Ascend Performance Materials is ahead of its own sustainability goals.
The Houston-based materials firm now aims to have its carbon footprint reduced by 90 percent vs. 2018 levels by 2030. Previously, Ascend's goal was an 80 percent reduction, but it had already reached 68 percent by the end of 2022.
"We continue to make significant investments to support customer growth," Isaac Khalil, senior vice president and chief commercial officer, said at Fakuma 2023. "We've expanded our product portfolio in every region, with local service and innovation."
Ascend has spent more than $200 million on sustainability efforts in recent years. "When customers come to us, they're looking for a reduced carbon footprint, and we can offer certified post-industrial and post-consumer recycled content," Khalil said.
"Post-industrial has worked well for us because we can provide predictable supply and consistent quality," he added. "Customers' overall need is to find a partner to work with for continuous improvement."
Regional Vice President John Saunders said recycled nylon "has been used for 60 years, but we now have global customers that need a certain level of recycled material in automotive, electrical/electronic or consumer applications."
Ascend also can help customers meet sustainability goals by sharing carbon credits through carbon insetting, according to Khalil. "We can use the whole toolbox," he added.
At Fakuma, Ascend is debuting pre-colored, metal-detectable Vydyne-brand nylon 6/6 compounds. The new materials are designed for cable ties and fasteners for industries where foreign object contamination causes health concerns, such as in pharmaceutical and food processing facilities.
Officials said the new material "meets the most stringent performance standards and simplifies the supply chain for cable tie and fastener producers." They added that the new Vydyne "reduces the need for additional tolling or masterbatch steps and ensures the material performs as intended right out of the box."
Metal-detectable Vydyne materials are globally available and offered in two blue-colored grades with high- and low-impact strength. Beyond cable ties and fasteners, both grades also target safety-critical applications in machined plastic stock shapes and any consumables that require HACCP-managed food safety.
Earlier this year, officials said Ascend is seeing growth in its Bioserve-brand line of materials with plant-based content. Bioserve grades use plant-based raw materials, such as soybean oil or forestry waste.
Other sustainable products from Ascend include ReDefyne recycled-content nylon 6/6 resins, which can have up to 100 percent post-industrial and post-consumer content. Ascend introduced its ReDefyne lineup at the K 2022 trade show. ReDefyne can be used in engineering applications and engineering compounds.
In late 2022, Ascend purchased a majority stake in California-based carpet recycler Circular Polymers LLC and renamed the business Circular Polymers by Ascend. Lincoln, Calif.-based Circular recycles post-consumer, high-performance polymers including nylons 6 and 6/6, polypropylene and PET.
Ascend ranks as a global leader in nylon 6/6 resins and compounds. The firm has annual sales of more than $3 billion and is a unit of New York-based investment firm SK Capital Partners.
Ascend Performance Materials
Hall B5, Booth 5217