Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 11th April 2024 Issue no. 1109

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Microban teams up with Rifra masterbatches

Microban International has signed a distributor agreement with global tailor-made additives specialist and sustainability champion Rifra Masterbatches, based in Italy.

The two companies share a goal of providing novel masterbatches with antimicrobial properties, to offer their injection, blow moulding, extrusion and compounding customers more choice.

Rifra Masterbatches has provided various additives to the packaging, building, medical device, E&E, and toy industries for over 40 years - and, from its very earliest origins, has thrived on the philosophy of addressing the needs of its customers. The company has recognised an increasing interest in including antimicrobial technologies into plastics - especially in the heightened awareness of the pandemic - and welcomes the opportunity to work with Microban, a leading expert in the field, to address this need.

Antimicrobials have always been of interest for manufacturing companies, but adding them into products can be challenging and is fraught with regulatory loopholes. Microban has a wealth of expertise in incorporating built-in antimicrobial protection into a vast array of products, and has a similar customer-focused approach to Rifra. The partnership will begin as a distributor agreement, but both parties look forward to exploring further opportunities for the co-development of unique additive products which will combine features and simplify formulations.

"We are particularly excited about partnering with Rifra Masterbatches,” says Giorgio Rimini, director of business development for Europe at Microban. “It is a global player in the plastic additives field with an extremely bright future, and we look forward to discovering some really exciting prospects on the horizon together."

Elisabetta Rampa, general manager at Rifra Masterbatches, adds: "Most masterbatch producers have decided to avoid an antimicrobial product portfolio because of the challenges associated with formulation and regulatory requirements. However, we wanted to address the needs of our customers, and have chosen to work with Microban, the global leader in the field, to achieve this goal."

www.microban.com / www.rifra.it

3rd February 2022