Toray hopes to gain edge with clear polyester film

With its parent company operating in 18 countries, including lower-wage Asian nations, Toray Plastics America Inc. faces more pressure to perform and to make itself worth the $7 million investment Toray Industries Inc. put into its North Kingstown facility.

One way it lives up to the investment is through the development of new, value-added products for existing markets, often with the hope of breaking into new markets.

That is the plan for Toray Plastics’ new Lumirror FA5 matte polyester film, said Eric Bartholomay, product development manager for the company, which employs 700 people at a 900,000-square-foot campus in the Quonset Business Park.

“Often we’ll make a film for a certain application, and we’ll find there are other markets where those features are desirable,” Bartholomay said.

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The new polyester film, for example, was designed for labels in the durable goods market because that industry asked Toray for a film with more contact clarity – meaning it is easier to see through, to read the words underneath, but still resilient enough not to wear off.

But Toray Plastics is also hoping to market the product as a laminating film for luggage tags, placemats and maybe restaurant menus. It might also become ideal for interior design applications such as window blinds and wallpaper, because the matte finish reduces glare without being too hazy to see through.

The technology used to make Toray Industries’ existing matte polyester film, which is produced in China, deposits a coarser grade of mineral throughout the film, making it hazier than the new film.

Toray Plastics’ proprietary nanotechnology eliminates the haziness by depositing tiny particles of talc on the very top layer of the film, Bartholomay said. That’s what gives it better contact clarity. The surface of the film also readily accepts ink, he said, which also differentiates it from the old film.

Bartholomay said Toray Industries won’t discontinue the old film, because it still serves specific niche markets.

But the new film will be more profitable for the company because its value-added qualities make it necessary to charge more per pound, he said. And customers end up getting more for their money because the new film is thinner; one pound of the new film yields 33 percent more square feet than the old film.

In addition, the new film is 50 percent stronger. And the nanotechnology allows customers to specify the exact level of matte to semigloss finish they want.

All of these things make it desirable for the customer, Bartholomay said.

“We’re often coming up with new products that add value in terms of what the films do,” he said. “Many ideas for new products come from our customers,” just as in the case of Lumirror FA5.

Toray Industries’ annual sales exceed $11 billion; the company employs about 34,670 people worldwide.

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