Key Highlights:
- NYCOA has expanded its product offering and added new production capacity as part of its transformation into a specialty nylon company.
- The company has introduced three new long-chain nylons and started up new polymerisation lines at its existing Manchester, N.H. headquarters, including NY-Flex elastomeric line of engineered polyamides and nylon product family, NXTamid L.
- The new manufacturing capacity will provide ample supply of NYCOA’s new long-chain nylons. These are engineered long-chain polyamides that deliver significant performance features compared to short-chain materials.
NYCOA
Nylon Corporation of America, Inc. (NYCOA), a manufacturer of engineered nylon resins, has expanded its product offering and added new production capacity as part of its transformation into a specialty nylon company. NYCOA has introduced three new long-chain nylons and started up new polymerisation lines at its existing Manchester, N.H. headquarters. The company will discuss the latest developments at NPE 2024 May 6-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
NYCOA, a domestic supplier of nylon 6 and 666 copolymers and nylon 66 compounds since 1957, is re-inventing itself by taking its material development and manufacturing know-how to a new level. The company has undertaken a new growth strategy and elevated its leadership role in high-performance nylons by investing and expanding in its research and development efforts and focusing on developing innovative solutions and technologies. The new capacity in Manchester ensures a dedicated future supply of these new long-chain nylon products for a range of markets including transportation, industrial, and sporting goods.
“We’ve responded to the needs of the market and we’re excited about the new path we’ve carved out in the specialty nylons segment. Our mission is simply to be a best-in-class supplier who can cost-effectively fill critical supply gaps for the domestic market,” said Carlos Restrepo, vice president of business development for NYCOA.
NYCOA has invested for short- and long-term growth by expanding capacity and increasing staff significantly at the Manchester facility.
The new manufacturing capacity will provide ample supply of NYCOA’s new long-chain nylons including NXTamid T nylon 6.10 and 6.12 grades. These are engineered long-chain polyamides that deliver significant performance features and a unique balance of properties compared to short-chain materials such as nylon 6 and 66. These products are a drop-in replacement for competitive materials, offering better dimensional stability, lower moisture absorption, and the opportunity for a renewable raw material (for nylon 6.10). NXTamid T nylon grades are suitable for a wide range of processes including injection, extrusion, blow moulding, tubing, and rotomoulding.
NXTamid T 6.10 and 6.12 have high impact strength, excellent wear resistance, good electrical insulation properties, and strong chemical resistance. They also exhibit lower moisture absorption than PA 6 and 6,6 and resist swelling. NXTamid T grades are also less sensitive to stress cracking in several applications. Another interesting performance characteristic of 6.12 and 6.10 is that they retain more of their intrinsic impact resistance and toughness at colder temperatures than shorter-chain nylons such as PA 6 and 6,6.
NYCOA has also launched NXTamid L, a nylon product family that meets or exceeds the performance of nylon 12 and nylon 11 in many applications, and offers a broad range of customisation options. Compared to nylon 12, NXTamid L features a tunable backbone, higher service temperature, and low extractables. It delivers sustainability benefits with a 25% - 60% bio-based composition.
Rounding out the new long-chain nylon offering is the NY-Flex elastomeric line of engineered polyamides which encompass a variety of chemistries, including random copolymer alloys and polyether block copolymers (PEBA). NY-Flex grades provide superior flexibility, low material weight, and high-impact toughness in rubber replacement applications.
Polyether-block-amide (PEBA) copolymers are true elastomeric grades that are based on a polyamide hard segment and polyether soft segment. They deliver excellent recovery and shock-absorbing properties. NYCOA offers PEBA grades in a range of hardnesses from 55-80 Shore D. Customised grades are also offered with specialised additive packages for improved thermal stability, hydrolysis resistance, and UV resistance. These elastomeric grades are used in sports and leisure, athletic shoes, ski boot components, and technical films.
As part of the nylon family expansion, the company has also developed amorphous 6I/6T nylons called NY-Clear. They are high-performance nylons that offer higher temperature resistance, lower moisture absorption, and better retention of properties compared to nylon 6 and nylon 66. Amorphous nylons are known for their excellent dimensional stability, low creep at elevated temperatures, and good chemical resistance compared to many high-performance engineering plastics. NY-Clear is commonly used in flexible food packaging requiring high strength, stiffness, and hydrolysis resistance.