Barcelona, Spain – April 10, 2008. In its contribution to a sustainable world and environment protection, Merquinsa will launch its first renewable sourced Pearlbond® ECO grades for adhesives at WAC 2008 (World Adhesives Conference from April 20th to 23rd, Miami, Florida).

The new Pearlbond® ECO TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethanes) grades made from renewable sources and based on Merquinsa´s breakthrough proprietary ECO technology (patent pending) address market needs for performing and environmentally friendly adhesives solutions.

The newly developed Pearlbond® ECO product grades include:

• Pearlbond® ECO D900: This grade is designed for a wide range of footwear and textile applications such as eco-friendly shoe stiffeners or thermobonding textile tapes and films. It can be processed by extrusion or in powder form via sintering. Its adhesive performance and its Oeko-Tex Class I compliance, along with its 75% renewable content as certified according to ASTM-D6866, makes this grade a material of choice for a new generation of non-reactive hot melt adhesives.
• Pearlbond® ECO D590: This grade is Merquinsa´s latest innovation in TPUs for High Performance Reactive Hot Melts (RHM). It provides formulators with a new set of features and benefits related to green strength and setting/open times to address current challenges presented by water-based adhesives in the automotive and furniture industries.

Merquinsa will continue to develop and invest in the most effective TPU technologies and operating procedures to innovate, while monitoring the environmental impact of its business.

About Merquinsa
Merquinsa is a leading thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) specialty producer, providing innovative products for injection molding, extrusion, calendering, melt coating, compounding and adhesives applications.

Merquinsa’s headquarters are in Barcelona, Spain with regional centers in North America and in Asia.

For more information about Merquinsa, and PEARLBOND®, PEARLCOAT®, PEARLSTICK®, and PEARLTHANE® Specialty TPU resins, please visit our Web site at www.merquinsa.com.