Plastics

Our Science & Technology (S&T) experts have years of experience in the use of mineral extenders in Polymer systems. In fact, many of our specialists have firsthand experience of your specific market and needs having worked in the industry before joining our ranks. Good understanding of your market segment is vital to boosting your performance.

Every year we perform hundreds of formulation studies.

Our Polymers team has in-depth knowledge of how our minerals interact in your applications. By matching exactly the right mineral to your requirements and optimizing parameters such as particle size, shape, packing, crystal micro-structure, color, and hardness, we can meet your exact formulation requirements, saving you time and bringing added performance to your end products.

Our Applications Laboratories are equipped with a full range of analytical and Polymer-specific equipment enabling us to spearhead applications innovation as well as providing you with bespoke formulation services and technical support.

Our S&T managers can also study your production processes to ensure best use and handling of our minerals in your systems.

Please contact your regional Plastics Expert to find out how we can help.

Since their inception over twenty five years ago, our state-of-the-art Technology Centers in San José (USA) and Toulouse (France)  have built up a solid reputation for helping our customers develop new formulations.

Imerys minerals are naturally occurring and chemically inert minerals that are simply ground to achieve specific particle size distributions.

Fine-grind Imerys talcs such as our high aspect ratio HAR^® talcs improve the stiffness-impact resistance balance of PP, allowing manufacturers to make car parts lighter, reducing overall fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

Wollastonite and talc are also ideal eco-friendly glass-fiber extenders in polyamides.

Imerys talcs such as our Mistrocell^® product is an excellent nucleating agent for foamed polymers used to produce robust, lightweight foamed plastic products for the packaging and automotive industries.

In recycled PP, a 20% loading of our Steagreen® talc product, for example, will boost mechanical properties to levels required for high-end engineering applications. Talc is chemically inert and thermally stable and is not affected by multi-pass extrusion, so it can be recycled indefinitely without losing its initial properties.

In recycled polyamide, Imerys wollastonites and talcs make excellent cost-effective alternatives to glass fiber.

Imerys minerals are ideal reinforcing additives and nucleating agents in PLA and other biopolymers where they enhance stiffness, heat resistance and other mechanical properties, making them suitable for a much wider range of applications. They make excellent anti-blocking agents in bioplastic films.

Imerys minerals such are excellent for improving the stiffness and dimensional stability of thermoformed injection or blow molded polyethylene and polypropylene packaging where they allow manufacturers to reduce wall thickness, improve production output and reduce formulation costs. All Imerys talcs used for this application are food contact certified.

Contact us to find out more about how Imerys talcs can support your Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainable Development agendas.