Safety first: Certified flame retardancy and detectable plastic pieces

Pinneberg/Germany, August 16th, 2016

Flame retardancy guaranteed

ROWA Masterbatch has included UL-certified products in its portfolio for many years now. The list includes one group of PBT types and four groups of TPU types. The UL masterbatches from ROWA Masterbatch are certified in the category QMQS2. Customers’ colouration requirements can be accommodated in full, of course, since nearly all of the ROWALID®-UL masterbatches have “all-colour” certification. The UL-certified types are used in cables, connectors and housings, where safety is obviously a top priority: the specified certificate guarantees flame retardancy and acts as a quality label for electrical appliances. UL — the abbreviation for Underwriters Laboratories — is an independent American organisation that is involved in the testing of the mechanical and electrical properties of products and materials. The most important standard for plastics and plastic products is “UL94”. Flammability properties are certified according to this established, industry-wide standard. In the USA and Canada, the UL label has become a must-have certification — the distribution of electronic appliances is virtually impossible without it.

Detect plastic from the start

Large-scale product recalls due to dangerous plastic particles in food products are the worst-case scenario for any company. ROWA Masterbatch has the solution: a specialised additive masterbatch that can be mixed into plastics and is detectable using magnets: ROWALID®-MD! With the help of specialised metal detectors, this enables early detection of plastic pieces that fall into the product, before the product is actually sold to the consumer. Production parts in the food industry in particular are still commonly made out of stainless steel or aluminium. This is where a rethink is needed: plastics are much less expensive and considerably lighter. The material is also much easier to shape and mould. And, if they are also equipped with ROWALID®-MD, plastic materials are also considerably safer than stainless steel. Masterbatches of the ROWALID®-MD type can also be coloured, to increase the probability that fragments are detected by visual inspection. Blue colouration is often requested – a colour that is typically not found in food. Complementing the magnetically detectable ROWALID-MD®, ROWA Masterbatch also offers ROWALID-XR®, which is a masterbatch that can be detected by x-rays. Colouration is also possible here. Like all products from ROWA Masterbatch, ROWALID®-MD and ROWALID®-XR can also be modified to suit individual customer requirements. Virtually any thermoplastic can be equipped.