Development of Industry’s lightest Tatami Mat
Tatami as being part of traditional Japanese culture is going through a though time partly due to shift to more western style of flooring such as rugs, carpets or even wood flooring ,and party due to ongoing difficulties with supply of rice straw, the main ingredient in making tatami. The supply issue has been created due to insufficient straw materials, reduced request because of aging of tatami artisans and need for price reduction with consistent quality. As a result of this, there has been a shift toward tatami mat construction materials that do not use any rice straw. One such company that makes alternative material for tatami construction is Dow Kakoh, where the company uses “STYROFOAM” extruded polystyrene foam boards to match the feel of a straw tatami mats resulting in a lighter tatami mat. Read more
Development of an Energy-Efficient, Slim light guide Panel by Kuraray
Kuraray made an announcement on launch of an energy saving, thin, edge-light system light guide panel targeted to be used for LED sign boards. The newly developed product is an ELS acrylic light guide panel designed for sign boards that use LEDs as the luminous source. In comparison to currently used direct-illuminating type fluorescent signboards, the new product features a significantly thinner design while offering even light emission over its entire surface and at same time as it reduces the power consumption as its eco-friendly feature resulting in decrease in running cost. Read more
Development of Thermal Barrier and Odor Dissipating Sheets by Kuraray
When you hear of thermal barrier and odor dissipating sheets the last think comes to mind are cows, horses, or pigs. Well, this is exactly Kuraray’s target market for developing its latest odor dissipating and thermal barrier sheets which specifically developed for barns housing cows, horses, pigs and chickens. Well, I thought this is all about framing and joy of it but apparently company’s thought in developing this solution is contrary to that. Apparently smell of ammonia in such places is considered sever enough to make the farming working environment difficult, dirty and dangerous. But let’s stick to the actual technology for now. The newly developed sheet has a capability of repeatedly absorbing and breaking down ammonia molecules. The newly developed sheet in addition to its odor dissipating quality is an excellent thermal barrier characteristic capable of reflecting extreme radian heat during the summer when placed on roof of such structures as barns. Read more
Release of Lightweight Rooftop Gardening system by Kuraray
Rooftop gardening has become a way of reducing and alleviating the heat island phenomena surrounding Tokyo metropolitan area and at same time participation of the employees of the companies in those buildings in its maintenance is boosting its popularity in other major cities across Japan. The practice is considered to be beneficial in preventing the reflection of sunlight, lessening rainwater drainage, achieving heat insulation that effectively reduces air conditioning costs and at the same time proving an area suitable for rest and relaxation. But one major issue with conventional rooftop gardening systems has been the limitation on the amount of soil used in order to reduce the load on buildings which has resulted in increased soil temperature and in turn a greater tendency towards drying requiring a regular watering and cleaning. Read more
Development of New Thermoplastic Elastomer by Kuraray
In reinforcing and enhancing its SEPTON and HYBRAR families of high performance, highly functional thermoplastic elastomer products, Kuraray made an announcement on development of SEPTON K Series featuring superior bondability to glass and metal. Read more
