Lehigh Technologies Expands Research and Development Capabilities

ATLANTA, Jan. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Lehigh Technologies Inc., a leading sustainable materials company, announced today that it has strengthened its state-of-the-art research and development capabilities, adding Chad Jasiunas as Technical Manager for Functional Materials and investing significantly in new mixing and analytical equipment for its Application and Development Center (ADC). This expansion enables Lehigh to drive further adoption of its sustainable micronized rubber powder (MRP) material in green tire applications,

"The global green tire market is expected to grow significantly over the next five years," said Alan Barton, CEO of Lehigh Technologies. "Lehigh has positioned itself to support this growth by establishing best-in-class research and development facilities and a strong technical team. These latest expansions are an important part of that strategy and will reinforce peer-level technical relationships with major tire companies."

Jasiunas joins Lehigh's ADC team with more than a decade of international experience in the development of solution-SBR systems. Prior to joining Lehigh, he worked at some of the world's largest tire and rubber companies, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Synthos S.A., Europe's largest manufacturer of emulsion rubber polymers.

"Chad brings with him years of top-tier experience as a solution-SBR research engineer," said Adel Halasa, Ph.D., a Lehigh Advisory Board member. "His background in both solution and functional SBR technologies will help Lehigh to continue delivering MRP-based functional systems for Green Tire applications that provide optimum performance and sustainability."

Alongside the expansion of the technology team, Lehigh has made significant investments in advanced silica-silane mixing and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) capabilities. The new internal mixing unit was custom-built to Lehigh specifications and includes precision speed and temperature control as well as capability for mixing high viscosity silica-silane-SBR compounds.  The new DMA is a Metravib model DMA+ 1000. The capabilities of this state-of-the-art unit include measurement of predictive parameters critical to green tire performance such as rolling resistance, traction, and handling under a wide range of conditions.

"Having advanced mixing and DMA testing capabilities is critical to the development of functional materials based on MRP," said Tom Rosenmayer, Lehigh's vice president of technology. "Among its peers, Lehigh is unique in having this capability in-house, enabling us to work more efficiently with our customers to develop innovative solutions to meet their needs."

MRPs lower costs, increase the sustainability profile of end products and deliver performance without sacrificing the reliability and performance offered by traditional raw materials. Lehigh's customer base already includes five of the top ten tire companies in the world, and more than 250 million tires have been manufactured using its MRP technology.

About Lehigh Technologies
Lehigh Technologies is a leading sustainable materials company that is transforming end-of-life tire and post-industrial rubber into highly engineered, sustainable powders called Micronized Rubber Powder (MRP) that are being used in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. Lehigh's energy efficient cryogenic turbo mill technology breaks down these raw materials to micron scale powders that are sold to manufacturers of advanced products, including high-performance tires, industrial rubber, consumer and industrial plastics goods, asphalt and coatings and construction materials. The Tucker, Georgia-based company is privately held and backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures, NGP Energy Technology Partners and Leaf Clean Energy. For more information, please visit www.lehightechnologies.com.

SOURCE Lehigh Technologies