Winona, MN, USA – October 29, 2008 – When Plasticade Products, a division of American Louver, wanted to develop a strong, durable all-plastic real estate yard sign that could be easily installed and would not fade in the sun, it turned to custom compounder RTP Company for assistance.

According to Carol Salas, Director of Operations at American Louver, "We wanted to provide an alternative to traditional metal signs which, too often, show signs of corrosion, indicating that moisture has penetrated their protective coating and resulted in a rusted or blistered finish -- not the best drive-up impression an agent could hope for."

RTP Company uses a glass fiber reinforced RTP 100 Series polypropylene compound with glass fiber reinforcement from their Value Products line of materials. RTP Company supplies the compound in black and natural versions, while Plasticade adds a white masterbatch to the natural.

"In order to be competitive with metal signs," continued Salas, "We needed an economically-priced compound that provided durability and flexibility. The signs had to be strong enough to withstand hammering to drive its legs six inches (15 cm) into the ground."

The main specification factor was melt flow in the 9-14 g/10 min range to make the processing of the large signs feasible via gas-assist molding. RTP Company recommended using a glass fiber reinforced RTP 100 Series polypropylene compound with glass fiber reinforcement from their Value Products line of materials. RTP Company supplies the compound in black and natural versions, while Plasticade adds a white masterbatch to the natural. "We chose standard black and white colors for the signs," said Salas, "to frame vibrant colors on the advertising."

RTP Company Value Products materials are recommended when typical properties and price competitiveness are required, explained Kevin Jennings, General Manager–Value Products for RTP Company. "With these products we are able to provide a limited number of industry standard compounds at very competitive prices for applications that do not require special engineering."

"RTP Company was very helpful. They worked with us in selecting the correct compound at a competitive price, which helped us compete against metal signs," said Salas. "Our Realicade and T-Cade signs are strong, durable and lightweight. They last longer than metal, and they do not fade, require painting, or rust."

Plasticade tested the new signs in Florida and was very pleased with customer feedback. "An important advantage is that our plastic signs are much cooler to the touch during handling than metal signs," said Salas. "A metal sign retains heat from sunlight exposure, and people can actually burn their hands while trying to pick up and move metal signs. In contrast, realtors can grab and hold onto our signs without any concern for injury."

About RTP Company
RTP Company, headquartered in Winona, Minnesota, is a global leader in specialty thermoplastic compounding. The company has eight manufacturing plants on three continents, plus sales representatives throughout North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. RTP Company’s engineers develop custom compounds in over 60 different engineering resin systems for applications requiring color, conductive, elastomeric, flame retardant, high temperature, shielding, structural, and wear resistant properties.