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hough PVC resins are not at a developmental stage, PolyOne has announced what it says is a "breakthrough development in formulating vinyl plastisols." The US company also recently opened an innovation centre at its Ohio headquarters.

The new Geon FIT (Formulation Improvement Tool) homopolymer resins are said to improve rheological characteristics and enhance air release of plastisols for better processing. Furthermore, these new resins control viscosity ageing and surface characteristics without the mechanical property loss typical of standard plastisols that use blending resins.

IThe company says that the three new grades of Geon FIT improve mechanical properties up to 30%, compared with standard blending resins. Plastisol formulators can also increase filler content (up to 40 phr) without sacrificing physical properties, allowing significant savings in compounding costs.

Meanwhile, the new facility represents a first-phase investment of over US$3 million. Part of a network of ten customer-focused facilities around the world, PolyOne's Avon Lake centre is designed to support customers in co-developing solutions.

Customers will also be able to obtain real-time colour matches, complete with sample chips, from the facility that includes three extruders and injection moulding machines and a cleanroom area.