Sittard/Geleen – Sarlink is pleased to announce that new applications utilising Sarlink have been commercialised: Curver food savers. Curver is famous for its long-standing image of high-end houseware and kitchen products with a long product quality guarantee. Curver has chosen Sarlink as its raw material supplier in parts of their new product lines ‘Pet Life’ and ‘Chef@Home’. More specifically, Sarlink TPVs are used in the food container lid seals and soft-touch parts. This collaboration with Curver demonstrates that Sarlink offers an excellent solution for seals and soft grips in repeated use food applications.
Meeting high standards
Food contact applications, such as food savers, have to meet high standards. Not only due to strict regulatory requirements, but also because of technical, functional, organoleptic and consumer in-use requirements of the end product. All Sarlink TPV grades are based on dynamically vulcanized rubber in a polypropylene matrix, thus combining superb elastic properties with the processing ease of thermoplastics. The specific grades of Sarlink meet all the criteria for regulatory requirements, physical properties, aesthetics, and durability that these demanding Curver applications ask for. Sarlink TPVs outperform other materials that can be used, like SBCs, PPs, rubber and TPOs, on many properties.
Surviving the dishwasher
A suitable Sarlink TPV grade has been carefully selected from Sarlink’s extensive grade range to meet Curver’s demands for this new ‘Chef@Home’ and ‘Pet Life’ line. The material used has to show low compression set, combined with extremely good sealing properties and excellent temperature performance. For this type of product, meeting the high standards of dishwasher resistance is of great importance. Materials should show low deformation at increased temperatures, excellent chemical resistance and retention of properties after multiple high temperature cycles in the dishwasher. So far, TPVs are the only thermoplastic elastomers that are qualified and pass the more strict dishwasher testing requirements of 75°C to 85°C.
A further major challenge, as can be expected from a high end producer like Curver, is consistent colours without visible batch-to-batch variation. The chosen Sarlink material has excellent colourability combined with a superb surface finish.
Compatible with PP and PE materials
Sarlink also provides another benefit in demanding food applications. By using a two-shot injection molding process, Sarlink can adhere to PP and PE materials, of which most modern food savers, bowls, and other plastic kitchen utensils are made. The adhesion of Sarlink TPVs to PP and PE materials results in a strong cohesive bound and watertight interface between the container and the soft Sarlink seals of the Curver food saver.
Working together on high quality products
Sarlink’s Global Marketing Director Rolf Schrauwen about their partnership with Curver: “We are delighted to have partnered with Curver for these new applications. With a clear trend towards increasing demands with respect to higher temperatures and need for improved chemical resistance, Sarlink have become the best choice when a soft touch grip or an elastic seal is needed with excellent durability, good chemical resistance and very good performance at increased temperatures. Our partnership with Curver is the best proof for this.”
Curver’s European Technical Director, Marcel de Jong, adds to this: “Using Sarlink for our new product lines really gave us the solution we were looking for. Their Product Safety Department has supported us in the best possible way with all necessary food declarations with respect to the material use and their experience with regulatory compliance was really useful.”
Read our extensive article with more information in next’s edition of the TPE Magazine, published in August 2010.
Note for the editor, not for publication
About Curver
Curver is a manufacturer of plastic household articles. Their wide range of products is sold by retailers across Europe and beyond. Curver began as a small, Dutch family business in 1949 and later became Europe's largest producer in their field. Today, Curver is part of E.P.G. (European Plastic Group), with production sites in Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom and sales offices in several other European countries. More information: www.curver.com.
About Sarlink
Sarlink is a global brand of premium quality pelletized thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs). A specialist in developing and manufacturing high quality TPVs to offer customers the material properties they need. Sarlink adds value by being a specialist in high quality TPV solutions and offering a support structure based on close partnership. Sarlink is a truly global company with production operations and laboratories in Leominster MA (USA) and Genk (Belgium), and sales/marketing and technical support offices in Rochester Hills MI (USA), Leominster MA (USA), Sittard-Geleen (The Netherlands), Shanghai (China), Singapore and through business partner Toyobo in Japan. More information: www.sarlink.com.
If you have any questions or requests, please contact:
Sarlink
Rolf Schrauwen
Global Marketing Director
Phone +31 46 476 1108
E-mail rolf.schrauwen@dsm.com
