Case study: DOMO Chemicals develops sustainable safety knives

DOMO Chemicals, a European producer of sustainable polyamide-based engineered materials, has announced a successful joint project with MARTOR for the development of a new family of sustainable safety knives. 

DOMO’s PA6-based TECHNYL 4EARTH materials will be used to mould MARTOR’s new ECO line of safety knives, SECUMAX 148, and SECUMAX 350 SE. Already existing models previously developed with virgin-based alternatives from fossil oil will further expand the ECO by MARTOR approach. 

These new TECHNYL 4EARTH solutions with different glass fibre percentages made of 100% recycled polyamide perfectly match the application’s mechanical requirements and offer excellent aesthetics, while also providing significant sustainability credentials compared to virgin polymer-based solutions. 

“At MARTOR we have been combining quality with innovation to manufacture premium cutting tools for industrial and professional purposes for more than 80 years,” said Sylke Wendt, Head of Product Management at MARTOR. “Today, we have achieved a significant milestone with the launch of these new products, delivering not only safety and performance but also enhanced sustainability. Making use of recycled raw materials with certified environmental benefits is a first achievement. The next phase will be the reuse of end-of-life knives to become truly circular.” 

The TECHNYL 4EARTH materials used for MARTOR’s knives provide a significantly reduced CO2 footprint compared to virgin-based alternatives. As confirmed by the EPD certified data, the level of CO2 emitted in the production of an unfilled solutions is 0.3 kg CO2 equivalent and 1.3 kg CO2 eq. for 35% glass fibre reinforced grades. If compared with the global warming potential (GWP) of virgin equivalent alternatives, using the same dataset, this results in a CO2 reduction of between 60 and 90%.

“DOMO’s family of TECHNYL 4EARTH solutions is continuously expanding. We are investing in new feedstocks as well as new recycling technology to meet the growing demand for sustainable alternatives, especially in the consumer goods market,” said Arndt Lechner, Global Key Account Manager C&E Market at DOMO Engineered Materials. “Today, we are supplying MARTOR with post-industrial black materials, but as a next step we are developing sustainable alternatives in natural shades, allowing them to match their corporate blue,” he added. 

“In DOMO we have found a new and trusted partner for sustainable development, and we will continue to collaborate with them to explore further opportunities to foster circularity,” concluded Dr. Daniel Zuber, Head of Development and Technical Design at MARTOR.