— APPLICATION
PP and HDPE for housewares and appliances
PP for housewares has to look good on the shelf and still look good after a year in a kitchen. Spoons scratch a mixing bowl, a lunch box goes through the dishwasher every night and a kettle base sits next to a heating element. This page sets out how polypropylene and HDPE compare for kitchenware, storage boxes and small-appliance parts, which levers control gloss and stiffness, and what paperwork the finished article needs.
— REQUIREMENTS
What a kitchen does to a part
Kitchen items are handled every day and judged on looks. A storage box that clouds, or a bowl that is covered in fine scratches after a month, looks old long before it breaks. The dishwasher adds hot water, detergent and drying heat, cycle after cycle. Lids have to snap on and off without cracking at the rim. Thin walls save material and cycle time, but a full container must not bow when someone lifts it. Appliance parts must keep their shape near motors and heating elements, and the appliance maker answers for every material inside the product.
— SELECTION
Choosing polypropylene for kitchenware
PP homopolymer gives stiffness and a hard, glossy surface. High-crystallinity and nucleated homopolymers go further; in some stiff parts they replace a mineral-filled compound.
Impact copolymer is for items that get dropped or go in the freezer: storage boxes, laundry baskets, lids.
Clarified random copolymer gives see-through storage boxes and jugs. It is less stiff than homopolymer, so walls may need to be a little thicker.
HDPE suits bins, buckets and lids where toughness and stress-cracking resistance matter more than gloss.
PP melts at a higher temperature than HDPE, which is one reason it is the usual choice for dishwasher-safe items. A stiffer, harder surface also marks less easily under cutlery.
Flow decides how thin and long a wall you can fill. High-flow grades fill large, thin storage boxes; medium-flow grades suit thicker, stiffer parts. Antistatic additives keep dust off items on display. Food tubs and trays for packing lines have their own page: thin-wall packaging and food containers.
— GRADES
Grades we can supply
For see-through items, compare the clarified random copolymers first.
PP high crystallinity
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm P1330
PP high crystallinity
AdvyForm P1330 is a nucleated homopolymer with very high crystallinity, high rigidity and high gloss. It is used for stiff injection-moulded articles.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm E1241
PP high crystallinity
AdvyForm E1241 is a high-crystallinity impact copolymer for injection moulding. It combines processability with stiffness, impact strength and gloss.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
PP homopolymer
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm M1640
PP homopolymer
Nucleated metallocene-catalysed polypropylene homopolymer with antistatic agent for thin-wall injection moulding, with stiffness and transparency.
Injection moulding
Industries
Rigid packaging
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm P1340
PP homopolymer
KeyForm P1340 is a nucleated homopolymer with an antistatic additive, for injection moulding. It combines good stiffness with good flowability.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm P1640
PP homopolymer
KeyForm P1640 is a nucleated homopolymer with an antistatic additive, for injection moulding. It combines high flow with medium stiffness.
Injection moulding
Industries
Rigid packaging
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm R1541
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm R1541 is a random copolymer with a clarifier and antistatic additives, for injection moulding. It has very good flowability and transparency and is typically used for thin-wall packaging.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm R1340
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm R1340 is a clarified random copolymer with an antistatic additive and good fluidity, for injection moulding. It combines very high transparency with very good impact strength, including at 0 °C.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
AdvyForm
·
Velogy
PP
AdvyForm R1640
PP random copolymer
AdvyForm R1640 is a clarified random copolymer with an antistatic additive, for injection moulding. It combines very good flowability with transparency and impact strength.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm E1030
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm E1030 is a nucleated heterophasic copolymer for injection moulding. It combines high impact performance with good stiffness.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm E1340
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm E1340 is a nucleated heterophasic copolymer with an antistatic agent, for injection moulding. It combines a good stiffness and impact balance with medium fluidity.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
KeyForm
·
Velogy
PP
KeyForm E0800
PP impact copolymer
KeyForm E0800 is a low-fluidity impact copolymer for injection moulding. It combines very high impact strength, including at low temperatures, with good stiffness.
Injection moulding
Sheet extrusion/thermoforming
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
HDPE
KeyForm
·
Velogy
HDPE
KeyForm H1200
HDPE
High-density polyethylene resin for general injection moulding, with good flowability, good processability and high rigidity.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
Industrial
KeyForm
·
Velogy
HDPE
KeyForm H1100
HDPE
KeyForm H1100 is a high-density polyethylene for general injection moulding. It offers high environmental stress-cracking resistance (ESCR), good impact resistance, good flow and low warpage.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
Industrial
KeyForm
·
Velogy
HDPE
KeyForm H1180
HDPE
KeyForm H1180 is a UV-stabilised high-density polyethylene for general injection moulding. It offers high environmental stress-cracking resistance (ESCR), good impact resistance, good flow and low warpage.
Injection moulding
Industries
Consumer goods
Rigid packaging
Industrial
— NEED HELP CHOOSING?
Not sure which grade fits?
Send us the item, its wall thickness, whether it goes in the dishwasher and your cycle target.
— PROCESSING
High-gloss PP injection moulding
Most housewares are injection moulded. Gloss comes from the tool as much as from the resin: a polished cavity, a high enough melt temperature and steady packing pressure. Nucleated grades set faster and shrink more evenly, which keeps flat lids flat. Trays and tubs can also be thermoformed from homopolymer sheet. Tell us the part size, wall thickness and cavity count and we will narrow the choice.
Injection moulding
Sheet extrusion/thermoforming
— DOCUMENTATION
Food contact and appliance rules
Kitchenware is a food-contact article. Under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 the maker of the finished item issues a declaration of compliance and checks migration on the article itself; the resin producer's declaration for the grade supports it. Dishwasher resistance is also tested on the article, and EN 12875-1 gives a reference method for domestic dishwashers. For appliances, the maker answers for the substance limits of the RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU. We pass on the producer's regulatory summary for the grade you choose.
— PRODUCERS
Producers for this application
Brands for this application
— FAQ
Common questions
Can I use PP for appliance housings?
Is PP or HDPE better for dishwasher-safe items?
Do you supply clear grades for storage boxes?
— RELATED
