D&L Polymer and Colours (“DLPC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of D&L Industries Inc. (“DNL”), has developed a key raw material used in the Hatchimals toy sensation.

The award winning product is composed of a plastic egg, containing DLPC’s specially developed material that allows it to hatch without splintering. This material is manufactured by DLPC for TradeWalker Limited, a Hong Kong based solution provider for the toy manufacturing industry.

The hatching process gradually reveals an interactive furry toy that can walk, speak and sing through three different life stages: baby, toddler and adult. As a unique concept delivering a nurturing experience to children, Hatchimals quickly became the must-have toy for 2016 since its initial launch last October.

Lester Lao, DLPC’s managing director, mentioned that the main challenge was producing something that was both durable and delicate at the same time.

“The Hatchimals project had very specific requirements. Essentially, we were trying to replicate the structure and texture of an eggshell. That’s where our special material comes in. It makes the egg strong enough to withstand shipping and handling but also fragile and breakable enough to hatch open. During the development process, the concept had to be kept under wraps and since our customer couldn’t disclose the end use, we just had to keep adapting the formulation.”

Lao also added that since the material would be used in a children’s toy, the primary concern was safety.

“Not only did it need to be non-toxic, but the egg had to break without leaving sharp edges. It also needed to be
designed so that it would hatch within a specified time frame.”

Lao reiterated that developing customized materials is in line with the company’s long-term strategy. “Our goal is to maintain our focus on innovation,” Lao said. “Our R&D work is an important reason why clients continue to rely on us to come up with solutions, just like what we did for the Hatchimals toy.”

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About D&L Polymer andColours,Inc. (DLPC)

D&L Polymer and Colours, Inc. (www.dlpc.com.ph) is a wholly owned subsidiary of D&L Industries (www.dnl.com.ph,ticker: “DNL”),a company publicly listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Established in March 2006, it provides the plastics industry with custom designed and formulated dry colourants, colour masterbatches and additives and engineered polymers for a wide range of applications.

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Contact Information

AinsleeLao
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Posted on January 06, 2013 09:41:31 PM

Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=D&L-Japan-firm-tie-up-for-plastic-alternative&id=63827

 

A UNIT of newly listed D&L Industries, Inc. has sealed an agreement with Japan-based Showa Denko K.K. to manufacture Bionolle Starcla, described as an environmentally friendly compound positioned an alternative to non-biodegradable plastic used for bags, D&L said in a statement on Friday last week.

 “D&L Polymer and Colours, Inc. (DLPC), a subsidiary of D&L, and Showa Denko, Japan’s leading chemical engineering company, have signed an original equipment manufacturing agreement covering the compounding, manufacturing, and distribution in the Philippines of Bionolle Starcla,” the statement read.

NEW PRODUCT
Bionolle Starcla is a starch-based biopolymer that fully decomposes within one to two months of exposure to bacteria.

It is used to make compost, garbage, and shopping bags.

It is a product of Showa Denko, a manufacturing company founded in 1908 initially to make and sell iodine in China, Japan, Showa Denko’s Web site read. The company is currently engaged in the manufacture of petrochemicals, industrial gases, chemicals, ceramics, carbons, aluminum, electronics, and battery components.

“Showa Denko is a tech company and they [sic] develop these material technologies… but they don’t have a large-scale manufacturing capability like we would,” Alvin D. Lao, D&L executive vice-president and chief financial officer, said in a telephone interview last Saturday.

D&L will manufacture Bionolle Starcla at its 50,000 metric ton-capacity plant in Canlubang, Laguna, for one year until Nov. 19, the statement added.

“[W]e’ve already done some test runs and produced some in small quantities which we exported back to Showa Denko in Japan,” Mr. Lao said.

D&L will manufacture Bionolle Starcla for local use, and at the same time supply Showa Denko which in turn will handle the product’s overseas marketing and distribution, he explained.

D&L is confident its new product will help the environment and at the same time help the struggling plastics industry, which has been hit as more and more local governments of major urban centers ban the use of plastic shopping bags.

“Bionolle Starcla will breathe new life into the plastics industry, which has lost almost 40% of its business to bans,” Lester A. Lao, DLPC managing director, said in the statement.

GROWING MARKET
“At the same time, we are also complementing the paper industry as we help them enhance their products and still be environment friendly.”

In its statement, D&L explained that Bionolle Starcla may be used to make thin film laminates to reinforce paper bags and cups.

D&L cited growing market potentials of Bionolle Starcla and similar materials.

“Based on studies, global production capacity for eco-friendly plastics will see a four-fold jump in five years from 1.2 million metric tons in 2011 to 5.8 million tons in 2016,” the company said in the statement.
Bionolle Starcla is D&L’s second environmentally friendly product after it introduced in 2007 BIOmate, a plastic compound used for shopping bags that partially decomposes after some time.

D&L, which began operations in 1963 outsourcing and supplying colorants and color-matching services, was incorporated in 1971 and later diversified into the manufacture, marketing and distribution of other chemicals and additives.

The company, which owns 34% of listed Chemrez Technologies, Inc., debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange’s first board on Dec. 12 last year, listing 1.07 billion primary shares after offering them at P4.30 apiece.

Aside from DLPC, D&L owns specialty fats and oils maker Oleo-Fats, Inc., plastics manufacturer First in Colours, Inc. and aerosol producer Aero-Pack Industries, Inc.

D&L shares lost two centavos or 0.46% to P4.36 apiece on Friday last week from P4.38 last Thursday. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente