Performance Fibers Highlights New Technologies To Replace Traditional Materials At Techtextil
"Customers in a wide range of industries are looking for alternative materials that provide performance and cost benefits," said Alan Giangregorio, vice president of sales and marketing for Richmond, Va.-based Performance Fibers, Inc., an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. "With our North American fiber and fabric capacity, in addition to our global manufacturing capabilities, we are working closely with customers to develop innovative new products to meet their needs."
New Tire Materials Highlighted
The company announced that its Beltec® fiber has been selected to be used commercially in tire lines by a major global tire maker. This material, which offers polyester-like characteristics, provides performance benefits by reducing flat spotting in demanding applications and is cost effective compared to traditionally used materials in cap plies.
"Beltec® fiber's polyester base with its high dimensional stability helps prevent belt edge separation, reduce flat spotting and offers many other benefits to tire makers," said David Rouse, global marketing director – tire. "We are continuing development work with this material to further enhance its use as a tire cap ply material as well as in other applications."
Performance Fibers also featured several other next-generation products, which are alternatives to traditionally used materials in tires, including:
- A360 (development name) – an engineered polyester material in high-performance tire applications that offers superior fatigue resistance and dimensional stability at a lower cost than rayon
- PenTec® fiber – a high-tenacity, high-modulus fiber that provides improved dimensional stability for the carcass of ultra high performance tires, and provides superior uniformity in tire overlays
The company's PenTec® fiber is also being used in new mechanical rubber goods (MRG) applications, where it offers two times the modulus of polyester, higher temperature resistance and excellent fatigue resistance. PenTec® fiber does not require special treating like other engineered fibers and can be processed on the same equipment customers have been using to process polyester, saving time and money.
In automotive safety, Performance Fibers sees opportunities for polyester to be used instead of nylon in side curtain airbags because of its value and performance benefits, which include inflating at a cooler temperature. The company also is continuing to explore the use of Securus® fiber in a variety of seatbelt applications.
Performance Fibers continues to bring new materials to the offshore mooring industry, with its polyester fiber treated with SeaGard® marine overlay finish increasingly replacing steel, and PenTec® offering enormous potential for next-generation mooring lines in ultra-deep waters.
SOURCE: Performance Fibers