Mark Hannah, Gabriel-Chemie, underlines the need for stringent fire safety regulation or specifications to move the market. High fire performance masterbatches are today available, but at a cost. A good example is the sports stadium seating market, where stringent FIFA standards for fire safety of seats and installations mean that we can successfully offer state-of the art flame retardant solutions.
At both the European Championships 2016 in France and the World Cup in 2018 in Russia the majority of the stadiums are equipped with FR, colour and UV protection combination masterbatch manufactured by Gabriel-Chemie. We have developed an extensive range of halogen-free flame retardants and see increased demand for these applications. End-user education is needed, so that consumers understand the environmental impacts of their purchases.
Gabriel-Chemie, founded in 1950, offers a full range of masterbatches for plastics, including both colours and functional additives such as fillers, anti-flame, antistatic, processing and performance additives and laser marking. The family managed company has today around 550 employees, operations in ten countries in Europe, Russia and customers worldwide. http://www.gabriel-chemie.com