Samsung’s fridge LED lamp housing using INEOS Styrolution’s K-Resin (image courtesy of Samsung Electronics, 2021)

• K-Resin^® KR01 selected for ease of processing, high transparency and good balance of stiffness and impact strength
• K-Resin KR01’s toughness enables non breakage during the disassembling process, promoting longer part durability
• K-Resin KR01 is compliant with food contact regulations[1] and an ideal material of choice for the household industry

INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, announced today that its K-Resin KR01 has been selected by Samsung, one of the world’s leading consumer electronics and household manufacturers headquartered in Korea, to be used for its fridge LED lamp housing.

Samsung was seeking a highly transparent material conforming to Directive 2009/125/EC, a framework to set mandatory ecological requirements for energy-using and energy-related products including refrigerators. A particular focus was on excluding breakage during the disassembling process.

K-Resin KR01 possesses excellent transparency and high toughness resulting in no breakage during the disassembling as outlined in the eco-design requirements. In addition, laboratory results also demonstrated that the LED lighting inside the refrigerator had no impact on the color fastness of KR01.

“As a leading consumer electronics and household manufacturer, Samsung aspires to stay at the forefront of the industry’s innovation and trends. The performance of K-Resin KR01 fits exactly our needs and enables us to fulfil the requirements set by the European Commission. We appreciate the support from INEOS Styrolution,” says Mr. Nocheol Park, Principal Engineer, Samsung Electronics.

“We are proud that Samsung has chosen INEOS Styrolution once again. This new application is yet another step during our continued partnership,” says Paulo Motta, Vice President, Specialties Business Management, Asia Pacific, INEOS Styrolution. “We are fully committed to continue providing Samsung with innovative material solutions like in this case and fulfilling their ambition in the electronics and household industry.”

K-Resin is INEOS Styrolution’s crystal-clear thermoplastic styrene-butadiene copolymers (SBC) and is known for its unique blend of sparkling clarity, impact toughness, stiffness and exceptional gloss. With international food contact regulations compliance[2], our K-Resin range is an excellent material choice for applications requiring food contact compliance. It has been used in a wide variety of applications ranging from packaging and toys to medical components and displays for over 40 years.

INEOS Styrolution’s range of crystal-clear thermoplastic SBC, namely K-Resin, Styrolux^® and Styroflex^® offer an impressive combination of high transparency, brilliance and impact resistance making them suitable for use in applications across various industries including healthcare, packaging and toys.

[1] Full details of our food contact statements are available upon request for our customers for whom this is relevant. These statements also identify certain tests that need to be carried out by the customer on the finished moulded article.

[2] including USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Union (EU) and Chinese National GB standards