Easy transition from plastic to Naturacell
The Company: Rotary Pen, Garwood, NJ
The Opportunity: Rotary Pen was suffering setback after setback in its quest to produce an eco-friendly line of pens.
“We tried different techniques and methods, but nothing we did gave us the results we were looking for,” said Matt Shea, vice president. “We couldn’t get the molds we wanted and the colors changed due to the plastics’ sensitivity to heat.”
And then there were the special tooling changes required …
The Solution: Finally, Rotary Pen found Naturacell®, a sustainable polymer that’s easy to manufacture and boasts excellent physical properties.
“It molds beautifully,” said Shea. “The difference was night and day between the other plastics we had tried and Naturacell.”
Shea also points out that no special tooling was required to use Naturacell, allowing the company to continue using its stock molds without any adjustments.
The Results: Rotary Pen rolled out the Naturacell-based Eco-Stick and Eco-Retractable pens this year. Initial response has been positive, and the company believes the demand will continue to grow.
“When you look at the fluctuations in the oil market, moving toward something that is more sustainable makes sense,” says Shea. “There is a definite push for more eco-friendly products and Rotary Pen, with the help of Rotuba and Naturacell, is poised to meet this demand.”
