The Industrial Lubricants Market is Evolving with Sustainable Driving Forces

1. The industrial lubricants industry, particularly in Asia, is reshaping its supply channels and marketing strategies. 

2. Over the past five years, greater internet penetration among the region’s populations has brought about a tremendous growth in online retail usage, wherein lubricant marketers are finding a viable retail platform.

Product Spotlight - Powder Coatings

1. No matter whether you’re using a single gun and small oven or a large fully automated line, the process is basically the same. 

2. A powder spray gun is used, which when triggered gives an electrostatic charge to the powder particles passing through it. 

3. As the parts to be coated are grounded, the powder is attracted towards the part via the electrostatic process.

4. Once the powder is applied the parts are cured in an oven, which melts and cross-links the powder over the surface of the part and creates a tough, scratch resistant and beautiful finish.

Product Spotlight - Metal Additive Manufacturing

1. There are 2 main families of additive manufacturing technologies

2. Powder bed technologies

- Selective Laser Melting (SLM) where the metal powder is melted by a laser beam

- Electron Beam Melting (EBM) where the metal powder is melted by an electron beam after a preheating step

- Precision inkjet printing where the metal powder is mixed with a binder: after the printing operation, the part is consolidated by sintering.

3.  Blown powder technologies, also known as Laser Metal Deposition or Laser cladding
In this process, the metal powder is blown coaxially to the laser beam which melts the particles on a base metal to form a metallurgical bond when cooled.

Product Spotlight - Silicon Wafers Cleaning - RCA Cleaning & Piranha Solution

1. The RCA clean is a standard set of wafer cleaning steps which need to be performed before high-temperature processing steps (oxidation, diffusion, CVD) of silicon wafers in semiconductor manufacturing.

2. It involves the following chemical processes performed in sequence:

- Removal of the organic contaminants (organic clean + particle clean)
- Removal of thin oxide layer (oxide strip, optional)
- Removal of ionic contamination (ionic clean)

Paint and Coatings Industry in Vietnam (Q1 2019 report)

1. With one of the fastest growing paint and coatings industries in the South East Asian region, Vietnam has attracted a number of regional and multinational paint and coatings producers to set up their manufacturing base in the country. 

2. With a current low per capita consumption of paint and coatings, Vietnam is expected to register a very steady growth of paint and coatings in coming years.

Product Spotlight - Steel Coil

1. Steel coil- a finished steel product such as sheet or strip which has been wound or coiled after rolling. Steel coils can be classified into  hot and cold- rolled types, or  stainless steel coil, carbon coil and Galvanized Steel according to current products and international standards.

Slight growth in Malaysia general insurance premiums (As at March 2019)

1. Motor continued to drive the local general insurance sector, which recorded a 1.5% growth, underpinned by the jump in car sales during the tax-free period from June to August.

BRI update 2019– Recalibration

Having already transformed large swathes of the developing world over the past five years, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) now looks set to make its mark on the more prosperous regions of Europe.

Underinsured Opportunities and Overpaid Premiums

US LIFE INSURERS MISSING OUT ON $70BN IN PREMIUMS
1. The average life insurance policyholder in the US is massively underinsured, new research has found, with firms potentially missing out on almost $70bn (£53bn) in annual premiums.

U.K. Pensions Survey and Report For 2018

DB PENSIONS TO PAY OUT 1/3 OF A TRILLION POUNDS BY 2021
1. Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK are set to pay out almost one-third of a trillion pounds over a three-year period for the first time ever, Mercer has predicted. 

2. The consultancy firm said the record figures between 2019 and 2021 will be due to a large number of active and deferred members transferring the value of their entitlement to another arrangement.

Product Spotlight - NBR - Part 2 - Natural Rubber Vs Nitrile Rubber for Gloves

1. The global rubber gloves industry owes its present boom to the spurt in demand for disposable gloves for hand protection generated by the worldwide spread of infectious diseases. While the disease outbreak was not good for human health, it was good for the glove business.

The demand for medical, industrial and household gloves grew as governments imposed new regulations to increase hygiene and healthcare standards and industries promoted clean room technology.

Traditionally, Natural Rubber (NR) latex glove has been the glove of choice for the medical industry due to its low chemical and puncture resistance. Moreover, it is highly biodegradable and can be easily disposed of by incineration.

Product Spotlight - NBR - Part 1 - Overview

GENERAL OVERVIEW
1. Traditionally, Natural Rubber (NR) latex glove has been the glove of choice for the medical industry due to its low chemical and puncture resistance. Moreover, it is highly biodegradable and can be easily disposed of by incineration.

Product Spotlight - Bio-Lubricants

1. Bio based chemicals have been used for niche applications such as personal care and food additives. However, various new applications of bio based chemicals such as bio-lubricants, biopolymers, and bio-surfactants are emerging as replacements of petroleum based products creating exciting growth opportunities.

2. Chemical companies focusing on lubricants, polymers, and surfactants can explore diversifying their product portfolio based on bio based products. 

Indonesia Jumps Rank in Logistic Performance Index (LPI) 2018 ; Disruption in the Logistic Industry

in 2018, Indonesia managed to rise sharply in the ranks of the World Bank's latest Logistics Performance Index (LPI). Indonesia ranked 46th, up from 63rd in the preceding edition (released in 2016).

Product Spotlight - Conductive Thermoplastic Compounds

1. Polymers are typical insulation materials due to their extremely low electrical conductivity. They charge very easily and even when grounded the plastic material stays charged with static electricity. Conductive plastic compounds, unlike normal plastics, have the ability to conduct electricity.

Scaling your Manufacturing Activities When Opportunities Arise

1. In today’s demanding market environment, those companies that are best prepared to react to sudden market openings will have the best chance for success. 

2. Imagine that a major competitor suddenly goes out of business. Are you really ready to grab its share of the market before someone else jumps in ahead of you? Or do you just hope that you are ready to pounce?

3. Whether your company’s expansion is opportunistic or has been under consideration for a while, to achieve your goal, you’ll need to have a plan that allows you to respond to sudden market changes. Your plan should map out how all the resources in your organization will work in a coordinated effort to win and expand your market share at the least expense to you.

Product Spotlight - Electrically Conductive Polymers

1. Traditionally, one of the only drawbacks of plastic has been its lack of electrical conductivity. But, that’s starting to change with hybrid materials that can be processed with traditional production methods.

India and France to overtake UK in GDP rankings

1. Both India and France are likely to overtake the UK in the rankings of the world’s largest economies next year, with Britain falling from fifth to seventh place.

Palm Oil Industry in 2018

Palm oil is literally everywhere – in our foods, cosmetics, cleaning products and fuels.

Product Spotlight - Recycled Food Grade Resin

1. The approach to sustainable packaging and the future of plastics in packaging.

2. With public interest in the impacts of plastic leakage into the natural environment soaring, it becomes easy to lose sight of why plastics are used in the first place. As materials, plastics are light-weight, strong, versatile, cheap and hygienic, and so they have significant benefits for the packaging industry. Without plastics, it would be difficult for consumers to enjoy the sheer range of choice that exists in the market today.