Kraton Announces Plans to Showcase Latest Advancements in Elastic Nonwovens, NEXAR™ Polymers for Performance Fabrics, and C5 Resin Alternatives for Adhesives at INDEX 11 GENEVA PALEXPO, April 12-15, 2011, Geneva, Switzerland

News provided by

Mar 23, 2011, 08:00 ET

HOUSTON, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. (NYSE: KRA), a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers or "SBCs," announces plans to showcase and discuss its latest innovations in elastic nonwovens, NEXAR™ Polymers, and C5 Resin alternatives for adhesives at INDEX 11 in the GENEVA PALEXPO Exhibition and Conference Centre, Geneva, Switzerland.

INDEX 11, which is considered to be one of the world's leading nonwovens exhibition, is the ideal venue for Kraton Polymers to showcase its latest innovations in adhesives, elastic nonwovens, and NEXAR polymers for performance fabrics. "We believe that INDEX 11 will provide tremendous opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration, which has historically resulted in new, innovative, and specialized product solutions that meet the most rigorous industry demands for higher-performance," said Mark Siebert, Vice President, Adhesives, Sealants and Coatings. "We expect that key players—from all application sectors around the world—will be in attendance, and we look forward to helping them find solutions to their innovative challenges and product shortages," he concluded.

Kraton scientists and executives will be at the company's showcase in booth 4215 to discuss the features, benefits and applications of Kraton's latest innovations in the following end uses:

Elastic Nonwovens for Single-Use Disposables and Durable Fabrics: Kraton Polymers' new polymer technology offers superior softness, bi-axial stretch and solid durability breaking through the process barriers of conventional styrenic block copolymers. The competitive advantage lies in the design and optimization of the copolymer while still being suitable for high speed processing. These elastic nonwovens are proven to be drapeable and non-tacky enabling the creation of products that are soft, quiet, and discreet. Kraton polymers impart the stretch and flexibility required in personal care products and offer improved comfort in items such as scrub suit apparel, medical gown laminates and wound care dressings. These polymers paired with polyester and nylon making interesting fabrics for uniforms, outdoor apparel and furnishings.

NEXAR™ Polymers (Performance Fabrics): NEXAR polymers' selectively permeable membranes and coatings provide a unique solution that addresses the needs of textile innovators for high performance and breathable fabrics. They can be used in sports apparel, outdoor apparel and gear, military and industrial uniforms, as well as medical and geotextile applications. NEXAR polymers are lightweight and flexible, offer selective permeability in a nonporous membrane, deliver an excellent moisture transmission rate, do not require special equipment or processes, provide high strength in wet and dry environments and are chemical and chlorine resistant.

Adhesives: Kraton Polymers has technologies that can be used in hot melt formulations to support the needs of market growth while reducing the demand on C5 resins. These adhesives can be used in tapes and labels and are considered to be the cornerstone technology for diaper and feminine napkin construction. Styrenic block copolymers in conjunction with C5 and aromatic-modified tackifying resins have been the preferred choice given their wide formulation latitude and application ease. Kraton Polymers has developed an alternative solution that requires 15% less C5 while delivering similar adhesion properties and formulated costs to current industry standard formulations. Our unique SIBS based polymer provides an immediate option to support the growth and innovation needs of innovators without sacrificing performance. In addition, our latest developments can be extended to SBS polymer grades typically used for nonwoven construction. Kraton Polymers' research and development efforts continue to explore new chemistry options to reduce the dependency on scarce formulating ingredients.

In addition to the product showcase highlighted above, attendees are invited to attend the presentation of two technical papers by Kraton Polymers research scientists Martine Dupont and John Flood, respectively. The first presentation, entitled Kraton Polymer Technologies Reduce or Eliminate C5 Tackifying Resins, will be held on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, from 4:00 p.m.- 4:20 p.m. The second presentation, co-authored by The Nonwovens Institute, North Carolina State University, is entitled Elastic Nonwovens Using Styrenic Block Copolymers: the Next Generation of Spunbond and Melt Blown Fabrics for Durable and Disposable Applications. This presentation will occur on Wednesday, April 13, from 11:50 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.

We invite you to attend the technical presentations and stop by Kraton Polymers booth 4215 at INDEX 11. To schedule a personal consultation with our experts, please contact Vaneese Bell at +1-281-504-4792 or [email protected]. For more information about Kraton Polymers' products, please visit our website at www.Kraton.com or e-mail [email protected]. Customer questions and other direct inquiries may also be addressed by calling +32 10 470 697 (Europe) or our USA headquarters at +1-800-4-Kraton.

About Kraton Polymers

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., through its operating subsidiary Kraton Polymers LLC and its subsidiaries, is a leading global producer of engineered polymers and, we believe, the world's largest producer of styrenic block copolymers ("SBCs"), a family of products whose chemistry was pioneered by us almost fifty years ago. SBCs are highly-engineered thermoplastic elastomers, which enhance the performance of numerous products by delivering a variety of attributes, including greater flexibility, resilience, strength, durability and processability. Our polymers are used in a wide range of applications, including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants and lubricants, and medical, packaging, automotive, paving, roofing and footwear products. We currently offer approximately 800 products to more than 700 customers in over 60 countries worldwide, and are the only SBC producer with manufacturing and service capabilities on four continents. We manufacture products at five plants globally, including our flagship plant in Belpre, Ohio, as well as plants in Germany, France and Brazil, and a joint venture plant operated in Japan.

Kraton, the Kraton logo and design, Cariflex, Nexar and the "Giving Innovators their Edge" tagline are all trademarks of Kraton Polymers LLC.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements," which are statements other than statements of historical fact and are often characterized by the use of words such as "believes," "expects," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "intends," "plans" or "anticipates," or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations and estimates, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors" contained in our Annual Report on 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and as subsequently updated in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and include risks related to: conditions in the global economy and capital markets; our reliance on LyondellBasell Industries for the provision of significant operating and other services; the failure of our raw materials suppliers to perform their obligations under long-term supply agreements, or our inability to replace or renew these agreements when they expire; limitations in the availability of raw materials we need to produce our products in the amounts or at the prices necessary for us to effectively and profitably operate our business; competition in our end-use markets, by other producers of SBCs and by producers of products that can be substituted for our products; our ability to produce and commercialize technological innovations; our ability to protect our intellectual property, on which our business is substantially dependent; infringement of our products on the intellectual property rights of others; seasonality in our Paving and Roofing business; financial and operating constraints related to our substantial level of indebtedness; product liability claims and other lawsuits arising from environmental damage or personal injuries associated with chemical manufacturing; political and economic risks in the various countries in which we operate; the inherently hazardous nature of chemical manufacturing; health, safety and environmental laws, including laws that govern our employees' exposure to chemicals deemed harmful to humans; regulation of our customers, which could affect the demand for our products or result in increased compliance costs; international trade, export control, antitrust, zoning and occupancy and labor and employment laws that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs; our relationship with our employees; loss of key personnel or our inability to attract and retain new qualified personnel; fluctuations in currency exchange rates ; the fact that we do not enter into long-term contracts with our customers; a decrease in the fair value of our pension assets, which could require us to materially increase future funding of the pension plan; and concentration of ownership among our principal stockholder, which may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update such information.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100728/DA42514LOGO)

For Further Information:
Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.
Media: Marcie Coronado +1-281-504-4975

SOURCE Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.