Covestro to offer GMP grade TPU in Asia Pacific
Meeting requirements for food contact and healthcare applications
- Company now provides products for food contact and healthcare applications in the Asia-Pacific region that meet the high-quality and safety standards of ‘Good Manufacturing Practice’ (GMP)
- Products will be offered under Desmopan® GMP brand name
- Company’s site in Changhua is ISCC PLUS certified, enabling allocation of alternative raw materials to Desmopan® GMP grades
German materials manufacturer Covestro can now offer materials that meet the rigorous ‘Good Manufacturing Practice’ standards also in the Asia-Pacific region. At its site in Changhua, Taiwan, the company will produce Desmopan® GMP, a line of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) that meet the high demands and requirements for food contact applications, such as conveyor belts, food containers, potable water appliances, as well as toys and orthodontic and healthcare applications.
“We are happy to meet all stringent GMP requirements in our Changhua site. This allows us to broaden our product portfolio and offer our Desmopan® GMP product range also to our customers in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Dr. Andrea Maier-Richter, Head of TPU at Covestro. “We have a robust track record of producing high performance TPU materials under GMP conditions in other regions, and we are committed to utilizing our expertise to meet our customer’s needs here in the region, too.”
The Desmopan® GMP portfolio offers durable, high-performance materials that resist erosion, abrasion and fatigue. They are water-resistant and can withstand regular wiping without degradation over time. Their dimensional stability, flexibility, and durability make them ideal for applications under forces of various kinds, such as dental aligners that withstand the forces of teeth movement without breaking or cracking. Additionally, they meet regulatory compliance for plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, such as EU10/2011 (Text with EEA relevance), and FDA regulations in 21 CFR 177.1680 (Polyurethane resins) and 21 CFR 177.2600 (Rubber articles intended for repeated use).
“Besides adhering to rigorous food contact and health and safety standards, our Changhua production site is already ISCC PLUS certified,” adds Lisa Ketelsen, Head of TPU in APAC. “This means that products from our Changhua site will help our customers reach their sustainability targets, since we can offer our new grades in mass balanced versions that contain alternative feedstock. This reduces their carbon footprint while keeping the same properties or performance as fossil-based materials.”
Mass balancing allows for the allocation of alternative, non-fossil-based feedstock to individual products through a chain of custody method. This enables tracking material contents through the value chain.
About Covestro:
Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, cosmetics and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is committed to becoming fully circular and is striving to become climate neutral by 2035 (scope 1 and 2). Covestro generated sales of EUR 18 billion in fiscal 2022. At the end of 2022, the company had 50 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 18,000 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
Forward-looking statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.