KRAIBURG TPE: TPE Production with high-purity medical paraffinic white oils

No matter whether it’s a question of toys, food packaging materials or products for use in medical technology – manufacturers can put their faith in compounds made by KRAIBURG TPE (www.kraiburg-tpe.com). They can depend on top quality and be absolutely sure that the products are safe from a medical standpoint. KRAIBURG TPE, headquartered in the Bavarian town of Waldkraiburg, uses only high-purity medical paraffinic white oils to make up TPEs intended for medical and consumer applications. These compounds are colorless, tasteless and odorless and will not interact with foods. The medical-grade paraffinic white oils used by KRAIBURG TPE are entirely free of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are suspected of damaging DNA and causing cancer. At the end of March 2009, the TÜV Rhineland technical inspectorate reported alarmingly high PAH values in various consumer products. According to the statement issued by the TÜV, using the cheaper tar distillates drives PAH concentrations upward. "For us, high quality and a complete absence of medical and health risks enjoy top priority for all our products," explains Franz Hinterecker, CEO at KRAIBURG TPE. "We use high-purity paraffinic white oils, free of PAH, exclusively. We employ them in all our products. That lets us guarantee superb product quality all around the world."

No chance for cheap tar distillates
Only six of the 27 products tested by the TÜV were found to meet the values for PAH concentration specified in voluntary guidelines in Germany. One example: A steering wheel cover, which will be in continuous contact with the driver’s skin, exhibited a concentration 140 times the suggested value. Thus, in the course of an hour, the user will absorb as much PAH as he would by smoking about one thousand cigarettes. By using high-quality medical paraffinic white oil in consumer applications and in its new medical and pharmaceutical technology sector KRAIBURG TPE eliminates such hazards from the very outset. As opposed to tar distillates – the so-called "cheap plasticizers" – these paraffinic white oils are free of PAHs and medically approved. This has been verified in tests and certifications for the company’s products, conducted as per DIN ISO 10993-5-10-11 and USP Class VI for medical technology, for instance. Over and above that, KRAIBURG TPE compounds contain neither PVC nor latex. Customers also profit from all the advantages offered by products made of TPE. They are soft, have good tactile qualities, offer ideal bonding and flow properties, and can be worked economically in co-injection molding processes.

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At KRAIBURG TPE the use of high-purity paraffinic white oil is a simple matter of course, despite the higher costs and more elaborate storage methods involved. "This is the logical consequence of our philosophy of offering customers around the world the best quality, both in a cost-optimized standard line and in customized product solutions," says Franz Hinterecker.

KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG, Waldkraiburg, Germany

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