Eastman Chemical Co. has established bulk storage capacity in the European Union (EU) for its non-phthalate plasticizers EastmanTM168 and Eastman DBT.

The expansion in bulk storage capacity, located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, supplements Eastman’s existing local bulk storage for Eastman TXIBTMplasticizer and has been established in response to rapidly growing demand for all three products in the European market.

“Eastman recognizes the increasing demand for non-phthalate plasticizers in Europe and that customers need the reliability of supply that comes from having large quantities of product available quickly, from a local source,” said Eastman’s Dr. Steve Cullen, global business manager for plasticizers. “With rapidly growing demands for Eastman 168 plasticizer and for our recently introduced high-solvating product Eastman DBT, we have moved to ensure the same reliability of supply that European users of Eastman TXIB have come to depend on for many years.”

A versatile plasticizer for PVC, Eastman 168 has a long and growing track record of regulatory approvals. It has been demonstrated to be an easy drop-in replacement for some of the most popular ortho-phthalate products currently experiencing global regulatory pressure, and it is particularly suited for use in sensitive applications such as toys, medical devices, and food contact materials.

With traditional fast-fusing phthalate plasticizers undergoing reclassification, increased regulatory pressure or discontinuation in Europe, Eastman DBT was launched earlier this year to provide PVC processors with a new, high-solvating, low-viscosity plasticizer solution. Eastman DBT is particularly suitable for use in PVC plastisols and water-based adhesive applications as a drop-in alternative that has no warning label or risk phrase requirements.

Eastman TXIB is a long-established and successful non-phthalate plasticizer used in a range of applications. Recently, it has found new utility in non-PVC applications such as the waterborne adhesives industry in PVAc homopolymer and VAE copolymer formulations.

For more information, visitwww.EastmanPlasticizers.com.