Strictly-Extrusion

ENTEK Extruders had a very successful year in 2003 with a number of machines being commissioned across Mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. The fastest market to develop last year was the Natural Fibre Composite market in Europe and this looks likely to continue to grow during 2004. Enter have continued to show a positive presence at the fore front of this new and emerging market in Europe throughout 2003 by publishing a number of Technical papers on Wood Plastic Composites and presenting several Technical presentations at key conferences throughout the year. In January 2004, Entek have already presented a Technical paper on Natural Fibre Composites extrusion at the recent Wood Plastic Conference in Scotland hosted by the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster.

ENTEK used the Conference to show their Direct Extrusion process technology expertise in Natural Fibre Plastic Composite extrusion. ENTEK is capable of providing complete turn-key systems including bulk material handling, loss-in-weight feeders, and all required downstream equipment.

Compared to a twin-screw conical counter-rotator, the ENTEK twin-screw co-rotator has more power and higher screw speeds. The screws and barrels are completely segmented, so the screw and barrel arrangement can be optimized for each customer’s particular formulation. We have found that one design does not fit all of our customers – to get the best possible rates, operating stability from the extruder, we can customise the screw, and barrel configuration based on trial results in our lab.

ENTEK makes a constant effort to improve our WPC processing capability. Based on
recent screw design work, improved volatiles removal, and enhanced operating conditions, we believe that rates in excess of 2,100 kgs/hr are possible for WPC profiles on the ENTEK 103mm extruder. ENTEK is currently designing a 133mm extruder that will have an estimated throughput of 2,750 to 3,700 kgs/hr for WPC products.
ENTEK’s co-rotating twin screw WPC extruders offer the following advantages relative to a conical counter-rotating extruder:

- Resin feed can be powder, flake, or pellet.
- Wood feed can contain higher moisture because twin-screw co-rotating extruder vacuum is more efficient and multiple vacuum ports are used.
- Screws and barrels are fully segmented
o Only have to replace screws and barrels in localized areas of wear
o Screw and barrel configuration can be fully optimized
- Materials can be fed in multiple locations on the machine (main feed, side feeds, liquid injection, etc.)
- ENTEK’s extruders are PLC-controlled and are supplied with a router-modem. The modem link enables ENTEK to provide remote support on demand. It is even possible to monitor and control the extruder from a remote connection using a web browser
- ENTEK has a full-service lab equipped with a 53mm extruder and profile cooling equipment for new WPC product development, optimization, etc.

We believe that ENTEK has the best WPC extrusion lines in the world – lines that produce high quality product at industry-leading rates. ENTEK would welcome the opportunity to introduce ourselves to you and your team.

ENTEK has been specialising in direct extrusion technology since 1984 and is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of Twin-screw extruders for direct extrusion, both for sheet production or profile production

For additional information please contact: Stephen C. Jones - European Technical Sales
ENTEK Extruders
HillView, Broomyclose Lane, Stramshall, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. ST14 5AN. United Kingdom
Telephone +44 (0) 1889 562167, Fax +44 (0) 1889 560539 E-mail:sjones@entekmfg.demon.co.uk

Brussels-based UCB has sold its films business, a leading supplier of BOPP and cellulose films, to a consortium led by former Hays Chemical Distribution managing director Denis Matthewman and Candover Partners in a deal scheduled to close in September. The consortium paid E320m in cash for the business, which turned over E362m last year. UCB’s Films arm, which employs 1,600 people, is part of the group’s Surface Specialities business created following the recent acquisition of Solutia’s resins and additives business.
With plants in the UK at Wigton and Bridgwater as well as in Belgium, the US and Australia, UCB Films is at the forefront of the markets for labels and security films, coated packaging, overwrap and biodegradable and compostable films.

On its stand at K’2004, Cabot Corporation is featuring the latest masterbatches, conductive compounds and carbon black grades developed to meet the needs of plastics processors and end users.
Four new masterbatches are being added to the already extensive range of these materials. PLASBLAK® LL4932 has been formulated to provide UV protection in drip irrigation pipe systems with superior surface smoothness while allowing processors to achieve high production rates, because of to the low die build-up performance of the product. It joins an existing range of specialised masterbatches designed by Cabot for this application.
Two new white masterbatches PLASWITE® PE7567 and PS7568 are also being introduced which provide high opacifying performance through the use of a special package of pigments. Developed for packaging applications requiring optimum light protection, one is polyethylene-based and the other polystyrene-based.
The fourth new masterbatch PLASBLAK® PE4765 is a highly concentrated, easily diluted premium quality black grade specially designed for applications requiring the highest quality surface finish with the minimum number of defects.

Cabot has also developed two new black pigments for fine-denier polyester fibre. BLACK PEARLS® 4560i has a specified fine screen Delta P of 0.25 bar/g of pigment vs. 0.50 bar/g of pigment in BLACK PEARLS 4560 (correlated test in PP); this enables the fibre manufacturer to increase spin-pack life during production, while maintaining colour performance, masterbatch dilutability and dispersability.
BLACK PEARLS 5560 has an improved colour strength and a bluer tone over BLACK PEARLS 4560i. Therefore, this grade is designed for applications where high colour performance is required. Its characteristics also produce extended filter life and consistent product cleanliness.

Three new grades are being added to the CABELEC® range of conductive compounds, including a non-black product that can be coloured with masterbatches. All provide permanent conductivity that is not dependent on atmospheric conditions.

CABELEC XS4743 is based on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and is designed principally for injection-moulding large items such as pallets and containers. The formulation combines good flow behaviour for efficient, high-volume production with high impact resistance (14.5KJ/m²) and good conductivity.

Cabot has also developed a new polyethylene grade, CABELEC CA4918, for blown film applications, which provides a higher tear resistance than existing products and an improved weldability. For extruded sheet applications where a non-black finished colour is preferred, Cabot is introducing XS9915, a polystyrene grade that can be coloured with masterbatch in the standard way.

Cabot Corporation is in Hall 5, stand 5F03 at K’2004.

A sign of further consolidation of the PVC pipe business in the hands of PVC resin suppliers, Westlake Chemical Corp., USA, has purchased the independent pipe maker Bristolpipe Corp. , USA. Westlake makes PVC and PE resins, as well as PVC pipe, windows, and fencing. Bristolpipe has around 200 employees and three plants in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Georgia that produce PVC DWV, sewer, and underground water pipe, as well as telecommunications cable ducting.

Bayer MaterialScience AG opened a technical service center last month at its headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany, to develop polycarbonate film products and applications. The facility incorporates equipment from a similar center formerly in Dormagen, Germany, as well as new and updated equipment. The technical center duplicates all the steps in film processing, from printing to thermoforming. A screen-printing unit and two Niebling high-pressure forming machines are centerpieces of the facility. The center also includes process technologies for in-mold decorating and identification cards.

Extrusion Dies Industries LLC, USA, will debut a technology for coating flat-die lip surfaces at the K 2004 show in Dusseldorf that’s claimed to improve product quality and add days of machine uptime every year. Called EverSharp, the tungsten carbide coating is applied to the die lips in place of conventional chrome plating. Tungsten carbide coating reportedly lasts at least eight times longer than chrome plating before it needs to be reground to restore lip sharpness. Regrinding, usually done every three months with chrome plating, involves taking a machine out of service for a day at a cost of thousands of dollars. The tungsten carbide coating resists micro-fractures during initial sharpening, so lip edges are sharper to begin with than with chrome. The coating is less porous than chrome plating, which improves corrosion resistance, and it is hard and more abrasion-resistant, suiting it to extrusion of highly filled compounds.
The process was developed by Praxair Surface Technologies Inc. An agreement between the companies makes EDI the exclusive distributor of the coating technology for flat-die lip services worldwide, except in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, which EDI covers on a non-exclusive basis.

Techmer PM, US producer of polymer modifiers, has developed a concentrate for polyethylene extrusion coatings that is designed to prevent chill-roll sticking. Grade PM11726E4, supplied in an LDPE carrier, can be processed at up to 610 F. It is FDA-compliant for use in food packaging, and can be custom formulated for other resin systems.

The miniBEX from Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, Germany, is a cost-efficient complete line for manufacturing small profiles with an excellent price/performance ratio. Now the innovative machine manufacturer has introduced winBEX, a ‘big brother’ to miniBEX for the medium to higher performance range in window profile extrusion. The winBEX is a standardised modular line concept similar to miniBEX. From a range of five components, customers can choose the version best suited to their particular requirements. Four twin-screw extruder models are available for winBEX lines, including the new, large BEX 2-72 C conical twin-screw extruder, which lends itself to a great variety of applications with a performance range from 40 and 250 kg/h. The other three extruders available for processing hard PVC are parallel twin-screw models, i.e. BEX 2-68-28 V for an output from 50 to 200 kg/h, BEX 2-92-28 V for a performance from 150 and 350 kg/h and BEX 2-110-28 V for applications ranging from 200 to 500 kg/h. All four extruders are among the most advanced models in the machine manufacturers range.

VTC Silvergate of Wrexham, North Wales, the UK colour and additive masterbatch division of Vita Thermoplastic Compounds, has this week completed the commissioning of an additional Leistritz twin screw extrusion line as part of its ongoing investment but particularly in response to the success of its recently launched brand Quiksilver. Quiksilver is a range of 200 polymer specific masterbatch colours available in up to 10 polymers and deliverable in any quantity from 5 kg to 5 tonnes, within 48 hours of order. The new equipment is a 60 mm twin screw Leistritz ZSE60 and its commissioning, earlier than originally planned, will give VTC Silvergate much needed additional capacity but more particularly greater manufacturing flexibility. The new 60 mm extruder will work alongside VTC Silvergate’s two 55 mm Leistritz lines and it will process predominantly large volume work leaving the two smaller units to handle Quiksilver and small to medium volume lots.

Suppliers and operators of Extrusion Technology will be provided with their own market place by EXTRUMA the International Trade Fair for Extrusion Technology, which takes place for the first time from February 23-25, 2005 at the exhibition center in Frankfurt, Germany. Consolidated and concisely arranged, this new trade fair offers cutting edge technology, up-to-date technical solutions and procedures for all important extrusion applications to an international audience.

‘Focussing on the essentials.’ With this motto EXTRUMA fullfils the necessity of a technically oriented, effective and cost-efficient trade fair. Furthermore it provides extrusion specialists world-wide with a centrally located exhibition center and a future oriented trade fair for the extrusion industry.

Compared to vast polytec fairs, EXTRUMA focuses on the complete process chain of extrusion. The product fields of EXTRUMA reach from raw materials and auxiliaries, extruders and components over extrusion dies, ancillary equipment, pre- and post-processing machines, complete extrusion lines to extruded products.

The clear thematic line-up and the focus on professional contents, as well as the manageable dimensions of the trade fair make EXTRUMA a contact- and work fair. It targets face-to-face conversations amongst specialists which consequently leads to an exchange of information and therefore creates the perfect atmosphere for successful business. This means that on three days in Frankfurt a variety of important international contacts can be made which represents a maximum of efficiency to both visitors and exhibitors.

An attractive supporting programme including professional conferences, symposiums and workshops, as well as the EXTRUMA-CAMPUS where universities and research facilities present themselves, complement the offer. Moreover, in the EXTRUMA-FORUM exhibitors can present their products or hold lectures.

EXTRUMA offers suppliers of extrusion technologies, machine- and plant construction, ancillary equipment manufacturers and tool makers the opportunity to present themselves with marginal effort to an interested audience. Cost-intensive and mainly disrupting live-performances of large machines and complete extrusion lines are banned from EXTRUMA, as the size of the maximum stand space is limited to 50 sqm per exhibitor. This permits a participation of smaller innovative enterprises of the extrusion industry at EXTRUMA, as the minimum stand space required only amounts to 9 sqm. The additional appealing turn-key shell scheme solutions facilitate a successful and professional exhibition participation at a cost-efficient rate.

The objectives of EXTRUMA are to provide economical and technological impulses, promote the profile and image of the extrusion branch and to therefore establish an international platform for the extrusion industry. Accordingly, potential visitors not only from Central Europe - but also from Eastern Europe and of course from the rapidly growing Asian markets will be targeted.