Press Releases

Lehigh Technologies’ William Schreiber Appointed Board Member Of SPE Plastics Environmental Division

ATLANTA – Nov. 16, 2011 - Lehigh Technologies, manufacturer of sustainable, micronized rubber powders (MRP), announced today that William Schreiber, Technical Director of Plastics for Lehigh, has been appointed Board Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Plastics Environmental Division.

According to SPE’s Plastics Environmental Division, its mission is to provide and promote environmental stewardship of plastics materials. This Division is concerned with all aspects of the recycling, sustainability, bio-degradable, non-petroleum based polymers, reclamation, resource recovery, and disposal of plastic materials. Furthermore, SPE works to foster the advancement of technology in the development of recycled plastics as a valuable raw-material resource. Over the last several years Lehigh has been actively working in the plastics area, incorporating MRP into polyethylene, polypropylene, and engineering resins. Lehigh’s technical and environmental commitment to developing this technology in the plastics industry was acknowledged in October with SPE’s Plastics Environmental Division 2011 Chairman’s Award.

“Incorporating recycled rubber in plastics is an ongoing challenge in the rubber and plastics industry,” said Alan Barton, chief executive officer. “However, through our Application and Development Center, customer trials and adoption, we have learned that this combination provides a material that is lower cost and delivers on customer performance requirements. Where plastics are used in many consumer goods, this green-to-cost-to-performance ratio will help keep environmentally friendly end products price competitive, allowing for broader adoption of green products by consumers and motivate manufacturers to make materials, such as MRP, a standard ingredient.”

Finding additional, productive outlets for end-of-life tires is an important element to ending a critical environmental problem. According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, 300 million tires are discarded annually in the US and over one billion worldwide according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “Expanding the use of end-of-life tire material beyond its traditional markets and into a new, large segment (plastics) increases our environmental impact. For every manufacturer that incorporates MicroDyne™, tires are diverted from landfills, and the need for petroleum-based materials lessens,” said Schreiber. “The plastics industry has always been at the forefront of embracing new technology – this is no exception. We are at the beginning of a greener industry and I am proud to be part of the leadership team that is charged with this mission. ”

The Plastics Environmental Division of SPE, formed in 1991, has solidified into an organization that focuses on environmental sustainability and recycling and claims industry pioneers as its past and present board members, such as Daniel Eberhardt, founder of MRC Polymers, Inc. “We are proud to have someone with Bill’s experience on our Board. His background in plastics technology and manufacturing alongside the company he represents will make him a strong contributor,” stated Susan Kozora, SPE’s plastics environmental division chair.

Lehigh Technologies’ proprietary manufacturing process takes end-of-life tire and other post-industrial rubber material and “upcycles” it into micron-scale, high quality, sustainable powders that are compatible with customers’ existing formulations, making it easy to integrate into new or existing products. This material not only helps companies achieve sustainability goals, but also can improve performance attributes such as water resistance, energy savings and flexibility, while delivering significant costs savings over virgin raw materials.

ABOUT LEHIGH TECHNOLOGIES

Lehigh Technologies is a leading green materials manufacturer that turns end-of-life tire materials and other post-industrial rubber into sustainable powders that are used in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. Lehigh Technologies is a World Economic Forum 2010 recipient of The Technology Pioneer Award for its visionary leadership and transformational technology. Headquartered in Tucker, GA, Lehigh Technologies is privately held and backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures and NGP Energy Technology Partners. For more information, please visit www.lehightechnologies.com.

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