Ascend returns to Plastimagen with innovative new materials for Latin America

HOUSTON, Oct. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascend Performance Materials will showcase how it is advancing together with its customers through new products for e-mobility and sustainable materials at Plastimagen this week. In its first Plastimagen exhibition since expanding compound production to Latin America, the company will exhibit its engineered materials portfolio, including:

Ascend's Vydyne® AVS helps mitigate high-frequency vibrations at the source. Tests of AVS's efficacy include this structural test shown here.

• New grades of the award-winning Vydyne^® AVS, which provide tunable frequency damping for automakers looking to reduce vehicle noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) at the source.
• Further advances in Starflam^® X-Protect, a family of PA66 compounds capable of withstanding direct flame exposure up to 1,100°C for 15 minutes – mitigating the risk of a thermal runaway to EV passenger safety. Starflam X-Protect recently passed UL 2596, a safety test for EV battery enclosure materials, and is an ideal material for use as busbar insulation, connectors and flame barriers.
• A growing portfolio of ReDefyne^™ certified circular polyamide compounds with up to 100% pre- and post-consumer recycled feedstock, specially formulated to help customers reduce the carbon footprint of their products without compromising performance. The ReDefyne portfolio can help meet the circularity objectives laid down in the European Commission's proposed end-of-life vehicle regulation.

"A truly innovative product portfolio makes this event exciting for us," said Steve Manning, senior business director, engineering plastics. "Our new materials and technical support are helping customers design high-performance, sustainable products quickly and reliably."

Ascend, which is the largest fully integrated producer of polyamide 66, expanded its global footprint with the purchase of a compounding facility in San Jose Iturbide, Mexico last year, increasing production capacity for its high-performance engineered materials. A team of around 70 operates the site, which produces specialized materials for the automotive, E&E and consumer and industrial sectors.

"We have a highly skilled team focused on creating materials with the highest quality standards," said Lulu Alvarez, Ascend's country director for Mexico. "Our San Jose Iturbide site is now a real connection point in this region, allowing us to respond to customers' needs more quickly than ever before."

In the past two years, Ascend has grown its manufacturing footprint with acquisitions in Mexico and India, as well as the purchase of Circular Polymers by Ascend, a recycler of post-consumer carpet. The company has also increased its scope 1 greenhouse gas reduction target from 80% to 90% by 2030, with current reduction at 64%.

Ascend is exhibiting at Booth 2248 at Plastimagen November 7-10 in Centro Citibanamex, Mexico City.

About Ascend Performance Materials
Ascend Performance Materials makes high-performance materials for everyday essentials and new technologies. Our focus is on improving quality of life and inspiring a better tomorrow through innovation. Based in Houston, Texas, and with regional offices in Shanghai, Brussels and Detroit, we are a fully integrated material solutions provider with nine global manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Our 2,600-person global workforce makes the engineered materials, fabrics, fibers and chemicals used to make safer vehicles, cleaner energy, better medical devices, smarter appliances and longer-lasting apparel and consumer goods. We are committed to safety, sustainability, inclusion and diversity, and to the success of our customers and our communities.

Learn more about Ascend at www.ascendmaterials.com.

Contact: Lauren Campbell, +1 832 258 9851 lcampb@ascendmaterials.com