Covestro, a leading polymer company, announced the launch of new durable materials for medical devices housings and hardware. The new Makrolon® M6011 FR, a medical polycarbonate, and Makroblend® M5005 FR, a medical polycarbonate/polyester blend, offer a differentiated composition of properties that improve chemical resistance while using next-generation flame retardants.
Covestro offers more than 50 years of polycarbonate manufacturing experience in the medical devices industry, and today’s product launch underscores the company’s commitment to continuing to build its global portfolio to bridge gaps in this market. As Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) rise and the COVID-19 pandemic persists, these two new materials provide improved disinfectant resistance in response to today’s challenging market requirements for housings of medical devices.
The new polycarbonate materials now comprise the most stringent UL rating – UL 94 V-0 – and next-generation flame retardancy compared to previous in-market products. In addition, these medical-grade products offer enhanced impact strength, increased rigidity, as well as UV resistance and improved flowability.
“The value proposition for these new durable materials is two-fold,” said Irving Paz Chagoya, Covestro’s Healthcare Segment Manager in EMEA. “First, these products use next-generation phosphorous based flame retardants. Second, these new polycarbonate materials comprise a variety of attributes—improved chemical resistance, impact strength, heat resistance, and so on—in a single solution.”
Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world’s largest polymer companies with 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative, sustainable solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. In doing so, Covestro is fully committed to the circular economy. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics and healthcare industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 50 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 18,000 people as of June of 2021.