This collaboration delivers a cost-effective, high-performance solution with superior durability, ductility, and safety
Syensqo, a leading global provider of high-performance materials and chemical solutions, has engineered a range of AvaSpire® Polyarylether ketone (PAEK) compounds for corrugated flexible tubes in plumbing and sanitary applications with or without external hose reinforcement. In a first commercial implementation for the domestic plumbing pipes and lining market, Uniwell Rohrsysteme is using the polymer to produce armature connection hoses for use in Grohe bathroom and kitchen faucet systems.
With our innovative flex hose design, we are solving key manufacturing, installation and regulatory issues. AvaSpire® PAEK from Syensqo emerged as the perfect material choice for this application, as it helped us to streamline the existing production process, facilitates handling and replaces conventional brass.
The novel Uniwell flex hose is manufactured with extruded PAEK tube segments cut to length in a continuous process that requires no further steps. In water pipe installations, the use of AvaSpire® PAEK polymer vs. brass also minimizes the potential risk of lead contamination and ensures a long-term creep resistance.
AvaSpire® PAEK fills a cost/performance gap when compared to other high-performance polymers. Depending on the grade, it can deliver significantly higher ductility, creep and retention properties at elevated temperatures.
The AvaSpire® PAEK grades for flex hose in plumbing and sanitary applications are commercially available, worldwide, including relevant potable water certifications in the different regions. The immediate application potential extends further to, for instance, flushing cisterns, heat pumps, boilers and connections of solar heat devices.
Syensqo is a science company developing groundbreaking solutions that enhance the way we live, work, travel and play. Inspired by the scientific councils which Ernest Solvay initiated in 1911, we bring great minds together to push the limits of science and innovation for the benefit of our customers, with a diverse, global team of more than 13,000 associates in 30 countries.
Our solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices and healthcare applications. Our innovation power enables us to deliver on the ambition of a circular economy and explore breakthrough technologies that advance humanity.
Learn more at www.syensqo.com.
Known as The Tube Company, Uniwell develops and produces high-quality plumbing products, cable protection and fluid carrying systems for a growing customer base in demanding markets, including automotive, mechanical engineering, plant construction and sanitation. The product portfolio includes a wide range of piping systems, which are manufactured using the latest techniques and custom-tailored performance polymers.
With corporate headquarters and major extrusion facilities in Northern Bavaria, Germany, Uniwell Rohrsysteme also operates a manufacturing plant in North-Rhine Westphalia as well as an affiliated thermoforming and assembly business in the Czech Republic.
Visit uniwell-rohrsysteme.de for further information.
AvaSpire® PAEK
AvaSpire® PAEK (polyaryletherketone) is a family of high-performance polyketones tailored to fill cost and performance gaps between PEEK and other high-performance polymers. For example, ductility and toughness can be significantly improved versus comparable grades of PEEK, delivering 20% higher tensile elongation at yield and double tensile elongation at break values.