Having gained patents across globe protecting a range of PLA formulations with improved flow and impact properties, Floreon is looking for innovative collaborative partners to demonstrate the technical performance and as a route to market for its fantastic technology.
“We’d like to make it clear that we are a technology company, not a manufacturer. We are bioplastics specialists with patented technology, which we’re looking to licence to producers and users. We’re a small and innovative team looking to partner with like-minded organisations that can take the technology into the market,” emphasised Floreon’s CEO Shaun Chatterton. “This could be a compounder who can use our additive technology in their own formulations, a manufacturer or converter looking to work with us to develop new products or even an additive or raw material supplier. Another option is to collaborate with 3D printer OEM’s or filament suppliers who can use the improved properties of Floreon’s enhanced PLA filament to give them an additional and exciting new product line.”
Floreon has developed its technology into a range of demonstrator formulations for applications such as injection moulding, blow moulding, extrusion and of course 3D printing. These compounds are currently produced by a toll manufacturer in the UK and the commercial strategy is based on a case study approach, demonstrating the benefits that PLA with Floreon’s additives can bring versus competing products.
The company’s patent covers ternary (three part) mixtures of PLA with other bioplastics such as polycaprolactone and polybutylene succinate. “By combining these further two plastics with PLA we can significantly increase the impact toughness of PLA without reducing significantly the tensile strength of the material” said Andrew Gill, Floreon’s Technical Director. “We also see a significant increase in flow properties, which results in thinner mouldings and faster cycle times which is a benefit in manufacturing.”
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