BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands – April 12, 2012 – At NPE 2012
SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business announced that Canon Electronics Inc. – a global leader in imaging and optical products – has selected high-performance Xenoy iQ^* ENH resin with up-cycled post-consumer recycled (PCR) content for the housing of its new “imageFORMULA DR-M160” high-speed document scanner. Canon Electronics previously used a polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PC/ABS) material without any PCR content for its scanner housings. By upgrading to Xenoy iQ ENH resin, the company has advanced its sustainability strategy of developing environmentally conscious products that emphasize resource conservation and chemical substance control, among other goals. The development of the Xenoy iQ resin family, demonstrates SABIC’s history of successful innovation and its commitment to sustainable long term relationships by providing customers like Canon Electronics with a broad, industry-leading portfolio of materials to design and manufacture high-performance eco-responsible solutions. It also illustrates SABIC’s commitment of continuous improvement through the on-going development of new industry standards.

“Choosing SABIC’s Xenoy iQ ENH resin was important in that it fit perfectly with our corporate sustainability strategy, which calls for compliance with key environmental mandates from the start of product planning,” said Minoru Sashida, senior general manager, Canon Electronics Inc., IMS Design Center. “We collaborated with SABIC on this project because of our proven, longstanding relationship, and also because the company consistently delivers unique materials that surpass the competition across the board – in sustainability, design freedom, aesthetics, performance and reliability of supply. The company’s world class experts and technology always meet or exceed our expectations.”

Xenoy iQ ENH resin provides the new scanner with robust non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardance (FR) that complies with several eco labels. It also gives the new Canon Electronics’ device multi-color molding capability, excellent chemical resistance and better opacity for light sealing, even with thin-wall designs. SABIC’s previous application development projects with Canon Electronics illustrates SABIC's commitment to creating customer-centric solutions.

“Our relationship with Canon Electronics has been further solidified with this latest environmental, application development collaboration,” said Takeshi Maruyama, Japan country manager, Innovative Plastics. “Xenoy iQ ENH resin is the newest innovation breakthrough in SABIC’s sustainable materials portfolio and it is clear that the resins in this product family are fast becoming the top materials of choice among OEMs and their customers. SABIC’s approach to challenging the status quo to find a better way and delivering tailored material solutions is clear in the way we are working with Canon Electronics to support the company’s worldwide corporate sustainability goals.”

Xenoy iQ ENH Resin: The Image of Sustainability

Xenoy iQ ENH resin incorporates chemically up-cycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins from discarded water bottles. This strategy provides several benefits. First, chemical recycling ensures uniform properties and consistent quality and color, as compared to mechanical recycling, which can produce irregularities in the material that require masking with dark colors. This consistency enables SABIC to offer Xenoy iQ ENH resin in various light colors, such as the pale gray chosen by Canon Electronics for the imageFORMULA scanner housing. In addition, water bottles provide a steady volume of PCR, while other types of recycled materials can experience interruptions in availability.

Xenoy iQ ENH resin has excellent FR performance without the use of brominated or chlorinated additives, and it meets the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 5VB standard at
2.5 mm and the V0 standard at 1.5 mm, making it suitable for office equipment and consumer electronics. Other target applications include computer and television housings and industrial electronics enclosures.

Finally, the material offers customers the ability to design housings with thinner walls without sacrificing light-sealing performance, rigidity or strength. Thin-wall molding reduces resource consumption and cuts weight, reducing fuel usage and carbon emissions in shipping – further supporting sustainability efforts.

SABIC technical experts supported Canon Electronics with services including mold analysis.

“We take the time to understand our customers’ businesses and constantly seek ways in which our materials can open new opportunities for them, as well as ourselves,” Maruyama added. “Our collaboration with Canon Electronics on the new scanner is an excellent example of how we do this and represents a major win for both companies.”

For additional information on SABIC’s Xenoy iQ resins, please go to www.sabic-ip.com. For technical product inquiries, please contact us at www.sabic-ip.com/prtechinquiry.

About Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies, and is a global market leader in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers. SABIC manufactures with a global footprint in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. The company operates in more than 60 countries across the world with 33,000 employees worldwide. It has significant research resources with 18 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, India, Japan and South Korea. SABIC recorded a net income of SR 29.21 billion (US$ 7.79 billion) in 2011, and sales revenues totaled SR 190 billion (US$ 50.67 billion).

About Innovative Plastics

The Innovative Plastics strategic business unit of SABIC is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with an 80-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

About Canon Electronics Inc.

Canon Electronics Inc. Tokyo Headquarters

3-5-10, Shibakoen, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105-0011 Japan

Main Phone: +81 (3) 6910 4111

For further info, please refer to the website http://www.canon-elec.co.jp/english/index.html

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^* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP B.V.

SABIC is a registered trademark of SABIC Holding Europe B.V.

Innovative Plastics Media Contacts

Paul Flake

Pittsfield, Mass., U.S.A.

Tel: + 1 413 448 7207

E-Mail: paul.flake@sabic-ip.com

Susan LeBourdais

Pittsfield, Mass., U.S.A.

Tel: +1 413 448 7795

E-Mail: susan.lebourdais@sabic-ip.com

Aline Stanworth

Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands

Tel: +31 164 29 2217

E-Mail: aline.stanworth@sabic-ip.com

Agency Media Contacts

Europe

Kevin Noels

Marketing Solutions, Bergen op Zoom,

The Netherlands

Tel: +31 164 317 011

E-Mail: knoels@marketingsolutions.be 

The Americas

Jim Allison

AH&M Marketing Communications,

Pittsfield, Mass., U.S.A.

Tel: +1 413 448 2260, x250

E-Mail: jallison@ahminc.com

China

Vivien Gong

Edelman, Shanghai, China

Tel: +86 21 6193 7524

E-Mail: vivien.gong@edelman.com

Japan

Mitsu Sugino

Tokyo PR Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Tel: +81 3 3273 2731

E-Mail: sugino@tokyopr.co.jp