News

Kuraray Plastics Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City; President: Katsuhiko Kishi, referred to herein as Kuraray Plastics) has developed a tarpaulin sheet which provides superior insect deterrence without compromising the comfort of the working environment. The sheet, which will go on sale nationally on September 18, 2007, works by cutting the wavelength at which insects perceive light.

The insect-deterrent sheet is a special soft composite resin film supplied by Achilles Corporation (Headquarters: Tokyo; President: Hiroshi Nakata) and laminated at Kuraray Plastics' Ibuki Plant (Gifu Prefecture) with a polyester thread mesh weave. Orange colored, the new sheet augments the existing lineup of transparent sheets and features superior insect-deterrent properties.

As a way of demonstrating the sheet's ability to deter insects, black light-to which insects are attracted but, being in the ultraviolet range, is invisible to humans-was shone through a test film of standard vinyl and a record made of the number of insects that, having flown into the film, were caught in a water tank placed beneath. When a comparison was made, again using black light but with an insect-deterrent curtain covered with the new transparent film, the number of fallen insects was significantly decreased. The experiment measured the deterrent effect on insects that are attracted to light; its effectiveness on insects attracted by heat or odor was outside the scope of this experiment.