TOPAS ADVANCED POLYMERS/POLYPLASTICS

Company Overview

TOPAS Advanced Polymers is a joint venture of two Japanese companies, Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd., and Polyplastics Co. Ltd. Its headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany and its U.S. subsidiary is in Florence, KY. TOPAS has one manufacturing facility, a 30,000-metric tons/year (66.1 million pounds) plant that produces cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs). TOPAS Advanced Polymers was formed in January 2006 when it purchased the TOPAS business from Ticona, a subsidiary of Celanese Corp.

TOPAS Advanced Polymers manufactures and markets TOPAS COC (cyclic olefin copolymer) for advanced packaging, medical, optical and other applications worldwide. TOPAS produces its COC copolymer as both resin and elastomer, and received FDA approval in late 2011 for medical, food contact, and pharmaceutical applications. TOPAS Advanced Polymers also manufactures and markets norbornene, a starter compound for complex organic synthesis.

TOPAS COC was developed in the early 1990s by Hoechst AG, when it created a new COC process in which norbornene is synthesized from dicyclopentadiene and ethylene. A second step copolymerizes norbornene with ethylene by metallocene catalysis to generate cyclic olefin copolymer.

The company is actively promoting TOPAS COC as a replacement barrier resin for INEOS’ Barex brand of AN-MA barrier resins that are no longer produced and sold.

Company's Business Segments

• Products : TOPAS COC Polymers, Norbornene