Chem-Trend introduces new product line completely free of per- und polyfluoroalkyl substances

Munich, 1st August 2023 – Chem-Trend, a company of the Freudenberg Chemical Specialities Group and a global leader in the development of high-quality release agents, purge compounds and other process chemicals, has introduced a new product line of release agents. The amended portfolio completely eliminates the use of per- und polyfluoroalkyl substances. At the same time, the release agents continue to offer the full high-quality performance. The initiative was mentioned for the first time in the company’s new sustainability report.

For the industrial rubber moulding industry, Chem-Trend has been offering release agents completely free of per- und polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Europe since the beginning of July 2023. In addition to making a significant contribution to sustainability, Chem-Trend thus continues to offer high-quality release performance. Furthermore, the raw materials used are largely sourced locally, so that transport routes are significantly shortened – resulting in an additional contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions and more resilient supply chains.

“The use of PFAS is becoming increasingly restricted by regulation. But we are already taking a decisive step further by eliminating all fluoroalkyl substances from our European product portfolio by the end of 2023 – and this applies to the rubber sector with immediate effect,” says Stephan Reimers, Technical Manager Rubber at Chem-Trend. “With the combination of ecological compatibility and high performance, we clearly exceed the current industry standards.

In recent years, the company, which is part of the Freudenberg Group, has invested considerable resources across departments in the development of new solutions to make its vision of eliminating PFAS come true. The focus has been on collaboration between the functional areas of research & development, production and sales. R&D activities have involved finding and testing substitutes for fluoropolymers while ensuring that customer requirements are met or exceeded in the future.

“Sustainability has always been an elementary endeavour for Chem-Trend. Our customers are also increasingly asking us for environmentally conscious solutions. Developing formulations that are PFAS-free was therefore a high priority for us. The fact that we have even succeeded in developing completely fluorine-free products within a short period of time underlines the high innovation capability of our company,” says Jean-Philippe Bruyère, European Sales Manager Rubber.

Chem-Trend is particularly pleased with the continuously positive feedback from customers in the rubber processing industry that are already using the innovative solutions: They praise the new products both in terms of sustainability and with regards to their release performance.

This far-reaching initiative was presented in the recently published Chem-Trend Sustainability Report. The report informs about Chem-Trend’s progress made with regards to the most important sustainability goals: The reduction of CO2 emissions, water consumption and waste generation as well as the increase in material recycling. It also shows what measures are being taken to achieve these goals. These include reducing the carbon footprint through optimised supply chains. Of particular importance here is the achievement of a silver sustainability rating from EcoVadis, one of the world’s leading providers of sustainability ratings.