Aminoplast resins: the proactive strategy of Technicaps

Interview by Jean-Yves Bourgeois

29 April 2013

“In terms of sustainable development, explains Jean-Louis Revel, CEO of Technicaps, aminoplast resins (bakelite, urea and melamine resins) are among the oldest materials used in perfumery and cosmetic packaging and are probably the best suited to help face the new challenges that are currently at stake, and which will certainly continue to grow steadily in the years to come.” Furthermore, these resins are not derived from the oil industry and are made up of almost 40% of renewable materials (cellulose). On the technical side: a natural high density, a metallic sonority, a cold touch, a depth of colour obtained with colour pigments, a very strong ability for the reproducibility of aspects, are all major assets for these products. All these features also make counterfeiting even more difficult. “Regarding transformation, he says, we constantly improve ourselves, particularly concerning temperature controls, precision of dosages, and of the dust-free processing of finished parts. Our real business is also knowing how to distribute powders and press them” Explanations...

Premium Beauty News - What finally is a thermosetting resin made of?

Jean-Louis Revel - It is mainly made of cellulose originating from managed forests, of urea, which is one of the most widely used fertilizers in the world, of formaldehyde and pigments. Urea is the result of nitrogen and oxygen and formaldehyde originates from natural gas and oxygen. The pigments do not contain heavy metals. Regarding formaldehyde, it occurs naturally in the atmosphere (for the record, the quantity in ppm of formaldehyde present in one of our parts is ridiculously small compared to the amount of formaldehyde present in a pear of pork meat). Formaldehyde is eliminated through decomposition in the air and is biodegradable in the ground or water.

Premium Beauty News - Clearly, these different products that enter into the composition of a thermosetting piece make it a product especially in line with current and future environmental concerns?

Jean-Louis Revel - This is a real opportunity and a tremendous asset to the perfumery and cosmetic sector. Because it doesn’t stop there! At the level of the manufacturing of our compounds, waste material from the manufacturing process are scattered in the fields as a slow-release fertilizer. While the waste we have generated is reprocessed and used as an abrasive to remove paint from aircraft cabins.

Premium Beauty News - You have wanted to scientifically verify with your upstream and downstream partners the safety of this product.

Jean-Louis Revel - Indeed, we wanted on the one hand to check with our suppliers, that our employees operating in the workshop were safe, and secondly to be able, to ensure that for the end user, there was no formaldehyde in the air. This required the characterization of thermosetting resins at our suppliers. And I must say they have made considerable efforts to undertake these permanent controls under the ISO 14000 and 18000 certification processes. We also wanted to proceed to an air analysis in our own manufacturing premises. This analysis concluded to a full compliance under the regulations.

As for consumers, tests were also conclusive. Tests conducted last year resulted in the conclusion that formaldehyde was not detectable for example by submitting caps to temperatures of 23°C and 35°C in a room for 28 days. Hence, there is also no heavy metals, no halogenated compounds and no organic solvents. In addition, the powder is biodegradable.

To note also that our resins are not submitted to REACH.

In conclusion, a responsible industry that guarantees users the safety of a product which is friendly to nature upstream and downstream the production channel.

Premium Beauty News - You also undertook an analysis of the life cycle?

Jean-Louis Revel - And the results, again, are convincing. Main arguments: a 37%, bio-sourced origin, a 70% renewable origin (cellulose, nitrogen, C02), impacts of the same order of magnitude than those of other plastics used in cosmetics, identified areas for improvement.

TECHNICAPS: A LEADER IN ITS SEGMENT

The French firm based in Challes (72) achieved in 2012 a turnover of 10 million Euros. With a fleet of 60 compression carousel machines, with a thrust of 5 to 200 tonnes and of 2 to 60 cavities, Technicaps can mould both screw caps, lids and jars.

Main advantages of thermosetting parts: First the historical and vintage side of the product, the depth of colour , a very characteristic sonority, a unique cold touch, no injection gate, no shrinkage, no deformation, an exceptional tightness, a sharp edge.

“Size compliance offers the possibility to produce multi-material parts, and the moulding of non-uniform thicknesses, allows for the design of monoblock parts,” explains Revel.

Latest development to date, a new standard spray bag (with a magnet cap).

Latest launches to date, again a magnet cap for the Swedish company Byredo, not to mention the cover of “34 Faubourg” by Diptyque, and the range of “boutique” perfumes for Chanel.