A crane mat having first and second side beams or boards; a core structure made of pine or other softwoods, eucalyptus, solid plastic or elastomeric members, or hollow thermoplastic, thermosetting plastic or elastomeric members that optionally include a filler or internal reinforcing structure; external components including an upper and/or lower layers of one or more elongated members to protect the core structure, and a plurality of joining members that attach the outer side members to the core structure. Another crane mat can be made of just the solid plastic or elastomeric members, or hollow thermoplastic, thermosetting plastic or elastomeric members that each include a plurality of spaced lateral apertures passing therethrough; and joining members that include a rod that passes through the aligned lateral apertures to hold the members together in the mat. These crane mats may also include lifting elements of the types described herein.

A plastic container including a container body (1) made from a colored olefin resin and a decorative layer (3) laminated on the outer surface thereof. The decorative layer includes a transparent adhesive resin layer (3b), a transparent polyester resin layer (3a) which is the outer surface layer, and an intermediate gradation layer (3c) including a portion of which the thickness gradually varies in the direction of height of the container. The gradation layer is formed of a transparent polyester resin blended with a coloring agent. The thickness of the container body varies in response to a change in the thickness of the gradation layer in a manner such that the thickness of the container body portion which is the total thickness of the thickness of the container body and the thickness of the decorative layer is not varied by the presence of the gradation layer.

An ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer composition contains: (A) an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer; (B) an antioxidant; and (C) a sorbic acid ester; wherein the sorbic acid ester (C) is present in an amount of 0.00001 to 10 ppm based on the weight of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer composition; wherein the weight ratio (B)/(C) of the antioxidant (B) to the sorbic acid ester (C) is 500 to 1,000,000. The resulting ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer composition is less susceptible to coloration.

A structural insulated sheathing including a rigid foam insulation board having a first face, a structural member having a second face, wherein the first face of the foam insulation board is laminated to the second face of the structural member over substantially 100% of the interface between the first face and the second face.

A metal transfer film of thermoplastic polymer includes a polymeric carrier film, a layer of metal to be transferred onto an article, and a layer of retention adhesive suitable for bonding the transferred metal layer to a surface of the article. The transferable metal layer is adjacent between the carrier film and the retention adhesive layer. Optionally, the carrier film has a releasably adhesive layer on the side in contact with the metal. The retention adhesive is a polyvinyl amine crosslinked with citric acid. The retention adhesive is deposited on the metal layer from a liquid solution and dried to a non-tacky, solid coating enabling handling of the metal transfer film in conventional film processing unit operations. The dry retention adhesive can be activated by the metal transfer operator remotely from the adhesive application process and provides significant oxygen, moisture and aroma barrier properties to the metal covered article.

A method of producing a directly blow-formed container. The method includes subjecting a multilayered parison having an inner surface formed of an olefin resin to direct blow forming, the olefin resin containing (i) an organic bleeding lubricant having a melting point of not higher than 50° C. in an amount of 5 to 10% by mass, and (ii) a high silica zeolite having a silica/alumina mole ratio of not less than 80 in an amount of 0.2 to 3.0% by mass.

A wood-grained polymer substrate includes a plurality of layers of different colors. The substrate is formed into elongated boards and used in the production of various end products similar to natural wood. Methods for producing the wood-grained polymer substrate are also provided.

A vehicle trim element having at least one coating layer that includes a main layer of a composition having at least natural fibers, a thermoplastic polymer, and a binding agent. The fibers and thermoplastic polymer are ground to form an assembly of particles each having a size substantially between 0.1 and 3.2 mm. The particle assembly is mixed and compressed with the binding agent.

A structural insulated panel is provided. The structural insulated panel comprises a substantially flat PET foam core having a predetermined length, width, and thickness. At least a fiberglass layer is disposed on each of a first and a second surface of the PET foam core. At least a groove is disposed in the PET foam core. The at least a groove is disposed in proximity to an edge of the PET foam core and is adapted for accommodating a joining element therein.

The present invention is directed to an environmentally friendly composite structure and storage article fabricated therefrom. The composite structure includes a fiber-containing layer, such as a fiberboard layer or other layer having fibers from natural and/or synthetic sources, and a ground calcium carbonate-containing layer covering the fiber-containing layer. The ground calcium carbonate-containing layer is substantially continuously bonded to the fiber-containing layer along the surface of the fiber-containing layer. The fiber-containing layer and ground calcium carbonate-containing layer can be shaped, sized and manufactured such that the composite structure formed therefrom is capable of being shaped to form the storage article. The composite structure has advantages in that it has a high degree of pliability and flexibility that is increased over the pliability of the fiber-containing layer alone, which renders it highly attractive to consumers. The composite structure further has tensile strength and other characteristics that allow it to be readily machined into desired storage article forms, such as box and carton forms.