One big advantage of Teknor Apex�s Flexalloy� vinyl TPE for insulation and jacketing is that is weighs only half as much as rubber, according to Mr James Crisman, vice president of the entertainment division of Coast Wire & Plastics Technology. This makes it possible to increase overhead lighting. �Everyone wants a bigger show and more bang for the buck, but there is a limit to the weight that the ceiling structure can support. One customer using our Flexalloy-based products told us that for every rubber cable they run, they could run two of ours�. Mr Crisman added: �Flexalloy compound also provides greater flexibility than conventional vinyl, even at low temperature � a critical advantage at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. To wire video and other feeds to the top of ski slopes, crews snaked hundreds of feet of cable up the side of the mountain, and the cable sat there for days in below-zero weather. Conventional materials cracked. We used Flexalloy and had no problem�. Even in warmer environments, flexibility is so important for speedy wiring of crowded entertainment venues that Coast Wire is rolling out a new line of entertainment cable based on Flexalloy compound and designed by Mr Crisman, with the trade name FlexOLite� Touring Cable.

One key to the advanced performance of Flexalloy compound is that it is based on ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) PVC resin. While conventional PVC resins have an average molecular weight values in the 30,000 to 75,000 range, UHMW values may be as high as 150,000. Incorporating UHMC-PVC and proprietary formulations of other ingredients, Flexalloy� products provide the elasticity of non-vinyl TPEs, plus greater toughness, abrasion resistance and low-temperature performance than conventional vinyl.

In producing FlexOLite cable for entertainment applications, Coast Wire uses Flexalloy compound for the inner coatings or insulation of individual wires and for the outer jacketing over the cable as a whole. The cable is produced in lengths up to 305m. The company is a custom custom manufacturer of wire and cable for medical-device, instrumentation, entertainment and other applications. In its 5,600m2 plant, Coast Wire operates six extrusion lines and produces complete cable structures, stating with bare copper.