LATI is a company active in the field of technical thermoplastic compounds suitable for injection molding. Founded in Italy in 1945, LATI is still owned by the founder’s family and continues to develop in the field of engineering polymers dedicated to a wide variety of industries. Over the years, LATI has expanded its production capacities and today the whole industrial operation, which takes place mainly in Italy and at some partners located in China and North America, is capable of producing over forty thousand tonnes of finished product.
What are the main areas of activity of the company? / What are the ranges of products/services?
LATI’s offer consists of a wide range of technical plastic materials. LATI’s entire product portfolio is designed for the manufacturing of durable goods: none of LATI’s grades is engineered for packaging or disposables. The basic polymers that make up the matrices of LATI’s compounds range from polypropylene to PEEK, via polyesters, polyamides and techno polymers for high temperatures such as PPS and PPA. Using these plastics LATI produces the most diverse compounds, created by dispersing fillers, reinforcements and additives of all kinds in the polymer. For example, we offer materials featuring high glass fiber content to replace metal, products filled with graphite and carbon fibers to allow electrical and thermal conductivity in plastic solutions, self-lubricating grades and special products intended for niche applications and custom-developed to meet the needs of customers and designers in every industrial sector. LATI’s core business, however, is strongly rooted in the world of self-extinguishing and flame-retardant compounds, an application field in which the company has over fifty years of experience. LATI’s flame-retardant materials are intended for the electrical, electronics, connectivity, telecommunications, transport, electric mobility and wherever safe and reliable functional parts are needed over time.
What’s the news about new products/services?
The sale of raw materials to be used in high end applications requires that extensive and effective technical support is included in the offer. LATI offers the decades-long experience of dedicated professionals helping customers throughout the development of the final application. The process starts with the selection of the most suitable material, carried out taking into due consideration all project requirements. Then we proceed with feasibility checks, performed by the mean of computer simulations and intended to assess in advance the performance of the final product, its reliability and its mouldability. Finally, collaboration is also offered to the mould maker as well as to the molder in order to fine tune the production process by reducing time to market.
This service is provided free of charge to LATI’s customers and is subject to continuous improvements and updates. The development of a new compound also requires the activities of a brilliant and lively R&D department, which is fully aware of every novelty available on the market in terms of raw materials, processes and regulatory news. The most recent innovations are born in LATI’s laboratories: first of all, we must mention the self-extinguishing compounds with low environmental impact, then the new proposals dedicated to high temperature applications created on a PPS and PA9T basis. Finally, it is essential to mention the effort dedicated to creating a range of materials for FFF 3D printing allowing the printed articles to have the same special characteristics available in similar injection moldable materials. The LATI 3DLAB was founded with this goal in mind, and the portfolio of 3D printable products now includes more than one hundred grades. Both LATI’s corporate website and the LATI 3DLAB website are always up-to-date with all the latest news: don’t hesitate to visit them!
What is the state of the market where you are currently active?
As anticipated, LATI does not have a reference market strictly speaking. The differentiation of products and final applications has allowed the company to propose materials suitable that can be used in every industrial sector. Thanks to these strategic choices, LATI has overcome difficulties that have occurred both on the raw material supply side and on the customer side. Moreover, it should be highlighted how the momentary crisis of an industrial process can lead to new challenges that must be understood, identified and turned into opportunities. Let take as example the current demand for technical plastics partially or completely obtained from renewable or recycled sources. While in the past these solutions were an economical alternative to premium products, today there are many application areas where polymers from chemical and mechanical recycling are preferred. LATI has enthusiastically accepted this challenge, and in a short time has succeeded in making available an entire range of products marked by the idea of sustainability: the LATIECO compounds, a family of techno polymers that also includes UL certified self-extinguishing grades and products for structural applications. The focus on carbon footprint reduction and increased sustainability is a driving force in virtually every sector: from appliances to power management, from automotive to leisure time. Certainly for LATI, as for any other industrial reality, there remain difficulties related to the international economic and political situation. However, LATI has been able to cope with these difficulties by differentiating its markets on a geographical level as well: suffice it to mention, for example, the remarkable growth in the Chinese, Indian and North American markets on which the company is increasingly focusing.
What can you tell us about market trends?
Considering the markets where LATI is active and has visibility, it is possible to identify a number of very important trends to be taken into account for future developments. As mentioned, certainly important and transversal to several areas of operation is the demand for materials from sustainable or recycled sources in order to reduce the environmental impact of articles placed on the market. Then there are the new health and safety regulations, for example those leading to the forthcoming ban of PFAS: a decision that has imposed a new formulation of many self-lubricating plastics used in the automotive or electrical sectors. The massive introduction of alternative energy sources, microgeneration, the smart grid, battery storage of electric power, and the consequent improvement and redesign of the distribution network will certainly also have a great impact: all fundamental topics for a company rooted in the electrical and electronic sectors as LATI. Finally, a trend that is currently in its starting point but is destined to become a driving force. We are talking about Right to Repair, i.e. the new legislation recently approved at European level that will impose the reparability of many household appliances. These new design requirements will impose a mandatory reconsideration of all materials adopted in order to enhance repair, disassembly and replacement: an important appointment for which it will be necessary to be ready.
What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
It is difficult to isolate innovative products in the catalogue of a company that generates over a hundred new materials every year. Definitely worth mentioning are the thermally conductive LATICONTHER plastics, designed to transport heat in applications where thermal management is a vital requirement. These materials have successfully replaced the aluminum heat sinks used in many LED light sources, helping to reduce not only the cost of the lamps but also their carbon footprint. Finally, of great importance are the new certifications obtained at UL laboratories on many self-extinguishing materials. These approvals officially acknowledge the performance and safety of many flame-retardant materials formulated in various ways and made available for the appliance and electrical and electronics sector. We can recommend to visit UL’s internet pages to discover LATI’s approved grades portfolio and their outstanding ratings.
What estimations do you have for 2024?
2024 is shaping up to be a very satisfying year despite the great difficulties that the economy, especially the European context, is experiencing. As explained, LATI’s broad product, raw material and market differentiation has made it possible to retain significant operating margins, which the company will invest, as it did before, in an ambitious industrial growth plan strongly connected to the territory where the company was founded. In fact, work is progressing fast on the expansion of production departments with the introduction of new machinery, as well as the construction of a brand-new R&D center.