BOSTON, June 3, 2024 – Orbia Polymer Solutions (Alphagary), a globally renowned provider of innovative polymer solutions for wire and cable applications, in partnership with Shakun Polymers, is introducing a new series of semi-conductive compounds to the America’s wire and cable marketplace, under the brand name ESCONTEK.
The new series of semi-conductive compounds offer exceptional performance and reliability. They are tailored specifically to meet the unique requirements – both physical and electrical – of the Americas. ESCONTEK semi-conductive compounds were developed by Shakun Polymers and will leverage Orbia Alphagary's extensive network and presence in both North and South America to allow the materials to become readily available to customers in the region. This marks a significant milestone in expanding the reach of Shakun Polymers' technology to new markets and allows Orbia Alphagary to continue to deliver the highest quality materials to customers.
"The partnership between Shakun Polymers and Orbia Alphagary exemplifies a shared vision of driving innovation and delivering value within the wire and cable industry,” said Suren Shah, Technical Sales Consultant for Orbia Alphagary. “With years of expertise formulating and manufacturing semi-conductive materials, Shakun brings invaluable knowledge to the table which enables us to offer proven and verified technology to our customers in the Americas.”
Semi-conductive materials are essential components in medium and high-voltage power cable applications, acting as a boundary layer to ensure efficient transmission of electrical power. Leveraging their expertise, Shakun Polymers, in partnership with Orbia Alphagary, is investing significant capital to automate production of ESCONTEK. The upgrades ensure that raw materials are accurately weighed and thoroughly dispersed during the mixing process, providing clean and smooth extrusion with minimal residue and ionic impurities. The ESCONTEK compounds have good scorch resistance, allowing long run-times without degradation, and the materials cross-link quickly in Continuous Vulcanization (CV) tubes.
In anticipation of demand for semi-conductive materials needed to support the growing infrastructure, an investment in capacity and equipment dedicated to semi-conductive materials is scheduled for completion by June 2024.
“By merging Shakun Polymers’ experience with Orbia Alphagary's established presence in the North and South America wire and cable sector, we are poised to deliver technology that is not only proven but also deeply aligned with today’s requirements.” said Santiago Urbina, VP Commercial at Orbia Alphagary. “This underscores our collaboration with the Shakun team and our dedication to being a solutions-provider for our customers.”
About Orbia
Orbia Advance Corporation, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ORBIA*) is a company driven by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. Orbia operates in the Polymer Solutions (Vestolit and Alphagary), Building & Infrastructure (Wavin), Precision Agriculture (Netafim), Connectivity Solutions (Dura-Line) and Fluor & Energy Materials (Koura) sectors. The five Orbia business groups have a collective focus on ensuring food and water security, expanding information access and connectivity and advancing decarbonization and the energy transition with basic and advanced materials, specialty products and innovative solutions. Orbia has a global team of over 24,000 employees, commercial activities in more than 100 countries and operations in over 50, with global headquarters in Boston, Mexico City, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. The company generated $8.2 billion in revenue in 2023. To learn more, visit: orbia.com
About Orbia Polymer Solutions (Alphagary)
Orbia’s Polymer Solutions business Alphagary is a global leader in the design and manufacture of specialty polymer compounds and additives for polyvinyl chloride formulations including stabilizers, plasticizers and colorants. Compounds are generated from a variety of polymers including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyolefin (PO), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). With over 60 years of experience, Orbia Alphagary has earned its reputation for providing innovative, functional, durable solutions to a broad marketplace. Orbia Alphagary is committed to offering sustainable products formulated with bio-based and recycled content and actively participates in initiatives that promote a circular economy. Its compounds are trusted for a wide range of applications from data communications and power cables to various building and industrial products, automotive interior parts, a wide variety of consumer goods including food-contact applications and healthcare products. Orbia Alphagary offers standard and custom formulations to meet market-specific requirements and end users’ needs and is committed to health and safety best practices by maintaining ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHS ISO 45001 certifications. Orbia Alphagary has 1,000 employees across nine facilities across the U.S., UK, Mexico, Colombia and India, serving 80 countries through a global sales and distribution network.
About Shakun Polymers
Shakun Polymers Private Limited, part of Alphagary, an Orbia business, is one of the leading players in the field of compounding for the wire and cable market. In June 2021, it was announced that Alphagary, a global leader in manufacturing specialty polymer compounds, has acquired a majority stake in Shakun. Shakun has been in operation for more than 25 years, with state-of-the-art manufacturing operations in India and exports to more than 50 countries globally. The company has four major brands: ECOTEK, ESCONTEK, FRTEK, and VINYLTEK, which cater to a wide spectrum of applications in the wire and cable industry, such as power cables, building wires, telecommunication & fiber optic cables, instrumentation cables, and photovoltaic cables. Shakun's long-standing experience in manufacturing specialty compounds has resulted in the ability to customize products for customers, in accordance with their requirements. This has enabled the company to maintain and grow its customer base, with the majority of its revenue coming from the international market. We are committed to providing high-quality products and services to our valued customers. To learn more, visit: shakunpolymers.com