Monthly Color Inspirations - Green

Green can be taken to represent life itself and the essence of every living thing on earth. It can be jealously or envy, but it also denotes growth and renewal.

Green is frequently associated with springtime and the re-birth that happens to our earth every year. It’s fresh and healthy, and can represent a new beginning. When combined with a wide variety of other colors, green can take on a life of its own.

Global Meanings of Green*

• Green is universally associated with nature.
• Green symbolizes ecology and the environment.
• Traffic lights have green all over the world.

Plant a seed in peoples’ mind that will surely grow with the power of green. Let Americhem help put green to work for you.

*www.colormatters.com

Beneficial Additives for Nonwovens

It’s always good to have options, especially when it comes to producing high-quality nonwoven fabrics. Of course, you want to make sure you maintain production efficiency, color consistency, and improved pack life to maintain profitability, so you’re going to want a masterbatch option that can cover all of those bases.

That’s where Americhem can help. We have a full line of nonwoven color and additive masterbatches that can provide you with the results you need.

Multiple Options, One Pellet

So what exactly does Americhem provide for nonwoven fabrics? We have several brands and technologies that can help you deliver innovative solutions, including:

• nVision™ Nonwoven Color and Additive Masterbatches
• mBrace™ Softening Additive for Nonwovens
• nDuramax® UV Stabilizers
• nShield™ Antimicrobial Masterbatches
• nBalance™ Sustainable Additives and Masterbatches
• and other Specialty Products

Working together we will deliver a custom solution capable of blending different elements into a single pellet and specifically tailored to meet the needs of your particular application.

The Benefits of Process Efficiency

If customizable combinations for nonwovens isn’t enough for you, our masterbatches have even more benefits on top of versatility, such as these improvements to process efficiency.

• Superior dispersion quality, resulting in lower pack pressure rise, fewer spin breaks and virtual elimination of die-face buildup
• Uniform dispersion throughout the fiber, significantly reducing the presence of aggregates and agglomerates for increased pack life and spinning efficiency
• Complete control over opacity and color quality of the final material
• Class leading color consistency from lot to lot

Contact Americhem Today

When you’re trying to provide a superior nonwoven fabric, it’s good to have options. So whether it is softening or antimicrobial additives or something entirely different, Americhem has you covered. Give us a call at 1-800-228-3476 or contact us online to learn more about how Americhem’s functional additives can benefit you and your nonwoven fabrics.

Vinyl Siding Institute Member Companies Meet to Move Industry Forward

Kate Offringa presided over
the first VSI member meeting since
she became president in 2014.

The VinylSiding Institute (VSI) ushered in some big changes during its semi-annual membership meeting held April 19-21 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The meeting saw some new VSI board members added and a new president, Kate Offringa, who officiated at her first VSI member meeting. Offringa, named president in late 2014, comes to VSI with extensive executive management experience, including serving as executive director of the Vinyl Building Council and president and CEO of the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association.

There was a lot of excitement about the changes and one of the meeting’s key objectives was to enhance vinyl siding’s already solid leadership position in the cladding marketplace. There is a lot of optimism within the VSI, both for the housing market in general and the vinyl siding category. It was great to see the membership working together to advance the common goal of ensuring a quality product category for the homeowner. It was especially heartening to see companies that compete against one another on a daily basis coming together in the best interest of the industry, and the end consumer.

Over the last 20 years, VSI has introduced a certification program to ensure that the industry manufactured vinyl siding to meet or exceed quality standards. Later it would sponsor a Certified Installer program so that these products were installed properly. With these programs in place, VSI sought to educate builders, remodelers, planners and architects on the performance benefits of vinyl siding. Homeowners were added to this education campaign in 2014. And they’re not done yet. The buzz at this year’s spring meeting was about VSI’s next evolutionary leap forward. The Steering Committee and Board have agreed to hold a strategic planning meeting this summer to advance the priorities of its members. It signals a new dynamic that will create value for suppliers and manufacturers alike.

The meeting also included several excellent speakers, including one who spoke to the group about demography. This is a key topic as VSI seeks to educate consumers throughout North America. VSI’s next member meeting will be held September 16-18 in Washington, D.C., when we’ll learn a lot more about the organization’s efforts to serve the needs of its members as well as the industry. 

Mike Fair

Market Manager, Architecture

Americhem, Inc.

Swiftwick and Solution Dye Advantages

“Everybody wins when you use solution dyed products.” Mark Cleveland, CEO, Elicit Brands.

For nearly 30 years, Americhem has been perfecting the coloring of solution dyed fiber. The advantages of solution dyeing offer environmental, manufacturing and performance advantages over post dyed fibers.

Companies using solution dyed yarns are thrilled with the results. Elicit Brands uses solution dyed fibers in their popular Swiftwick® athletic socks. Elicit wanted a material that would keep their products looking new and durable, as well as having reliable lot-to-lot consistency. This was achieved by partnering with Americhem to take their products to the next level. 

At Americhem, we are the leaders in solution dyed color. Our scientists have dedicated years of research to perfecting our products to achieve the very best solution dyed fiber.

As Americhem’s Vaman Kulkarni, Ph.D., global business development director, remarked, “A well designed masterbatch is the key to a successful solution dyed product and Americhem masterbatches lead to environmentally friendly color with performance.”

Could solution dyed fiber be the answer for your products? Contact us today to find out.

*Since this post, Mark Cleveland has stepped down as CEO of Elicit Brands. Chuck Smith is now the President of Elicit Brands.