GE and GLS to jointly develop engineering thermoplastics

Pittsfield, MA-based GE Plastics and McHenry, IL-based GLS Corporation have announced a joint development agreement in which the companies will collaborate on complimentary grades of engineering thermoplastics and elastomers.

Included in the agreement is an arrangement in which GE Plastics' commercial organisation, GE Polymerland, will be the exclusive distributor of the products jointly developed by the two companies. The new products will ultimately be available on gepolymerland.com, an industry e-commerce portal.

The development effort will focus on developing combinations of GLS specialty elastomers moulded over GE Plastics' substrates to provide unique, value-added materials.

The companies intend to market these product combinations under the 'Softfx' brand name to differentiate the new products that GE Plastics and GLS develop under this agreement. As the name implies, Softfx products will provide a soft, tactile feel on areas where consumers desire a good grip on the product.

Softfx products will include an engineering thermoplastic substrate such as LEXAN polycarbonate, CYCOLOY PC/ABS alloy, or CYCOLAC ABS to provide a 'hard-soft' system that provides lightweight, durable, and visually appealing solutions for products in a variety of industries.