Regulatory requirements and consumer protection are key in supporting the consumer market. KRAIBURG TPE has addressed this situation, acquiring comprehensive knowledge in the field, and has built up a product portfolio based on this expertise.

In recent years, KRAIBURG TPE has been continuously expanding its projects in the consumer sector and intensively examining regulatory issues and application-specific solutions. The company specializes in the market segments of consumer care, household items, office supplies, toys & sports articles, cosmetics and food packaging. For each of these segments, the portfolio offers compounds that have been developed with an application-oriented focus. KRAIBURG TPE has also launched new individual materials that are specially tailored to meet customers’ wishes.

 

Successful applications – from toothbrush to children’s toys

“Our first TPE applications were introduced in the consumer market,” says Franz Hinterecker, CEO at KRAIBURG TPE. He describes the way the market has developed since then as interesting and multifaceted. “Our well-trained sales and development teams have enabled us to successfully implement technically sophisticated applications in recent years. These have included food packaging with complex sealing geometries, game consoles with optimized touch characteristics as well as lids for cosmetics packaging,” Mr. Hinterecker adds.

In recent years, the TPE specialist has been further expanding its portfolio for cosmetics packaging in particular. This has enabled the company to generate new projects such as seals for lipsticks and mascara, as well as packaging for make-up and skin care creams. Looking to the future, Franz Hinterecker adds, “We are continuously pressing ahead with further portfolio development. We will be presenting additional compounds for use in daily life products at this year’s K Trade Fair.”

Consumer protection remains in the foreground

The safety and purity of TPEs are among KRAIBURG TPE’s most important quality features, particularly when the materials are used for children’s toys – but also when they are used for toys for pets such as dogs and cats. Babies and very young children explore and discover the world by putting things into their mouths. Consumer protection plays a particular role in relation to rattles, teething rings and other toys.

Product quality and purity play a major role in all daily use applications. In developing its TPE compounds, KRAIBURG TPE takes international and local standards and guidelines into account. These include EU Regulation No. 10/2011 and US FDA – Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21. A number of selected materials also comply with the DIN EN 71-3 toy standard.

Lars Goldmann is Head of the Consumer division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He was in charge of marketing at KRAIBURG TPE for 10 years and moved to Hong Kong in 2015, where he headed the local branch for another three years and was also responsible for Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, with their large consumer markets.