Duluth, GA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/12/2016 --Late last year, KRAIBURG TPE Americas, the manufacturer of tailor-made thermoplastic elastomers received the 2014-2015 Best International Supplier Award from Zebra Pen, a producer of writing instruments, in Monterrey Mexico. Alberto Oba, Director of KRAIBURG TPE Mexico, accepted the award on KRAIBURG TPE America's behalf. It was given based on outstanding service, consistent product quality and competitive pricing.

KRAIBURG TPE Americas and Zebra Pen have been collaborating since February 2014, when their respective representatives initially met at Plastimagen – a national plastics exhibition in Mexico City, Mexico. One of KRAIBURG TPE America's custom technologies from its THERMOLAST® K series was the solution for the grips needed on two of Zebra Pen's product lines: Orbitz and Sarasa.

For their Sarasa Gel Pen grip, Zebra was seeking a TPE with high coefficient of friction, optimal adhesion to polypropylene, and that would be easily pigmented to match their array of ink colors. The material processing and physical properties aligned extremely well with this application. Because of this success, Zebra then decided to utilize the same grade for their Orbitz pen line.

Similarly, the custom TPE manufacturer aided in the optimization of Zebra's logistics. Before partnering with KRAIBURG TPE Americas, Zebra was purchasing TPE overseas, resulting in a higher cost to acquire and store material. The thermoplastic elastomer producer not only provided a quality product that fit Zebra's application requirements, but was able to streamline their supply chain to a more cost efficient level.

This award and business are testaments of some of KRAIBURG TPE's capabilities in the consumer sector and what separates them from others in the TPE Industry.

About Zebra Pen
Zebra Pen Corporation (http://www.zebrapen.com) was founded in New York on August 1982 as an independent corporation owned by Zebra Co. Ltd. Of Tokyo, Japan. Founder, Mr. Tokumatsu Ishikawa chose the Zebra as its company image because he learned that it was an animal with strong family herding instinct. This was particularly important for Mr. Ishkawa, as he yearned to build a company where both customers and employees felt part of a family-like environment. The fact that the zebra appears as if it's decorated with large calligraphic pen strokes was the perfect visual for the company image. Today, Zebra Corporation offers an extensive line of writing products including: ball point pens, highlighters, mechanical pencils, gel rollers, and correction pens. Zebra Pens stands for quality, satisfaction, and an ultimate writing performance.

About KRAIBURG TPE
KRAIBURG TPE (http://www.kraiburg-tpe.com) is a global manufacturer of thermoplastic elastomers. From its beginning in 2001 as subsidiary of the historical KRAIBURG Group founded in 1947, KRAIBURG TPE has pioneered in TPE compounds, today being the competence leader in this industry. With production sites in Germany, the US, and Malaysia the company offers a broad range of compounds for applications in the automotive, industrial, consumer, and for the strictly regulated medical sectors. The established THERMOLAST®, COPEC®, HIPEX®, and For Tec E® product lines are processed by injection molding or extrusion and provide numerous processing and product design advantages to manufacturers. KRAIBURG TPE features innovative capabilities as well as true global customer orientation, customized product solutions and reliable service. The company is certified to ISO 50001 at its headquarters in Germany and holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications at all global sites. In 2015, KRAIBURG TPE, with over 500 worldwide employees, generated sales of 157 million euros.