The Materials You Need. The Service You Deserve.
As the leading supplier of expanded polyethylene (EPE) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam planks, ARPLANK Direct has the best cushioning product options to protect your company’s high value fragile products during transit and storage.
For more than 20 years customers have trusted ArPlank to provide best in class customer service and engineered raw materials for applications ranging from protecting athletes from concussions, dunnage for high gloss painted automotive parts, next generation military packaging, to heavy AI server racks shipping across the country. Our team is ready to help you choose the best foam type and density to make sure your products arrive without damage every time.
Customer Centric Approach
You are at the center of everything we do. Our highly specialized team listens to your needs, helping you find the right foam products for your application. We know what we have, you know what you need; it’s our job to make the connection and deliver the best foam planks for the job.
High-Quality, Affordable Materials
ArPlank plank materials are physically expanded creating millions of uniform foam struts in a cellular and bead-to-bead structure providing 360-degree shock impact protection at the lowest possible density. Lower density foam products cost less and allow for 40% source reduction at the design stage also reducing your companies CO2 packaging footprint. For instance, we offer three different #4.0 material options at lower cost than commodity closed cell products while providing better product protection.
Short Lead Times
You get the products you need, when you need them! Our distribution centers in Tennessee, Indiana, Minnesota, and California are optimally located, allowing us to ship plank or sheet products anywhere in North America with high availability.
Experience You Can Count On
The ArPlank team has over 90 years of combined application experience. We work with customers to reduce packaging cost, minimize the environment impact of plastics, and protect your most valuable assets. We offer design guides, side-by-side physical property comparisons, static and dynamic technical performance data, slow motion dynamic impact videos and practical real-world experience.
ARPLANK Foam Technology
ARPLANK EPE & EPP block-molded foam products offer strong performance for OEMs, fabricators, engineers & package designers who need:
- Very consistent cell, cell wall, density, and performance profiles with low built-in plank stresses
- High purity, non-toxic, and odorless materials that are resistant to mold and bacteria
- Engineered lighter-weight products that meet industrial, federal, military, and automotive specifications
- Identical energy management properties in all direction
- High static load limit capabilities
- Durability, resilience, and repetitive-strike energy management
- High heat resistance, cold impact resistance, and consistent thermal insulation properties
- Very low abrasion resistance and product surface protection
- Moisture, weather, and UV resistance
- Outstanding dimensional stability in demanding conditions
- High resistance to most chemicals, mineral oils, and solvents
- Exceptional buoyancy and flotation properties
All ARPLANK EPE and EPE materials are 100% recyclable and reusable. They are melt re-processable, made with FDA-approved resins, and meet REACH and RoHS requirements. They are also NAFTA compliant and classified as “Ozone Safe.” All products are expanded in a low-pressure autoclave using a chemically inert gas that does not emit any harmful CFC or HCFC gasses back into the environment.
More About ARPLANK Products
Learn more about our EPE and EPP molded foam planks, their fabrication capabilities, and their unique technical specifications.
Applications & Markets
Find your application or industry and see how EPE and EPP foam can be used to protect your high-value products or production components and parts.
Technical Documents
Access our complete library of foam data that includes water absorption rates, flammability performance, thermal conductivity, compressive set and creep, and so much more.
| Item | EPP | EPE | PE | XLPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Examples | ARPRO | ARPAK | Extruded PE | Chemical Crosslink |
| Compression Strength | Excellent | Average | Average | Average |
| Durability | Good | Good | Good | Excellent |
| Elasticity | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Flexibility | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Tensile Strength | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Chemical Resistance | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Heat Resistance | Excellent | Average | Average | Poor |
| Thermal Insulation | Good | Good | Average | Average |
| Dimensional Stability | Excellent | Average | Average | Poor |
| Dynamic Cushion 1st Drop | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Repetitive Dynamic Cushion | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good |
| Contains HCFCs or VOCs | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Amount of VOCs | N/A | N/A | Varies | Varies |
