Category Archives: About tkEP

REACH Compliant ABS Plastic

The Case of the REACH Compliant ABS Plastic –

As the Quality & Compliance Manager for thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics, my department receives many requests from our engineering plastics customers for declarations of regulatory compliance to REACH, RoHS, Conflict Minerals etc. As we fulfill those requests we look for ways to improve our quality and service. We also believe it is important to share knowledge to help the growing audience of engineered plastics users. On one recent occasion during our due diligence process, for a requirement on General Purpose ABS our quality team found that all of the components used to produce GP ABS are not traceable; therefore the material manufacture was unable to provide a declaration of compliance for the product. However, the story for the ABS customer has a happy ending. As a distributor of engineering plastic stock shapes we work with numerous manufactures. As a result of those relationships we were able to provide a virgin grade ABS in which all elements of the product were traceable so the customer was able to get an ABS plastic that met the REACH and RoHS regulatory requirement.

If you research materials online you may not know if a plastic like ABS will meet specific requirements. The ABS listed may come from a variety of manufacturers and may or may not be a virgin grade. So if you know up front when REACH, RoHS, or other regulatory requirements must be met you can ask your distributor the question before you buy. In the ABS example, by confirming compliance requirements needed for our customers at the quoting stage we are able to ensure a virgin grade ABS is quoted and that the manufacturer could supply the declaration of compliance for the product because the components used to produce the Virgin grade product are traceable.

You may not always need a REACH compliant material, but when you do, having a working relationship with a distributor can be a valuable asset. As a distributor we have access to materials from many different manufacturers and with a long history in engineering plastics we understand the importance of meeting REACH and RoHS regulatory requirements.  We are happy to assist you in sourcing engineering plastics and making sure you get the specific requirements including REACH, RoHS, Conflict Minerals and many more that you need to be competitive in the global market.

More About REACH and RoHS

REACH is a regulation of EU, adopted to improve the protection of human health and environment from risks that can be posed by chemicals.  https://echa.europa.eu

RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances.  It is an EU Directive that restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products.  There are currently 10 restricted substances on this list that include  lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and diisobutyl (DIBP).  http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european-standards/harmonised-standards/restriction-of-hazardous-substances/

Conflict Minerals Rule a provision of the Dodd-Frank Act: The aim of this act is to cut off funding sources for armed rebel groups in the DRC. It requires manufacturers producing products that contain certain minerals to conduct supply chain audits and disclose if those minerals originated in the DRC or adjoining companies.  https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/dodd-frank/speccorpdisclosure.shtml

http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/conflict-minerals-regulation/regulation-explained/

Debbie Shunk

Quality & Compliance Manager
Engineered Plastics
MX-ME-MNA

 

Are you interested in ABS Plastic? Learn more about ABS on our online catalog.

Summer Interns Get Hands on Experience at tkEP

 

Every summer thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics takes on summer interns and the summer of 2017 is no exception. This year we are fortunate to have two exceptionally talented students, Jovan Sanson and Kristy Lazarowicz.

In their time here at tkEP each one will be working within their chosen field of study to get real world experience you can’t get in a classroom. For us, we look forward to the fresh ideas and tools they bring with them from all their recent classroom experience.

Jovan is from the Toledo, Ohio area where he is studying professional sales at the University of Toledo’s College of Business. Jovan says he wanted to attend U of T because they have an excellent program, but also because he can continue to contribute to his local community. He went onto explain his involvement on campus through multiple organizations where he has been recognized for his commitment to leadership and service at a local and national level. He is currently in the process of creating a student organization that gives back to the Toledo community by going into inner city high schools to teach about professional skills that are needed for the work force.

When asked why he chose to study professional sales Jovan explained that this career path will,  “allow me to combine my passion for business and love for service. This passion motivated me to participate in The University of Toledo’s Invitational Sales Competition, in which I placed 4th out of 30 sophomores and freshmen from around the nation. Making a sale excites me, although finding solutions to a customer’s problem through detailed listening and critical thinking…this is at the heart of what makes me ecstatic about a career in professional sales.”

Kristy Lazarowicz is a senior currently attending Oakland University. Her area of study is Human Resources and in her time here at tkEP she will be tasked with developing a formal training program for new hires in the Sales Department. Kristy says she came to study Humans Resources through “a lot of soul searching. In all the different areas of study I looked at I realized that what I wanted most was to do something that helped people within business and helped businesses reach their goals.” Kristy went onto say “When I first came across the thyseenkrupp Engineered Plastics internship ad I just smiled because this was everything that I hoped for. I had a background in training and wanted to work for a global company that gave me lots of opportunity. I am now the thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics new Training Intern.” As an outdoor person Kristy is looking forward to the tkActive activities the company participates in throughout the summer.

Please join us in welcoming Kristy and Jovan here to tkEP. We look forward to the new things they will bring to everyone and to sharing the knowledge we all have of the plastics industry.

It’s all About Plastics!

Welcome to thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics on the Bloggesphere!

I’m Lisa, Marketing Manager here at tkEP and I’ll be your regular host to everything on our blog. I hope you’ll check in often to see what we’ve added. In fact, feel free to subscribe and that way you’ll get updates as they happen. Don’t forget to comment too. We are looking to make this a forum for conversation about what is happening in the plastics industry.

The thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics History

We began way back in 1970 with the founding of AIN Plastics. This plastics distribution company started with just two employees and a small investment and a big dream. The owners worked hard and saw continual growth of their new company within a short time. A big break came when AIN Plastics became authorized distributors for several premier manufacturers of mechanical plastic mill shapes. In 1993, AIN Plastics was appointed E.I. DuPont’s first national distributor of Vespel® PolyImide stock shapes, one of the industries most sophisticated materials. The ensuing years saw the company continuing to expand its product offerings, including specialty grades of nylon, Delrin®, PTFE, Ensinger’s TECA line, thermoset laminates and more.  In 1996, AIN Plastics joined the ThyssenKrupp Materials NA group (then Thyssen Inc., NA), a move which positioned the company for continued success.

In 2015 ThyssenKrupp underwent a major rebranding with a new logo and renewed presence in their markets across the globe which include steel and metals distribution, aerospace, elevators, and more. In 2016, AIN Plastics followed suit by rebranding and changing their name to thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics.

Today, thyssenkrupp Engineered Plastics Plastics operates 11 stocking warehouses with sales offices across a major portion of the United States. tkEP also has two machining facilities. The company is structured around local distribution service centers providing fast, efficient delivery to their customers. Our value–added processing system is customer–based, designed to give salespeople the tools they need to quickly and accurately process orders. Finally, our nationwide logistics system allows the company to provide next–day delivery to the majority of customers in North America. As part of our commitment to continuous quality improvement, tkEP Plastics has several ISO 9001:2000 facilities and is in the process of registering all locations to the latest ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Systems. Geographical and product line expansion ensure that the history of this dynamic company will continue to evolve.

So there you have it – this is who we are and we are ready to have some fun sharing what’s going on so look for more posts!

Until next time!

 

Lisa