Please share some background on yourself and your company

I have been in the plastics industry for over 40 years, holding positions in sales, marketing, and business leadership for both U.S. and Japanese-based companies. For the past 30+ years, I have been a management consultant at my own firm, focusing on the chemicals and plastics industry. Ten years ago, I led the development of a globalization strategy for a multi-regional plastics distributor, which resulted in the establishment of Dreytek Inc., where I became the company’s North America Business Manager.

Dreytek and our sister divisions in Europe and Asia distribute specialty polymer additives, including carbon fiber and glass flake reinforcements, tribological additives, glass flake for drip suppression, thermal conductivity additives, and other technically advanced materials. Joining me at the expo will be Roger Avakian of Avakian PolyChem Consulting, a renowned expert in flame retardants. Roger spent 20 years at GE Plastics and 19 years at PolyOne/Avient developing new-to-the-world polymers and polymer modifiers. He has authored 89 U.S. patents and is an SPE Fellow as well as a member of ACS, SAMPE, PINFA-NA, and the Plastics Pioneers Association.

Tell us about what’s new at Dreytek since you last exhibited in 2023?

Last year at the Compounding World Expo, we introduced DURAFLAKE™, a new grade of glass flake from NSG that reduces the thickness of the flake from the standard 0.70 µm to 0.35 µm. With this innovation, literally twice as many glass flake particles can fit in the same volumetric area as before, providing significantly lower warpage in molded and extruded parts while maintaining excellent mechanical properties compared to earlier grades.

We also hypothesized that since glass flakes from NSG minimize the “sag” in industrial coatings, they might also reduce the “sag” of molten polymers and potentially act as drip suppressants in flame applications. We now have third-party data confirming this hypothesis. Additionally, Dreytek has new data showing that the PTFE micropowder we offer for low coefficient of friction applications shows no detection of PFOA or any other “forever chemicals” down to 1 ppb.

What can we expect from your joint presentation?

We now have actual customer results that demonstrate the outstanding performance of DURAFLAKE™ glass flake. I will discuss several applications, including one where DURAFLAKE replaced the mineral component in a polyamide/glass fiber/mineral formulation, achieving a 60% reduction in warpage and more than a 50% improvement in tensile and impact strength. Roger and I will share third-party data showing the ability of glass flake to act as a drip suppressant with various polymers, already achieving a UL94 V0 rating in polypropylene.

This will provide customers with an alternative to PTFE, which has come under regulatory pressure. Furthermore, since these very small DURAFLAKE particles act as a tortuous barrier within molded and extruded parts, we will discuss their ability to slow the migration of gases and chemicals in and out of fires, potentially enabling increased escape times

What are you most looking forward to from the expo?

Dreytek has been exhibiting at the Compounding World Expo for many years, and it will be great to be back to see old friends and meet new ones. I also want to learn more about the challenges our customers are facing and determine how Dreytek can meet these needs, as well as learn about new products and solutions being offered by other exhibitors. I am excited to share actual customer results regarding DURAFLAKE’s ability to dramatically reduce warpage and shrinkage in molded parts while maintaining strong mechanical properties.

It will be especially exciting to take the stage with Roger Avakian, an expert in drip suppressants as well as an all-around great guy, to share independent test results using glass flake. I look forward to continuing discussions about the benefits of NSG’s glass flake product line and other products we distribute with visitors to the Expo at our booth, C108.

Liz Gershon will be speaking on Day 2 at the Technology and Testing Theater.

Conference Producer

Medwyn Roberts manages AMI's compounding portfolio of events. Over the past 2 years he has put together a variety of programs across three continents, including our various expos - Compounding World Expo Brussels 2024, Compounding World Expo North America 2023, and Injection Molding & Design Expo 2023. Medwyn has worked in a variety of industries and is interested in bringing together speakers from different disciplines to share best practice.