Luxus Limited
UK plastics solutions provider Luxus will be exhibiting under the banner of ‘The fusion of Art, Science and Innovation’. It will showcase its latest developments in high performance recycled content polymers for the global automotive, waste, construction and retail grocery sectors in Hall 5, stand A45.
The £25m turnover company with 140 staff has been developing polymers for nearly 50 years to deliver grades that are now able to reduce weight, carbon and cost in a broad range of applications from auto interior trims to returnable transit packaging for major grocery chains.
Sarah Coggle, Marketing Manager, Luxus (pictured), said: “We have chosen ‘The fusion of Art, Science and Innovation’ theme for the K Show as it reflects how Luxus has continued to really push the boundaries in recycled content polymer technology beyond the accepted potential to deliver high quality engineered ‘eco’ positive grades.”
Recently the group has developed a lightweight PP for ‘A’ surface interior applications known as Hycolene, based on both prime and recycled materials. The recycled grade offers automotive manufacturers a material with a high (up to 60%) recycled content gained from post-industrial and post-consumer feedstocks - yet it still delivers the quality and durability expected for car interior trims, claims Luxus.
Hycolene is said to offer typically a 10-12% weight reduction for each component and improved scratch resistance over current talc filled PP alternatives. So it effectively lifts the burden on automotive manufacturers enabling them to meet both stringent EU emissions targets through ‘lightweighting’ as CO2 is reduced and ‘green’ performance goals thanks to its recycled content.
Hycolene is currently being tested by Renault Nissan at its UK-based European Technical Centre using interior trim mouldings from the Nissan Qashqai. Current activity with auto manufacturers indicates that Hycolene will be used in volume production vehicles by 2015. Additional Hycolene grades are also planned for the future including a new high impact version and various colour options too.
Luxus’s in-house Technical Centre enables the group to offer testing and analysis services to its clients, with the aim of bridging the gap between polymer science and the commercial needs of the various industries it supports.
It offers solutions for both general industry and specialist applications and is equipped to a high standard allowing testing for MFI, Izod, FDI, HDT, VICAT, tensile and FITR. The accurate data generated provides the ‘building blocks’ needed for the formulation of new materials, claims Luxus.
The group will also be showcasing its ‘closed loop’ recycling services such as ‘Tray2Tray’, which offers an environmentally-friendly solution for unwanted plastics waste generated in the retail supply chain. ‘End-of-life’ transit materials such as plastic crates, boxes and pallets for example, are collected by Luxus and then re-engineered at its recycling facility back into the same ‘transit’ packaging raw material to the client’s specifications.
Luxus can also purchase problem waste to re-manufacture into new high quality compound, significantly reducing the client’s carbon footprint and turning a cost into a revenue stream.
Continued investment in both its Technical Centre and production capacity with new extrusion lines are projected to aid the delivery of its technical recycled content polymers for ‘eco’ conscious markets in the long-term.