Plasticisers: Synthetic Material for Cordage

Abstract

Plasticisers Ltd gained the Queen’s Award for a new method of producing a fibrous form of polypropylene used for twine and ropes. The technique initially involved the extrusion of a film which was subsequently water-cooled, slit and stretched to the point at which it tended to split into fibres, this last process being known as fibrillation. The post-innovation performance of Plasticisers can be divided into two distinct periods. The first was characterised by the progressive development of fibrillation technology, which was superseded by the second when access to a different method of producing polypropylene fibre became available.