Ultra-Stiff and Weatherable Lexan* Thermoclear* sheet glazes the
massive, free-hanging roof of UEFA Euro 2012^™ stadium in Śląski, Poland

SABIC Innovative Plastics' Lexan* Thermoclear* polycarbonate (PC) multiwall sheet portfolio has scored another winning goal, adding a major showpiece to its already impressive list of over 50 stadium applications worldwide. New Ultra-Stiff Lexan Thermoclear sheet, with its ability to withstand high winds and heavy snow loads typical of the region, is being used to construct the 43,000 m², free-hanging roof of the UEFA Euro 2012™ Football Championship Stadium in Silesian (Śląski) Chorzów, Poland. This new 25 mm, three-wall, X-structure material will protect up to 55,200 spectators from the elements while enabling natural light to fill the stadium. Building on three decades of proven performance in stadium roofing with Lexan* sheet products, SABIC Innovative Plastics continues to push forward with state-of-the-art materials to help architects and designers improve safety, durability and comfort.

The 2012 UEFA championship is the largest football event in the world, after the World Cup, and will take place in Poland and the Ukraine from June 8 to July 1, 2012.

"Sports stadiums are often signature buildings for a city or country, and architects strive to create unique new forms, including huge roofs with dramatic curves and sweeps of glazing," said Lennard Markestein, global marketing director, Specialty Film & Sheet,

SABIC Innovative Plastics. "The sheer size of these roofs, their exposure to wind and weather, and the global trend toward increased loading requirements for large structures require specialized, lightweight glazing materials. Our new Ultra-Stiff Lexan Thermoclear sheet can meet the demands of the largest and most challenging designs and the harshest conditions to provide long-term protection and beauty."

An industry leading product
When it is completed at the end of 2010, the oval, free-hanging Śląski Stadium roof will utilize transparent Ultra-Stiff Lexan Thermoclear sheet panels, each 1,500 mm in width. In spite of its extremely large size, the roof is lightweight, providing greater design freedom (i.e., cold forming into many different shapes and configurations) and simplifying installation vs. glass. The installation of the roof is being done by Thermoserr Poland.

"This new Lexan sheet far exceeded my expectations," said Aldo Zamuner, general manager, Thermoserr Poland. "It is easy to handle and install, and creates a beautiful effect. The SABIC Innovative Plastics team provided excellent hands-on technical support, expertise and assistance, and met our deadlines with ease. In my opinion, Lexan Thermoclear Ultra Stiff sheet is unmatched in the industry."

Exceptional durability for safety and long life
Lexan Ultra-Stiff Thermoclear sheet offers exceptional performance with capability to withstand wind and snow loading pressures of up to 2200 N/m², equivalent to wind speeds up to 200 km/h.

This new sheet product delivers up to 250 times the impact resistance of glass to reduce the risk of breakage from wind, hail, and other extreme weather, as well as vandalism. The multiwall configuration of the product provides excellent thermal insulation. These critical properties ensure spectators are sheltered from the weather, while teams on the field experience less wind resistance that could interfere with play.

The SABIC Innovative Plastics material provides flame retardance that complies with the European fire standard EN 13501-1 for safety. It features an ultraviolet (UV)-resistant coating on both sides to protect spectators from solar radiation and also to prevent yellowing of the polycarbonate. Ultra-Stiff Lexan Thermoclear sheet can be custom-tinted to meet customer specifications.

This material carries a 20-year limited written warranty against discoloration, loss of light transmission and loss of impact strength due to weathering.

SABIC Innovative Plastics in profile
SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a 75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers' most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company's extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world's top six petrochemicals manufacturers. * Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.
.
For further information on SABIC Innovative Plastics' portfolio of Lexan Thermoclear sheet products offering long-term weatherability, view website: www.sabic-ip.com For technical product inquiries, view website: www.sabic-ip.com/prtechinquiry

SABIC and Equipment Technologies come
together to create coextruded Lexan* SLX and
Cycoloy* resin hood for new Apache agricultural sprayer

SABIC Innovative Plastics' Lexan* and Cycoloy* resins are being used in Equipment Technologies' (ET) tough, optimally designed Apache agricultural sprayer hood. The new product was developed to help overcome performance issues associated with fiberglass and metal, such as cracking or fading from exposure to high temperatures and ultraviolet (UV) light. This collaboration between Equipment Technologies, Allen Extruders, LLC, AMD Plastics, and SABIC, uses Allen Extruders' Alextra®-MV sheet - a material made with SABIC's Lexan SLX resin coextruded over Cycoloy resin and is vacuum formed by AMD - to slash the weight by up to 140 lbs vs. previous fiberglass hoods. The development of the new sprayer hood demonstrates how SABIC supports customer success through a deep understanding of industry, product and value chain requirements.

"As the trend toward mega farms increases and more farmers turn to self-propelled agricultural sprayers to replace pull-behind models, the Apache sprayer is a logical choice, especially given its enhanced design, lighter weight and increased durability," said Chad Ringer, lead engineer, Equipment Technologies. "Equally important, the Alextra-MV sheet made with SABIC's high-performance Lexan and Cycoloy resins helped solve the problems of cracks and scratches customers experienced with the previous fiberglass hood, leading to higher customer satisfaction. We are already seeing increased sales, and the new design of the Apache hood has generated positive feedback from our customers. Clearly, our collaboration with SABIC, AMD, and Allen Extruders made this product the resounding success that it is."

The new custom-colored hood - measuring 236,86 cm x 125,78 cm x 142,57 cm (93.25 inches x 49.52 inches x 56.13 inches) - is used in all three Apache sprayer models and is a perfect example of the significant cost advantages of thermoforming vs. injection molding a large part. The Lexan and Cycoloy resin construction also enabled AMD to create a sleek new part that integrates the bumper and hood and delivers superior resistance to impact, abrasion and chemicals compared to traditional materials, helping ET reduce warranty claims. At the same time, Alextra-MV sheet delivers a superior alternative to traditional materials such as fiber-reinforced plastic and structural molding compound, and avoids the need for secondary painting and finishing required with metal. 

High performance in the field
The two SABIC resins used in Alextra-MV sheet play important roles in the overall performance of the Apache hood. As the pre-colored cap layer, Lexan SLX polycarbonate (PC) resin delivers excellent weatherability, including UV and heat resistance, as well as excellent impact and a high-quality surface finish.

The Cycoloy resin substrate, a blend of PC and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), provides high impact performance and high heat deflection capability, which is particularly important as manufacturers seek to comply with Tier 4 interim and final U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) heat emission standards.

According to Mike Ringquist, sales manager, Allen Extruders, a Sekisui Chemical Company, "Our Alextra-MV coextruded sheet leverages these two exceptional SABIC materials to raise the industry standard for aesthetics and durability under extreme weather conditions, such as those found in crop spraying. Like the 'MV' in its name signals, the Alextra-MV sheet is our 'most versatile' and has many applications in agricultural equipment, heavy trucks and recreational vehicles. We were very pleased to work with SABIC, AMD Plastics and Equipment Technologies to help create a new sprayer hood with major performance and aesthetic improvements vs. fiberglass."

"This four-way collaboration across the value chain shows the rewards that come from really listening to the customer's challenges, objectives and preferences, then working together to come up with a creative solution," said Michael Gilbert, general manager, Innovative Plastics. "Our innovative material technologies, combined with Allen Extruders' expertise in high-performance sheet solutions and AMD Plastics' exceptional design and production resources, are helping Equipment Technologies achieve its quality, growth and customer satisfaction goals for the Apache sprayer product line."

SABIC helps Volvo Trucks accelerate sustainability with Valox iQ*
resin, the first up-cycled plastic resin used in a North American truck

SABIC's Innovative Plastics has made a major new sustainability milestone with its longstanding customer, Volvo Trucks: the first use of an up-cycled material in a North American heavy truck from post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. Specifically, SABIC's Valox iQ* polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, which incorporates up-cycled water bottles, is used for the brackets of the side air deflection system for all seven models in the 2012 Volvo VN platform of heavy trucks. Valox iQ resin not only helps Volvo deliver top performance under harsh driving conditions, but also contributes toward greater sustainability. Additional SABIC solutions used to further enhance sustainability and performance in Volvo VN trucks include lightweight Noryl GTX* resin for the fenders, tough Cycoloy* resin for the grille and clear Lexan* resin for forward lighting. This joint achievement by Volvo Trucks and SABIC is the latest in a series of standard-raising innovations delivering environmental benefits.

Choosing Valox iQ resin enabled Volvo Trucks to develop a sustainable, high performance solution with the outstanding quality its customers have come to expect. SABIC not only provided the up-cycled PCR resin, but also the application development and technical support to help the world-leading truck manufacturer turn the design into a tangible part and make progress on its sustainability goals.

"We applaud Volvo Trucks for its leadership in incorporating an environmentally progressive material with outstanding performance for the manufacture of its trucks," said Michael Gilbert, general manager, Innovative Plastics. "We are also proud of the effective shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration that has taken place. We have enjoyed a close working relationship with Volvo Trucks, one that has paved the way for us to deliver the kind of design, engineering, testing and processing support that can make possible an innovative transportation solution with less environmental impact."

SABIC's Valox iQ resin may contain up to 60 percent PCR content and can help reduce the resin's carbon footprint by as much as 49 percent vs. virgin PBT resins. Yet, unlike other recycled materials, which lose performance through successive melt histories, Valox iQ resins are up-cycled to deliver comparable or better performance than conventionally manufactured materials. As a result, Valox iQ resin delivers excellent resistance to impact, chemicals and stress fatigue.

Multiple roads to more sustainable design
The Volvo VN truck platform demonstrates the many different ways that SABIC materials can contribute to improved sustainability. SABIC PCR grades such as Valox iQ resin help to divert discarded plastic from landfills while delivering equal or better performance compared to traditional resins. Other materials, such as Noryl GTX and Cycoloy resins, help to improve fuel economy by significantly reducing weight in large vehicle components by replacing traditional metal and other materials.

Enabling environmental accountability worldwide
"We are pleased that our lightweight, versatile thermoplastic materials are helping Volvo Trucks and other truck manufacturers stay ahead of global trends in heavy truck design, including the drive for greater fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions," said V. Umamaheswaran (UV), marketing director, Innovative Plastics. "Improving efficiency and meeting the rising demands for environmental accountability are a significant focus for truck OEMs across the world. Our broad portfolio of solutions, combined with the globally-networked application development support that we have in place, means that we can deliver truly worldwide and fully integrated capabilities to our valued customers in this industry."

For additional information on SABIC's high-performance composites solutions, view website: www.sabic-ip.com  Refer to page 161