KYDEX, LLC.

BOLD. CONTEMPORARY. PLAYFUL AND PRACTICAL.  That’s just a sampling of the reaction to the new KYDEX colour palette. This versatile offering has applications in all industries, and consists of six collections: Constant, Impulse, Resolve, Tangents, Tempest and Repose. The names evoke moods, but leave designers leeway to interpret them, mix and match between collections, and make them their own. Visit our page on colour to download a PDF of the palette. Of course, designers also can request custom colours to match their vision.

ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE. For decades, translucency was the impossible dream of airline interior designers. Thanks to KYDEX, light and colour are now free to move about the cabin. Light-diffusing KYDEX® FST is available now in neutral, frosted-looking white, with more colours debuting soon. Learn more in our designLab™ U.S. – based KYDEX, LLC is the innovator and global leader in thermoplastic sheet. As a partner from initial inspiration through final implementation, KYDEX provides limitless custom colour choices, varied textures and finishes and fully compliant products. If designers can visualize it, the KYDEX designLab™ can help make it real, with our durable proprietary sheet. You’ll find KYDEX® product lines in high-profile industries, including aviation, mass transit, medical devices and more. Doing whatever it takes to deliver exceptional value, responsive service and breakthrough solutions that are second to none is the mission of every member of the KYDEX team. Call 800.325.3133 or visit www.kydex.com for more information. story, and then visit our Translucents Section on our website.

KYDEX OFFERS MICROBAN® ANTIMICROBIAL TECHNOLOGY. You’ve probably used products that employ Microban® antimicrobial protection without even knowing it! It’s used in everything from cutting boards to running shoes. Microban® protection fights the growth of bacteria that can cause odors, stains and product deterioration, by helping to minimize microbes. And it’s now standard in KYDEX® T at no extra cost to KYDEX customers. You can learn more about the benefits of Microban® by visiting www.microban.com/kydex .

A MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH FROM OUR LABORATORY! No, our designLab™ hasn’t cured the common cold. But KYDEX is introducing a new thermoplastic sheeting solution engineered specifically for medical device housings. Manufacturers are always looking for ways to make their products lighter and more heat-resistant. KYDEX® 430 thermoplastic sheet achieves both goals, while eliminating operating interference metal casings can cause. This proprietary ABS/PVC blend is lightweight and engineered to withstand high heat distortion levels that can cause other casings to sag. KYDEX® 430 has passed the ball pressure test and is available in a wide range of standard and custom colours and textures.

WHAT WILL YOU CREATE AT OUR designLab™? Our designLab™ is your center for inspiration, collaboration and total satisfaction. And it’s growing in every way. Learn more about what’s new, exciting and innovative in our designLab™ feature story.

Dear KYDEX® Expressions reader,

What does “innovative” mean to you? For some, it’s a cliché that belongs shelved away with other trendy business vernacular. For others, its mere mention sends people scattering, almost as quickly as “creative.” For a moment, let’s talk about what these words don’t mean. It may surprise you that being innovative doesn’t mean “to invent,” because people often use the terms interchangeably. Innovation isn’t something that happens in an “a ha!” moment, inspired by some revelation or celestial muse. As author Scott Burkun in his book, The Myths of Innovation posits,

"Successful entrepreneurs do not wait until “the Muse kisses them” and gives them a “bright idea”: they go to work. …The same can be said for any successful scientist, technologist, or innovator. What matters is the ability to see a problem clearly, combined with the talent to solve it. Both of those tasks are generally undefined, however unglamorously, as work."1

So Burkun asserts innovation is the result of tried and true effort. Great! We know we can work hard. Now, what about “creative”? I’ve been known to discount myself as “uncreative,” by buying into a widely-held notion that only a select group of people are born creative. On the contrary, recent studies of creativity have proven that it isn’t a trait or a talent, but a cognitive function, which everyone can train their brains to assert. 2

In his upcoming book “Imagine: How Creativity Works” Jonah Lehrer explores how different kinds of creative problems benefit from different kinds of creative thinking. “The good news is that the human mind has the surprising ability to assess the kind of creativity we need. Researchers call these intuitions “feelings of knowing,” and they occur when we suspect that we can find the answer, if only we keep on thinking.”3

We’re well acquainted with these feelings. So we keep at it until we find the answer. We knew we could devise a versatile, design-forward colour palette that would work across industries and applications (to much acclaim). Check. We knew we could invent new products for the aviation and medical industries and revolutionize design possibilities. Done. We also knew we needed a place to continue our innovation in closer physical collaboration with our customers and their product teams. Moving along as planned.

We’re certainly hard at work here flexing our creativity and innovation muscles, for the benefit of you, our customers.

Read on and be inspired with us. Visit our website often to see our creativity at work. Give us your feedback at info@kydex.com.

Most gratefully yours,
Jim Medalie, President

1Berkun, Scott. The Myths of Innovation (O’Reilly Media, Inc. 2010)

2.3Lehrer, Jonah. “How To Be Creative,” http://online.wsj.com, accessed March 9, 2012.

From an in-house lab to the center of inspiration for designers worldwide. That’s the KYDEX designLab™ journey. In-progress at our Bloomsburg, PA plant, the designLab™ drives innovation, collaboration, and custom colour solutions for our customers. 

But we’re not waiting for the ribbon cutting at our all-new designLab™ to introduce new products that our customers will value.  Months of experimentation and testing have produced the first fully-compliant translucent thermoplastic sheeting in industry history. Its ability to diffuse light, transform colour, and make the most of airline lighting systems, will change aviation interior design forever. The creation of a new compound, KYDEX® FST, helped make it all possible. It makes colours pop while lending them extraordinary depth and richness. KYDEX® FST is also available in non-translucent sheet.

We’ve also introduced KYDEX® XD03, an integral pearlescent sheet for flat lamination and membrane pressed applications. This proprietary sheet is specifically designed to make the most of LED lighting within building and retail interiors.  It provides great definition while surpassing vinyl overlays, high pressure laminates and melamine in resistance to surface and edge impact. Durability and grace under pressure. Both hallmarks of KYDEX products and service, now and in the future.

We would love to see you at our designLab™ . It’s your center for collaboration, customization and complete satisfaction. And be sure to visit the new Colours and Translucents sections on our website to get more information, and view our new online video series with renowned KYDEX design consultant, David Scott.

It’s the time of the year to make our intercontinental whirlwind tour of shows and expos. We introduced our new colour palette to rave reviews in February. Next stop, Hamburg for the debut of translucents.

BUSINESS JET INTERIORS EXPO 2012
February 22-23

KYDEX stands alone for innovative thermoplastic sheeting solutions. However, other materials can be incorporated into KYDEX thermoplastic to produce new benefits. KYDEX met with other exhibitors at the Expo to explore the possibilities firsthand. One example is a finishing procedure that combined with KYDEX sheet forms an end-product that looks entirely different. Yet it could not be produced without the unique properties of proprietary KYDEX products.

In addition to these productive sessions, many booth visitors met KYDEX for the first time. They got to talk with our in-house design consultant, David Scott about his many luxury jet projects, and the exciting potential he sees for KYDEX products in upscale aviation. With the upcoming introduction of fully FAA-compliant KYDEX translucents at the end of March, the excitement is just beginning. 

GLOBALSHOP
February 29 – March 2

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas! KYDEX presented the new 64-colour Library Collection to a GlobalShop audience eager for the new and different. And judging from the response, the bold new KYDEX palette will be appearing in retail interiors and fixtures worldwide in the near future.

Visitors, repeat visitors and their colleagues made the KYDEX booth a hub of GlobalShop activity. Guests representing exclusive brands were amazed at the vibrancy, versatility and variety of the choices. And the interactivity at the booth brought everything to life, and brought guests back for more.

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS EXPO 2012
March 27-29

At AIX in Hamburg, Germany, we will be proud to introduce KYDEX® FST frosted-look translucents. This long-awaited breakthrough lets designers explore the possibilities of light and colour like never before. FAA-compliant KYDEX® FST sheet offers expanded versatility, durability and environmental benefits. The KYDEX® 6503 aviation-specific palette is expanding too, with eight new colours. We hope you can visit us at the show, form some samples at our booth, and bring us your toughest challenges to solve.