Eastman Chemical Goes for the Plastic

Eastman calls off plans for a split and launches a new strategy for its specialty plastics segment.

By Veronica MacDonald, Associate Editor

After canceling plans to spin-off its specialty chemicals and plastics businesses, Eastman Chemical is turning much of its focus towards its specialty plastics unit and focusing on innovative plastics, without overextending the company’s portfolio. “The most frequent serial crime of large multinationals is going an inch deep and a mile wide in a million things,” insisted J. Brian Ferguson, chairman and chief executive officer.

Eastman Chemical’s growth strategy—to be “greener,” smarter and cheaper—is a perfect fit for its specialty plastics segment, according to executives. “We are blessed with the most benign product portfolio in the industry—biodegradable plastics and fibers, oxygenated solvents, renewable re­sources and waterborne technology for coatings,” Ferguson noted. But perhaps more apropos is the company’s desire to replace traditional plastics with more innovative and unique plastics. The company is specifically aiming to replace polycarbonate (PC), acrylic and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), as well as the popular polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET). Eastman’s alternatives are copolyesters and cellulose esters.

“Eastman’s specialty plastics are largely undiscovered and overshadowed by PET,” said Phillip Griswold, vice president and general manager, specialty plastics, Eastman Chemical. “We are targeting our specialty plastics more aggressively than in the past—it is a great opportunity for growth. There is enough steel in the ground right now to continue growing 15 percent each year for the next three years.”
Copolyester is rapidly replacing glass and other plastics for certain components in the fragrance business due to its excellent chemical resistance as well as its clear look, tactile feel and sturdiness, according to Eastman. The company has plans to specifically target Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and South America with its products, and expects a growth rate of 10 percent. Copolyester is more affordable than PC.
Executives said Eastman’s Spectar polymer has twice the strength of acrylic. Shrink-wrap, formerly made of PVC, can now be replaced with a plastic alternative called Embrace copolyester. With ultimate shrinkage of more than 70 percent, Embrace is an ideal shrink label material for contoured bottle shapes, tamper-proof seals or cap seals, executives said. Embrace is also recyclable.

For the long term, Eastman will offer low-density PET and may or may not consider selling the segment due to the declining market. “The PET market is bleeding like crazy,” said Ferguson. “We will sort out whether the polypro­pylene or PET businesses should go.”

In development is a non-PET plastic for one to five gallon containers. Under the Voridian division, Eastman offers Elegante polymer, a specialty PET material for the personal care packaging industry. Executives said Elegante allows the production of brilliantly colored, high clarity bottles without compromising impact strength or processing ease associated with PVC. Elegante polymer also provides uniform color distribution and reduces crystallization effects commonly found in translucent colors such as emerald green, cobalt blue and ruby red. Voridian also offers other PET polymers, polyethylene polymers and acetate fibers.

As for the cellulose esters segment Eastman Chemical will soon expand into the skylight business. “The glass guys won’t see it coming,” Ferguson stated.

Copolyesters Take the Cake

Eastman has already given a big push to its copolyesters. As already mentioned, these often replace glass in cosmetic packaging due to their glossy, glass-like look as well as their chemical resistance to volatile ingredients. “Copolyesters stand up well to fragrance,” said Scott Rook, business market manager, personal care and consumer BU, specialty plastics. “Most fragrances are aggressive, but marketers want the look of glass.”

Prestige manufacturers such as Calvin Klein and Estée Lauder, who typically have smaller product runs, have taken advantage of Eastman’s copolyester offerings. Eastman is now confident that the trend will extend from class to mass, and executives are ready to meet the challenge with expanded production capacity.

“Though most of our copolyester business was based on prestige cosmetic jars, Eastman now feels it has the technological capabilities to go after a larger volume such as the mass market,” explained Rook.

How did this all come about? Like most other trends in the cosmetics industry, innovation is often instigated by marketers who want not only the latest and greatest, but also the novel. Plastic offers prestige manufacturers the ability to change the design of bottles and showcase a new look and feel, Rook said. Plastic is also more economical for printing. Eastman offers copolyester in several consistencies as well as frosted, clear or colored variations.

“The etched-glass look can be done pretty economically, and soft touch can also be used,” added Rook.

Specifically, Eastman offers new products for extrusion blow-molding (EBM): Eastar GN077 to replace PVC and Eastar GN046 for larger containers. The existing Eastar 6763 has been improved with a doubled melting point, as well as a tougher exterior and tenfold impact strength. EBM has been used recently for 90° angled bottles.

Stretch blow-molding is a new area in the cosmetics industry for Eastman Chemical, but executives said copolyester has better clarity than PET and can be used to create thicker-walled containers. Other ideas for the use of copolyester in cosmetic packaging include clear lipsticks with overmolded caps and lipsticks with clear buttons on the underside to show product shades.

For the future, Eastman Chemical plans to continuously churn out innovations and hone in on its specialty plastics segment. “We’ve gone from a large sighted business to a small sighted one,” Griswold said.