SAN副牌,懂行的采购为什么只在这三家国外大厂里挑?

产品中心 发布时间: 2026-09-13 1218 阅读

Within the styrene-based circle, there is an unspoken hierarchy of disdain. Those who work with PMMA acrylic think they are dealing with optical materials and look down on those working with MS; those in MS consider themselves a step above SAN. After all, SAN is both hard and brittle, less transparent than acrylic, and not as tough as ABS, making it, in every way, the 'in-between' material in the styrene family.

But interestingly, every year, the material that suffers the most in the workshop due to yellowing, cracking, and being returned—getting trashed the hardest—is precisely SAN, the one everyone looks down on.

To put it bluntly, it’s not that SAN is incapable; it’s that most people treat it as a “cheap transparent PS.” This material is resistant to chemicals, has a hard surface, and maintains stable dimensions, making it great for cosmetic boxes, pen barrels, and lighter cases. But if you use it as an impact-resistant material or for low-temperature parts, it will turn against you faster than flipping a page.

Today, let's not beat around the bush and directly break down the three foreign big manufacturers in the SAN family that are truly worth using as a secondary brand. After reading this, you can decide whether next time, when you see a cheap SAN product, you should first check which company it actually comes from.

What is SAN, and who really calls the shots globally?

SAN, scientifically known as styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, is also called AS in the industry. Styrene gives it transparency and gloss, while acrylonitrile provides rigidity, hardness, and chemical resistance. Transparent, hard, shiny, and resistant to oil and solvents—these are the four characteristics of SAN. The difference between it and ABS can also be summed up in one sentence: ABS is SAN with added butadiene rubber for toughening, whereas SAN itself does not have that 'rubbery reinforcement,' making it harder and shinier, but more brittle.

In the global SAN business, there are only a few truly competitive foreign companies. Based on production capacity and market share metrics, and by synthesizing industry research reports and publicly available company information (2025–2026):

1. INEOS Styrolution (Germany): A global leader in styrene-based resins, SAN brand Luran®, with a market share of around 18%;

2. LG Chem (South Korea): An integrated large manufacturer of ABS/SAN, with a total ABS and SAN production capacity of about 2.35 million tons per year, and SAN accounting for about 14%.

3. Chimei Industrial (Taiwan, China): KIBISAN® SAN, with a market share fluctuating between 10% and 22%, overall remains solidly in the leading tier.

Together, these three companies hold more than half of the global SAN market. The remaining ones like Lotte, Taihua, and Kumho mostly share a piece of the commodity-grade segment, producing secondary brand materials, and focusing on these three companies, they basically won't deviate.

Secondary cards are not defective products, let alone recycled materials.

Before talking about the副牌, let's make this matter clear first.

Sub-brand, and the main brand come from the same set of polymerization devices and the same batch of polymerization products: those that meet all the factory inspection indicators are labeled with the main brand; for those with slight deviations in individual indicators—such as melt index, color, transparency, ash content—that part is the sub-brand. Its molecular structure is exactly the same as the main brand, it is the original factory’s raw pellets, not recycled material remade.

Where does SAN by-product come from? Four sources: start and end materials from machine startup and shutdown, transition materials caused by switching grades, batches with slight exceedances in individual indicators due to process fluctuations, and leftover materials from secondary lines. The common 'minor issues' it exhibits are nothing more than slightly yellowish color, melt index slightly high or low, and slightly poorer light transmittance haze.

The key is to distinguish the four types of materials: Official brand meets all specifications and is stable, with consistent batches; Secondary brand has the same base material as the official brand, with slight fluctuations in individual specifications; Regrind/sprue material is from processing scraps and re-pelletized, having been through a heat history once; Recycled material is made from waste plastic and re-pelletized, with large performance variations. When making transparent parts or cosmetic boxes, if you mix secondary brand and recycled material, yellow stays yellow, cloudy stays cloudy, and the whole batch will be wasted.

As for packaging, you just need to know the terms 'large package' and 'small package,' and don't get confused by the specific weight in kilograms reported by distributors.

INEOS Phenol Luran®: A veteran powerhouse favored by the balanced camp

First, let's look at Luran®. A leading brand of styrene-based resins from INEOS Styrolution Germany, it is a veteran in the global styrenic resin market with production bases across Europe, Asia, and America. Their SAN is called Luran®, following a balanced high-end route. Representative grades include Luran® 358N, 368R, and 338L, which are transparent, easy-flowing, and dimensionally stable; the heat-resistant version, Luran® High Heat (HH-120), is more heat- and chemical-resistant.

Luran®'s secondary grade, mostly batches with slight deviations in color or melt index. Its advantage is a mature formula and stable batches. The secondary grade can be used for ordinary transparent interior parts, colored parts, and general structural components, as its performance is sufficient. But for food contact applications or high-gloss exterior parts, don't force the use of the secondary grade; that's not what it's meant for.

LG Chem: A Generalist Focusing on Large Volumes and Stable Goods

Now let's look at LG Chem. One of South Korea's leading chemical companies, it produces ABS and SAN in one system, with a total ABS/SAN capacity of about 2.35 million tons per year, the scale is obvious. LG's SAN covers everything from general grade to food grade and weather-resistant grade, supplying the European, North American, and Asian markets.

The characteristics of LG's sub-brand are large volume, stable supply, and grades close to general-purpose injection molding. It is suitable for mass-produced parts that require medium transparency and do not demand stringent surface appearance. Its advantage is that it is available year-round, and supply won't be interrupted due to equipment maintenance. Small and medium-sized compounding factories and product manufacturers find it very convenient to use as transitional material or for mass production.

Chimei KIBISAN®: High circulation, also a major area for counterfeiting

Next, let's look at Chi Mei. Chi Mei Industrial from Taiwan, China, KIBISAN® is its SAN brand. Grades like PN-108L, PN-138H, and D-168 are widely circulated domestically, and those making cosmetic cases, lighter shells, and food containers are all familiar with them. Chi Mei uses continuous processing, and its reputation for transparency, gloss, and chemical resistance has always been solid.

Chimei's sub-brand is one of the sources of SAN sub-brands with a large circulation in the domestic market. Its problem lies here too — precisely because the volume is large, counterfeiting and mixed goods are also common. If you buy a bag of 'Chimei sub-brand,' don't rush to use it on your machine; check the melt index, compare the color, and inspect the original packaging — none of these three steps can be skipped.

How to choose SAN sub-brands, avoid these three pitfalls

How to choose SAN sub-brands? A few solid tips. First, check the manufacturer; second, check the grade number; third, test the specifications. Manufacturer means choosing official sub-brands from the three companies mentioned earlier, and avoid buying 'miscellaneous sub-brands' of unclear origin. Grade number means it should match your product; don't use sub-brands with high flow index for parts that require strength. Specifications include flow index, light transmittance haze, and color hue/yellowness – test these when the material arrives at the factory and keep samples for traceability.

There are three common pitfalls: First, treating recycled material as a secondary option—it’s really cheap, but it also yellows really quickly; second, mismatched grades—flow is too strong, so filling thin-walled parts is easy, but large parts warp before your eyes; third, mixing batches—using one bag today and another bag tomorrow, causing yield to fluctuate, which gives the machine operators headaches every day.

Remember one thing: for making transparent exterior parts, sub-brands only dare to use on non-visible surfaces, internal parts, or colored components; for making natural-color transparent boxes or food containers, honestly go with the main brand, saving that little material cost is not worth it.

Cologne warehouse in stock | SAN shipped with goods

Main promoted brands: Ineos Phenyl leader, LG Chem, Chi Mei

Main grades: Luran, LG SAN, KIBISAN

Packaging specifications: both large and small packages are in stock

The warehouse usually has 3,000-6,000 tons of spot goods: 500-800 tons of small-pack secondary brand in stock, 200-400 tons of boxed secondary brand in stock, and 2,500-4,800 tons of large-pack/tonne-pack material in stock.

Supply Guarantee: Direct Procurement from Original Factory Packaging

Seven rules, use SAN secondary cards on the edge of the blade

Here's a selection mnemonic that you can use right away:

1. Transparent exterior parts, food-grade — genuine brand, don't skimp;

2. Internal parts, color-matched parts, general structural parts — secondary brand can be used;

3. Factory recognition: Luran, LG, KIBISAN, discuss the price after shipment from the original factory;

4. Check three items: melt flow, haze, and yellowness; test them before entering the factory;

5. Samples must be traceable; do not mix batches;

6. To avoid yellowing and solvent issues — do not touch substandard brands;

7. Brittle cracking is common in winter — SAN is naturally brittle, for low-temperature parts use ABS or PC/ABS instead.

There is a factory in Wenzhou that makes transparent office supplies, including pen barrels, file holders, and transparent pen cups. Previously, in an attempt to save costs, they imported a container of unknown 'transparent substandard brand' materials, which in summer turned yellow or hazy, causing the return rate of appearance parts to spike to 11%. Later, we supplied them with selected substandard material from Chi Mei KIBISAN, only for non-appearance surfaces and internal parts, while transparent appearance parts still used the standard brand. The defect rate of appearance parts dropped from 11% to 0.4%. The price difference for one ton of material in a year was enough to cover two workshop technical upgrades.

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