Dayton Technologies, US subsidiary of PVC window systems and profiles giant Deceuninck,Belgium, has agreed a strategic alliance with Alcoa Home Exteriors Inc), a US manufacturer of building products. The partnership will manufacture a composite of HDPE and wooden flour for outdoor decks and railings, to be launched on the US market next year. Deceuninck estimates the decking market to be worth USD 3.5 bn annually.
Gneuß Kunststofftechnik, Germany, has opened a new office for distribution and spare parts supply at Shanghai, China. Managing partner Detlev Gneuß said the move is in response to a surge in the number of customers in China. The company mainly produces filter systems for the plastics processing industry.
Davis-Standard and Circonix announced today that they have entered into an exclusive agreement whereby Circonix will serve as an outsourcing partner to Davis-Standard for extrusion control systems. Under terms of the agreement, Davis-Standard augments its existing control system resources by gaining access to the engineering, expertise and process capabilities of Circonix on an as needed basis. The agreement will also enable Davis-Standard to better service its global customer base by utilizing Circonix’s qualified and experienced technicians for installation support as well as aftermarket services for all extrusion lines. Circonix’s position in the plastics and converting industry is also strengthened, expanding the company’s base of OEM partners.
“Davis-Standard and Circonix are both focused on providing specific process knowledge and complete turnkey solutions to customers, so the agreement makes a lot of sense from a business and customer perspective.” said Hassan Helmy, Davis-Standard vice president. “This partnership will enable us to grow and strengthen our control system capabilities while providing another venue for Circonix to expand its customer base.”
About Circonix
Circonix, based in Paterson, New Jersey, is a leading system integrator for the continuous web industries. Circonix provides engineering, design and programming services as well as complete control solutions for the converting, paper and plastics industries. For more information, visit www.circonix.com.
Two European companies, Degussa, Germany, and Ems-Grivory, a subsidiary of Ems-Chemie, Switzerland, are cooperating with Japan’s UBE, Tokyo, on the development of PA 12 pipes that satisfy all international standards for gas pipes. According to the partners, PA 12 is particularly suitable for pressures of 10-20 bar, currently the domain of steel pipes.
Thermoforming and film extrusion specialist Kuhne Anlagenbau,Germany, is widening capacity of its pilot plant for blown film, thermoforming sheet, extruded sheet and cast film in preparation for new products to be launched at the beginning of 2004. The expansion, due to be completed by the end of this year, will allow production of film and sheet of up to nine layers.
Nortek Inc. may sell its window, door and siding segment, the company announced Oct. 9. The unit includes well-known vinyl siding extruders Variform Inc. and Napco Inc. , as well as Kroy Building Products Inc., a maker of fence, deck and railing profiles in York. Nortek has hired UBS Securities LLC and Daroth Capital Advisors LLC to assist in the process.
A new series of PVC color concentrates enables wire and cable manufacturers to saves costs while meeting Munsell (R) and NEMA standards, it was announced today by Teknor Color Company. The 16 new off-the-shelf concentrates cover the same range of colors served by 31 Teknor Color products that they are formulated to replace, according to marketing manager Stephan Pronovost, and provide better dispersion, easier processing, and superior color development. All 16 products are Munsell colors specified in Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) standard 359-A and meet standards specified by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). In addition, 12 of the 16 are formulated without heavy metals. Recommended addition levels in most PVC compounds are the same as for conventional concentrates, typically 1%.
‘Recognizing that the wire and cable industry is under intense pressure to reduce costs, we developed these new concentrates with the goal of maximizing economies of scale, streamlining customer inventories, and improving productivity in extrusion,’ said Pronovost. ‘While the economic benefits will vary with the formulation, the colorant being replaced, and other factors, we expect most customers to achieve a significant increase in cost-performance.’
The new concentrates disperse more readily and uniformly than their earlier counterparts, Pronovost noted, as a result of new pigments and an improved formulation of dispersion aids incorporated in the concentrates. ‘Better dispersion is critical for improving productivity, particularly since pigment agglomerations and other non-uniformities in colorant
dispersion can cause spark failure during manufacture or compromise electrical performance in end-use.’
A recently introduced roll unloading technology from Davis-Standard significantly reduces shaft handling and related lifting injuries associated with operating turret winders. This option is available for under $50,000 on all Davis-Standard turret winders for film and coating applications. The new design features two arms for lowering and unloading full rolls onto a cart. One arm pivots away from the winder for roll removal while the second arm holds the shaft in place. This eliminates all unnecessary lifting and simplifies the unloading process. The integrated system consumes much less floor space than a separate shaft puller and cart.
Shaft handling has been an ongoing focus of Davis-Standard’s winder development. The company’s TEC-2 center winder, introduced in 2001, is a cost-efficient winding alternative equipped with shaft handling capabilities. The TEC-2 features a swing-out hoist shaft extraction and roll handling unit. The overhead hoist moves full rolls out of the winder for support by a cart or fork truck. Once the roll is removed, a new core can be placed onto the shaft and pivoted back into the winder. An integrated shaft puller draws the shaft into the winder without requiring additional floor space. The TEC-2 features dual direction winding, a 30-inch (750mm) finished roll capability, AC flux vector drives with taper tension and can wind film up to 300 feet per minute (90 meters per minute). TEC-2 manual models start at less than $100,000 while TEC-2 Plus models with automatic transfer start under $200,000.
For more information about Davis-Standard’s winder developments, contact Rick Keller at rkeller@davis-standard.com.
DuPont Teijin Films U.S. LP plans to shut down an extrusion line in Florence and cut about 100 jobs. The company said it will close a monolayer polyester film line by Nov. 1, but has the capacity to handle the shutdown without reducing film production. The move continues what the company calls a realignment of assets.
Two of the European market leaders in semi-finished plastics Vink and Bayer subsidiary Makroform, plan to ’significantly strengthen’ their cooperation by establishing a ‘close pan-European partnership’ for sale and distribution of polyester and co-polyester sheets. For Vink, the agreement reflects its strategy of developing close partnerships with leading plastics manufacturers. Makroform said the move is in line with its long-term marketing strategy for ‘Axpet’ and ‘Vivak’ sheets. The deal extends Vink´s portfolio in particular for the thermoforming and visual communication markets.