New uses of polypropylene homopolymer grade are being explored to reduce costs, sources said Friday on the sidelines of APIC, the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference, in Kuala Lumpur.
A Japanese car maker is exploring the possibility of using PP homo-grade as a cheaper alternative to block copolymer for the automotive industry.
They are looking at the potential to purchase bulk commodity grade PP to customize and re-engineer, saving on raw material costs, the company source said.
A Taiwanese producer said there would be specifications issues that need to be overcome but that would not pose too great an obstacle.
Meanwhile, a Latin American company that invented pallets made of PP-raffia, is looking to establish itself in the Asia market.
"Our pallets allow companies to gain headroom in storage containers and probably can add another two layers of load as compared to a typical wood pallet," a company source said.
The source said they have pretty good penetration in Latin America with Votorantim Metais, Vipal and Copersucar among their many customers.
"There is interest in our product with customers in Asia doing feasibility studies currently," the source said.
