Foster Corporation Appointed Distributor of United Soft Plastics’ Thermoplastic Elastomers

Foster Corporation, a leader in medical and pharmaceutical material solutions, has been appointed the exclusive distributor of United Soft Plastics’ (USP) Unisoft stryrenic block copolymers for the North American healthcare markets. Effective Nov., Foster Corporation is providing sales, technical and order fulfillment support to customers from their regional stocking facilities in Nevada and Connecticut.
 
Styrenic block copolymers are thermoplastic elastomers comprised of rigid styrenic and flexible elastomer molecular chain segments. A wide variety of grades, with unique flexibility and strength properties, can be achieved through modification of the styrene/elastomer segment ratios. As a result, styrenic block copolymers are used in many medical applications, including catheter tubing, tourniquets, medical bags and syringe gaskets.
 
USP Unisoft styrenic block copolymers are latex and plasticizer free, and resistant to gamma and ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization. Standard grades include transparent and translucent options, and can be custom pigmented for a range of vibrant colors. Specialty grades are available for enhanced overmolding adhesion on grips and handles, reduced compression set for gaskets and seals, and lipid resistance.
 
“The addition of USP styrene block copolymers expands our portfolio of performance and value solutions to healthcare customers,” said Larry Johnson, executive vice president of Foster Corporation. “USP has selected us as an exclusive distributor due to our unique focus on medical customers from new product development through production. Accordingly, we intend to offer Unisoft grades in 25 kg (55 lb.) through truckload quantities.” 
 
Headquartered in Lawrenceville, Ga., USP offers production capacity of more than 7,000 metric tons (1.5 million pounds) and over 2,100 different soft polymer formulations from seven product lines. USP serves customers in over 22 countries around the world from a single facility built in 2002 with state-of-the-art production equipment and the latest building and safety standards.
 
For more than 25 years Foster Corporation has been serving medical device manufacturers with technology and service in custom biomedical polymer compounding. Within two ISO 13485:2003- and ISO 9001:2008-certified facilities, Foster offers formulation development and production of polymer enhancements including radiopaque fillers, custom colors, and other specialty additives. The company is based in Putnam, Conn.