9 Nov 2007

THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY LICENSES ITS OLEFIN BLOCK COPOLYMER TECHNOLOGY TO GLS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TPES

GLS to Globally Market the Co-branded OBC-based Materials as DYNALLOY® OBC Compounds

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – Oct. 24, 2007 – GLS Corp., a global leader in the development, manufacture, and supply of high-performance, custom-formulated thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), today announced that - through a licensed agreement with The Dow Chemical Company - it has been granted rights to provide processors with TPEs incorporating the benefits of OBCs. GLS will globally market the new co-branded OBC-based TPEs under the GLS brand, DYNALLOY® OBC Compounds, and with The Dow Chemical Company’s tag line “Powered by INFUSE™ olefin block copolymers.” In addition to six standard grades of DYNALLOY® OBC Compounds, launched here today at Kunstoffe 2007 (K 2007), GLS will offer customers the ability to customize OBC-based TPEs to achieve specific performance properties.

Luis Cirihal, global business development manager, The Dow Chemical Company, said, “We chose to grant this non-exclusive license to GLS because of their global leadership in innovative TPE technologies and the broad adoption of their products across key market sectors. Working together, we can provide customers with the elastomeric materials they need to meet current and future regulatory requirements, performance demands and aesthetic preferences.”

Walter Ripple, vice president of global sales and marketing stated, “Our relationship with The Dow Chemical Company will expand the application range of their newly introduced INFUSE™ olefin block copolymers and enable more customers to benefit from the performance advantages of this platform. GLS’s extensive customization capabilities enable manufacturers of consumer, food packaging, medical applications and other products to achieve new performance and aesthetic enhancements with OBC technology.”

The five standard injection-molding grades of DYNALLOY® OBC Compounds include opaque and translucent materials and provide Shore A hardnesses ranging from 60 down to 5. They offer a non-tacky, smooth feel that avoids dust pick-up as well as excellent colorability. Target markets include consumer, hardware, office products, cosmetics, and food packaging applications.

The unique block architecture of INFUSE™ OBCs delivers enhanced performance and processing properties beyond current olefin elastomers, including high temperature performance, faster set-up in processing (reduced cycle times), improved abrasion resistance, and excellent elasticity and compression set properties at both room and elevated temperatures.

GLS is exhibiting their six grades of Dynalloy® TPE compound here at K 2007 in hall 8A, booth # D08.

Reader enquiries

GLS Corporation
GLS Headquarters:
833 Ridgeview Drive
McHenry, Illinois 60050

U.S.A.

+1 815 385 8500

info@glscorp.com

www.glscorporation.com

Notes for editors

About GLS Corp.

GLS Corp., a global leader in the development, manufacture, and supply of high-performance, custom-formulated thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), is headquartered in the United States near Chicago in McHenry, Ill. The company specializes in the manufacture of application-specific soft and ultra-soft TPEs for injection molding and extrusion. GLS has supplied specialty TPEs to the industry since 1979, and is recognized as a worldwide leader in TPE technology solutions. Specific products sold by GLS include proprietary DYNAFLEX® TPE compounds based on KRATON® polymers (available in injection molding and extrusion, as well as medical and FDA grades); VERSAFLEX® TPE specialty alloys (available in soft-touch, lightweight, ultra-soft, ultra-clear, and overmolding grades); VERSALLOY™ TPV alloys; and VERSOLLAN™ TPU alloy compounds. GLS is also the exclusive distributor of KRATON compounds and polymers for the compounding market in the United States, and also distributes KRATON compounds and polymers globally.

For more information about GLS Corp., please visit: www.glscorporation.com.

About The Dow Chemical Company

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

Related images

Dynalloy OBCs were introduced by (left to right) Luis Cirihal, Dow Manager for Performance Elastomers and Plastomers, George Biltz, Dow Specialty Plastics and Elastomers Group President, Daniel Dague, GLS President, and Walt Ripple, GLS Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing.

GLSPR003a