Chemical distribution company Krahn Chemie and UPM Biochemicals have signed an exclusive distribution agreement to market UPM BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. RFF are a completely new category of functional fillers, replacing fossil-based carbon black and precipitated silica. The distribution agreement covers UPM BioMotion X10, X20 and X40 product grades to be used in plastics, adhesives and sealants as well as paints and coatings.
UPM BioMotion RFF have a significantly lower CO2 footprint compared to traditional, oil-based products. They enable companies to respond to changing market conditions, increasing consumer demands for advanced product sustainability and to make a tangible contribution to achieving the 2050 climate targets, noted Thorben Liebrecht, Business Segment Manager Plastics, Adhesives & Sealants at Krahn Chemie Deutschland GmbH.
“RFF are an innovative, new category of bio-based functional fillers, to be used in the production of plastics and other polymer-based products or formulations. As regulatory requirements in automotive, electronics and packaging sectors force companies to meet ever increasing environmental standards, RFF can be a game changer for players in these sectors to comply with these requirements and offer a completely new, sustainable product to today’s sustainability minded consumers”, said Christian Hübsch, Director Sales & Marketing UPM Biochemicals.
UPM Biochemicals is a new entrant to the chemicals market. As the renewable chemicals business of UPM Kymmene, the Finnish forest industry market leader with more than EUR10 bn annual turnover, UPM Biochemicals is currently investing more than EUR 500m in the world’s first biorefinery producing renewable monoethylene glycols and Renewable Functional Fillers from sustainably sourced and certified hardwood.