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Product category: Materials and components
News Release from: Sabic Innovative Plastics | Subject: Geloy XTW E290 resin
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 12 April 2005

Resin resists prolonged outdoor abuse

Great Lakes Home and Resort selected GE Advanced Materials' Geloy XTW E290 resin for a new line of hot tub shells in vibrant, highly weatherable colours.

Great Lakes Home and Resort, manufacturer of Great Lakes Hot Tubs, has developed a new line of hot tub shells in vibrant, highly weatherable colours for which it has selected GE Advanced Materials' Geloy XTW E290 resin, a new extrusion grade of acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA) resin for large-part thermoforming GE developed the material for Great Lakes to help enable the hot tubs to withstand the rigours of prolonged outdoor abuse while retaining their outstanding aesthetic appeal and functionality

Geloy XTW E290 resin provides exceptional beauty and strength, helping Great Lakes' new hot tub shells retain their high-gloss finish with excellent depth of image for the stylish "wet look" the pool and spa industry currently demands.

By combining a base of tough engineering thermoplastic with a core of advanced Geloy XTW resin and a clear top layer, the new material system - called WeatherPro G and developed jointly by GE and Spartech Plastics Custom Sheet and Roll Stock Group - provides exceptional high performance where the Geloy resin can maintains its superior appearance for three- to five-times longer than conventional ASA resins.

Geloy XTW E290 resin virtually eliminates clouding, fading, or cracking under tough outdoor conditions and offers excellent chemical and UV resistance.

And, unlike cast acrylic shells, the Geloy resin system allows homeowners and resorts to more easily repair the hot tub shells if they are damaged.

Great Lakes Home and Resort selected GE's Geloy ASA resin based on this outstanding balance of high-performance properties, as well as for the wide range of unique and dramatic colour options the material provides.

Great Lakes' customers can now pick from six new shell colours, including Sunset Sienna, Espresso, Amethyst and Mediterranean Blue.

An additional six colours are planned for commercial release in 2005.

GE also offers its own expanded selection of hot tub colours for Geloy XTW E290 resin, including Champagne, Pearlescent and Silver Star.

"Our design engineers worked closely with GE to develop this exceptional portfolio of colours", said Rick Mouw, President of Great Lakes Home and Resort.

"Geloy resin helps our hot tubs perform with superior weatherability and shell strength, helping to keep Great Lakes at the forefront of the pool and spa industry".

"It not only helps improve hot tub performance for our customers, but also helped boost our dealers' sales performance".

"The enhanced colour and high-gloss finish of the Geloy resin is dramatic - so much so that it stands out from across a showroom floor".

"The long-lasting beauty that Geloy resin delivers represents more than mere surface enhancement", said Craig Williams, Industry Manager for Transportation and Outdoor Materials at GE Advanced Materials.

"It demonstrates a step-change in how materials technology can improve the look of the home or resort".

"Great Lakes' new hot tub line is an excellent example of this breakthrough weatherable technology at its best".

Geloy XTW E290 resin offers brighter whites, deeper blacks, an extended colour palette, and a range of gloss levels from 20 to 90%.

The material performs exceptionally well in accelerated G26, SAE J1960, and QUV weathering tests, as well as in two-year outdoor exposure studies in Florida and Arizona.

All tests indicate that the material will likely exhibit a prolonged delay in aesthetic shift after seven to ten years.

Geloy XTW E290 resin is also compatible with ABS and PVC as a capping stock.

Injection moulding grades of this ASA resin perform equally well, offering a superior balance of impact resistance, flow, and aesthetics compared with traditional materials.

GE's offering of high-performance materials for the pool and spa industry also include Xylex resin, typically used in pool and spa pump housings, pool cleaners, and other pool and spa accessories.

Xylex resin is a transparent product that offers high UV and chemical resistance, good colour retention under wide temperature extremes, and excellent overall weatherability.

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