mold. An other pipe end is then slipped inside it and cemented The high price of copper and the Federal Hous ing Administration's acceptance of PVC for do mestic water services and for dram, waste, and vent applications promises an even better year ahead. The copper shortage is creating such a demand for the new high temperature vinyl compound that Goodrich, the country's only producer, cannot keep up with demand. This compound has a rating of 180 F., making it fully practical in hot water pressure pipes. While code approvals are needed before it can be used in the major cities, it is already being used for hot water piping in mobile trailer homes and in many areas not covered by codes. Diamond Alkali has a new family of pipe com pounds that has been approved by the National Sanitation Foundation for potable water. These are free-flowing, non-dusting compounds. The outlook for bottles Blown bottle use grew about 100%, but poundage is still small More technical development and lowercost compounds are needed before high volume sales are achieved. Three new resin plants coming on stream this year may hold the key. Dow Chemical Co., Hooker Chemical Corp, and Allied Chemical Corp. are building them. All promise high clarity resins. Allied claims a copolymer that offers promise of FDA-approved compounds through (To page 216) JANUARY 19*7 CBY 1047559 es i ! I i' lii i i i ti I I RSV0032926 To mure moldible remtorce- ments, insist on clean, strong, uniform PLYMOUTH fillers for your Polyester, Phenolic and Melamine moldings. POLYESTER PHENOLIC MELAMINE T"' *ene,ous umple in youf plant today Write or phone, or ask to see our' representative, he'll be glad to explain the PLYMOUTH FIBRES way. PLYMOUTH FIBRES CO., INC. Traffic & Palmetto Streets, Brooklyn, ft. Y. 11ZZ7 212--HYacinth 7-5300 Subsidiaries Dallas New Orleans Atlanta Us Angeles London, England Italy Spam CURING EPOXY RESINS? Use Harshaw Boron Fluoride Monoethylamine Complex (BF3-400) Harshaw BF3-4OO is an excellent catalyst for elevated tem perature cures of epoxy resins and for furfuryl alcohol resins. Along with its advantages as a latent catalyst, Boron Fluoride Monoethylamine-cured epoxy systems have been found to impart high tensile strength and high heat distortion points to the cured resin. These systems find use in adhesives, laminants, casting and potting applications. Ask for Technical Data Sheets Please send me 8F]-400 technical data sheets. Na me_______________ Company Address City______ StateZIP THE HARSHAW CHEMICAL COMPANY 1945 East 97th Street . Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland * Detroit Hasttngs-on-Hudson Houston * Los Angeles Philadelphia . Pittsburgh Polyvinyl chloride (From page 95) the use of currently approved stabiliz ers. Cumberland Chemical Corp, also claims a compound that uses approved stabilizers. This is a propylene-modi fied compound of exceptional clarity. In this respect, Allied's new plant has solved the blushing and clouding prob lems that occur on prolonged storage of certain foods and cosmetics. This makes it possible to blow mold or in jection mold food containers unaffect ed by prolonged storage The calendering picture More than 100 million lb, of vinyl upholstery and 15 million lb. of poly vinyl butyral windshield interfacing film were used in the 1966 autos. The latter poundage will double in 1967 since the thickness ol the film used has been doubled. During the year. Union Carbide Corp.'s Plastics Dtv. developed a group of specially formulated, calendered vinyl films for use in hospitals and surgical, medical, and prosthetic de vices. One of the films contains a bactenostat. An advantage of another is that it withstands steam autoclaving for sterilization The trend in hospitals is to vinyl throwaway pillow cases, mattress covers, and urinal bags. Only one minor technical problem--static-- prevents this vinyl film from moving into another big-volume markci-- fresh blood packaging, The area of disposability is one that is being pur sued vigorously by all suppliers and several new products for such applica tions can be expected during the year. A new rigid vinyl foam began look ing for markets during 1966 This is a French development that B. F. Good rich Industrial Products Co. and JohnsManville have done considerable work on here. Johns-ManviHe has now gone commercial and is exploring markets in both boat building and construction. Goodrich sees potential for the new rigid vinyl foam--as both a structural and insulating material--in industrial, aerospace, and transportation applica tions. The foam is a cross-linked vtnsl with a high strcngih-lo-wcight ratio that ts not sensitive to water. A number of boat companies are starting to use it as a deck core, between sheets of glass-reinforced plastics, and it is be ginning to attract the attention of engineers looking for industrial insula tion for low temperature process pip ing.--End 216 CBY 1047560 modern plastics RSV0032927 POLYETHYLENE Wire and cable coating markets POLYPROPYLENE Low density 1966 1967 Market million lb. Commu nication 175 185 High density 1966 1967 mtllloh lb. 30 50 Polypropylene resin (U. S., million lb.. Modern Fhastics estimates) Jan. '67 560 Jan. '68 650 Jan. '69 780 Line wire jv ju Power 50 70 -- -- Pattern of consumption High frequency 10 15 ___ -- Market 1965 1966 million lb. million lb. Total 265 300 30 50 Injection molding 155 210 Filament end fiber 90 115 Low density extrusion coating markets Market 1966 1967 million lb. million lb. Film and sheeting Blow molding Wire and cable 55 60 58 24 On paperboard Milk carton Food board Industrial packaging On paper Consumer packaging 150 155 30 40 _ 6 40 45 Pipe and profiles Extrusion coating Export Miscellaneous Total 10 ___ 30 18 360 10 3 50 30 490 Military packaging 56 Multiwall Industrial On film Meat and fish Cheese 20 23 10 13 10 13 78 POLYVINYL CHLORIDE AND COPOLYMER Pattern of consumption Market 1965 1966 million lb. million lb. Boll-in-bag pouches Miscellaneous Foil combination Military packaging Powdered milk 45 15 22 35 44 Calendering Film and sheeting Floor covering Coating, bonding, adhesives Fabric coating (Including calendering) 340 250 185 385 290 210 Soft drink concentrate 23 Floor covering 70 80 Ceke mix 2 2 Extrusion Seuces and condiments 2 2 Wire and cable 220 251 irjt Miscellaneous 16 8 Flexible profiles. Including garden hose 85 Total n 325 360 Film and sheet -- 80 Rigid, including pipe and POLYESTER Pattern of consumption conduit, window profiles, building sldrngs All other extrusions 240 180 60 Market 1965 1966 million lb. million lb. Molding Records 95 100 Reinforced plastics Sheets, flat and corrugated 35 36 Slush and rotational 44 45 All other 200 260 Shoe soles end heels -- 80 ), Surface coatings 8 7.5 All other molding 28 30 Export 11 11.5 All other uses 300 269 All other uses* 72 92 Export 70 70 Total 326 407 Total 1842 2215 a--Includes body putty, buttons, cultured marble, and clay pipe seal. CBY 1047561 u 118 MODEKN PLASTICS } i RSV0032928 POLYVINYL CHLORIDE Malor market* in 1866 Market million lb. House furnishings Furniture upholstery Wall coverings Shower curtains Other curtains, tablecloths and place mats Closet accessories Garden hose Appliances Other Total 170 80 23 32 20 30 16 18 389 Flooring Vinyl-asbestos Vinyl on felt Solid vinyl Total Construction Pipe and fittings Weatherstripping Waterstop and related Swimming pool liners Windows Lighting Siding, panels Rainwater systems Other Total Transport Upholstery Auto seat covers Auto mats Total 175 120 75 370 117 25 21 23 13 7 8 2 12 228 100 44 39 183 Footwear Rainwear Shoes Total 19 80 99 Market Electrical Construction Communications Automotive Other Total Packaging Food wrap Non-food products Blow molded containers Total Coatings (except textiles), total Clothing Outer wear Baby pants Other Total Records, total Toys Dolls Inflatables Balls Other toys Total Miscellaneous Laminates Stationery supplies Medical tubing Sporting goods Tools and hardware Agriculture Novelties Printing plates Credit cards Other Total million ib. 170 48 26 7 251 50 40 10 100 80 42 19 12 73 100 15 17.5 13 15.5 61 30 23 21 18 13 12 9 8 6 130 270 '57 '58 '59 '60 '61 '62 '63 '64 '65 '66 JANUARY 1967 RIGID VINYLS Pattern of consumption Market 1965 1966 million Ib. million Ib. Extrusion Pipe and conduit Building applications 82 125 29 38 Tanks, ducts, etc. 45 Molding Pipe fittings 10 12 Industrial and consumer parts 5 4 Blow moldings 59 Calendered or extruded sheet Packaging 8 11 Other (credit cards, tapes, etc.) 37 38 Total 180 242 CBY 1047562 1 to il I I $ 5 ; l : i' : t 1 I! RSV0032929 1967. But the largest producers think they will have an edge in pricing because of larger-scale facilities. By 1970 there are likely to be at least two PE producers with a 1-billion-lb. capacity who, theoretically at least, will have lower costs per pound than the producer whose capacity is, say, less than 500 million. The situation is about the same in PVC, with new techniques helping to re duce costs. Analysts are predicting a per4b. sales price of 11 or 120 for these two resins in 1970, with some observers going even lower. But eventu ally these resin prices will bottom out, and that is expected sometime in the 1970's At any rate, it is not expected that there will be any sizable upward price trend in the year ahead, unless countrywide inflation gets much worse than it is now. It is interesting to note that, unlike the volume thermoplastics, the older plastics--celiulosics, phe nolic molding material, and urea--have remained relatively stable. They have changed but little in the last five years, and are claimed to be gh .ng a much better ratio of return on investment than the big volume materials. In fact, it is claimed that they are paying for a good part of the development and research that goes into the newer plastics. PLASTICS PRICES* Material Acetate, group 1 Acetate, group II Acetate, group III Acetal ABS compound Medium impact 1960 0/lb. 52 48 40 95 49 High impact 49 Cellulose acetate butyrate 62 Cellulose propionate 62 Diallyl phthalate 85 Epoxy (liquid resins)* 62 Fluoropiastics TFE FEP 360 1160 lonomer Melamine Molding grade (granular) 47 Molding grade (powder) 42 Methacrylate Monomer 29 Molding material XT Polymer 55 Nylon 98 30% glass-reinforced 146 Phenolic, molding material 21 Phenoxy, molding grade Polycarbonate - 1964 0/lb. 52 48 40 65 1966 0/lb. 52 48 40 65 35 36 40 39 62 62 62 62 85 85 62 49 325 560 49 325 495 47 45 42 42 36 25 50% 45 90 142 20% 100 105 21 45% 37 87% 123 21% 75 90 Material Polyester for RP 1960 0/lb- 28 1964 0/lb. 24 1966 0/lb- 22 Polyethylene, low density Injection molding 26 16 17 Film grade 27% 18 19% Paper coating 32% 19% 19% Polyethylene, high density Injection molding 35 20 17 Bottle grade _ 25 20 Polyphenylene oxide (PPO) -- 150 115 Modified PPO (Nory!) -- -- 75 Polypropylene Injection molding 42 25 20 Film grade 32 26 Film grade copolymer Housewares grade -- -- 28 _ 16 Injection molding copolymer (med. Impact) -- 28 24 Injection molding copolymer (high Impact) 26 Polystyrene General pur|oose 18 14% 15% High impact 27% 22 18 Polysulfone Styrene-acryion >trile copolymer -- 150 100 39 27 26 Vinyl chloride resins, general- purpose PVC 18% 16 15 For flooring -- Paste resin for dispersions 24 16% 24 13% 24 Urea compound 32 32 32 B i f Prices are based on truckload quantities of from 20 to 30.000 pounds Sales in hopper car may earn discounts of V5 to 1V4 cenls. Prtoes for 1960 and 1964 were in effect Dec. 31 of the year. Unless otherwise designated, prices apply to general- purpose, natural, injection or compression molding grades However, resin salesman should be consulted for specific quotations. Prices for some materials are still quite fluid. Prices listed are not necessarily the lowest tor any mate rial. For example, polyester for reinforced plastics has a price range of 20 or 21c/lb up into the middle 30's The price of 221 toted m this table is deemed a representative price for the largcst-volume grade, a--Tanker price. CBY 1047563 1 i [ i ! i i i i i \ \ i \ i 122 MODERN PLASTICS RSV0032930