Strictly-Extrusion

What is said to be the world’s largest counter-rotating, conical twin-screw extruder for wood-plastic composites was shipped last year by Cincinnati Milacron. That model TC96 extruder, with screw diam. of 202 mm at the large end, tapering to 96 mm and 30:1 nominal L/D, is double-vented for high outputs with wood fiber. It runs wood-filled ABS, ASA, PP, HDPE, and PS at over 2000 lb/hr and wood-filled PVC at over 2600 lb/hr. Previously, the highest output of wood composite from a conical twin-screw was 1700 to 2000 lb/hr. With the new machine, Hughes increased its wood content from the prior 25% maximum to 30%. Milacron says the TC96 can process up to 70% wood.

Machinery manufacturer Berstorff, Germany, has installed a ‘Schaumtandex ZE 110/KE 400′ production line at its customer Sirap Gema Insulation Systems, Verolanuova / Italy. The line with a maximum production capacity of 1,500 kg/h will permit the doubling of capacity for XPS sheet at the producer of insulating boards and plastics packaging. According to Berstorff, which has sold 15 of the lines over the past five years, the combined twin- and single-screw extruders are increasingly in demand from converters demanding higher production rates and environmentally friendly blowing agents that cannot be fulfilled by the conventional combination of two single-screw extruders.

Arla Plast is building a new extrusion factory in the Czech Republic making polycarbonate multi-wall sheets. Construction at a green field site in Kadan, north-west of Prague, has already begun. Arla Plast managing director Leif Nilsson said the investment and working capital for the new plant would reach E7m. A new extrusion machine has been ordered from Breyer in Germany. It will be installed in October and production will begin in DecemberRobert Schatzl, previously production manager at Arla Plast in Sweden, will head the new company, named Arla Plast s.r.o. Multi-wall polycarbonate is mainly used in construction industry, for example in roof covers, skylights and conservatories.

German semi-finished plastics manufacturer Simona has grown its turnover by 3.1% in the first half of 2005, almost 2% less than its was forecasting after last year’s record-breaking 20% growth in turnover. The company said it was satisfied with half-year sales of E97.6m as the growth was still in line with the overall German plastics processing industry. However, rising raw materials prices hit pre-tax profits, falling 30% compared with the same period of 2004 to E6.7m. Looking ahead for the full year, Simona reckons that there will be increases in semi-finished product prices leading to an expected 3.1% growth in annual turnover to E196m. Assuming raw material prices are stable, the company expects the E10m forecasted pre-tax profit to be exceeded.

Coperion Group, the international systems and services business headquartered in Stuttgart, is pleased to announce the appointment of Manfred Eiden as new Chief Executive Officer of the Group from September 1st, 2005. Manfred Eiden takes over from interim Chief Executive Officer, Wolfgang-Dietrich Hein.

Since 1976 Manfred Eiden has had a distinguished career building the Kone Group; culminating in his last appointment from 2001 to 2004 as President of Kone Corporation, the elevators, escalators and cargo handling provider. Prior to this, Mr Eiden held senior positions in the Kone Group in North America and Europe. During his four-year period as President, Kone Corporation’s share price nearly doubled, following more than doubled sales and net income with substantial contributions from acquisitions and the development of equipment services.

Eiden’s appointment as CEO aims to further strengthen Coperion’s strategy to expand its market leadership in its core business. Coperion offers a full range of products and services for various industries, such as plastics, food, chemicals and minerals industries.

Eiden’s profound expertise in the services provider industry will support the accelerated growth in Coperion’s already successful value-added services division, providing after-market parts, components and services including life-time asset management for customers worldwide.

Commenting on his appointment, Philip Buscombe, Chief Executive of West Private Equity, said: “We are very pleased that Manfred Eiden is joining Coperion as Chief Executive and welcome him to the Board. His broad global experience in successfully building and running industrial equipment and services businesses and his proven track record of creating shareholder value will be invaluable as Coperion continues its growth.”

Manfred Eiden added: “I am excited to be joining Coperion at this stage of its development, and look forward to working with all employees to strengthen the Group’s position as a truly global player, focusing on customer requirements to deliver profitable growth in both the systems and services businesses.”

UK thermoformer Sharp Interpack is continuing the major redevelopment of its site in Bridgwater, Somerset, with a new film extrusion hall.
Two years ago the company embarked on a plan to bring its extrusion, thermoforming and warehousing operations side-by-side. In January this year it moved all its thermoforming operations into a new building under a £6.5m investment that included new machinery.
The new extrusion hall is designed to house two machines, one of which will be installed in the third quarter of this year. A new Reifenhauser machine has been ordered, which will add approximately 6,500tpa of PET film extrusion capacity.
Sharp Interpack is a leading manufacturer of rigid packaging such as fruit punnets, hinge packs and trays for ready meals, confectionery, bakery and meat produce. It has another site in Aylesham, Kent, that has also received major investment in the last three years. The £60m turnover firm employs 474 staff in total.

Smiths Group has made three acquisitions worth E11m that consolidates its medical division and adds a US plastics hosing business. The UK group sold Polymer Sealing Solutions to Trelleborg in 2003 and diversified into the medical products sector in late 2004 with the acquisition of Medex in the US.
Now it has acquired Sevit, its medical distributor in Italy, for E2.4m and will combine it with its Medex manufacturing and sales operation in Italy. The move is part of a process for consolidating its global sales channels, said Smiths.
It is also continuing development of its flexible technologies business with the purchase of two US manufacturers. It has paid E6m for Hi-Tech Hose based in Georgetown, Massachusetts, produces flexible hoses and ducting made from PVC, PE and other polymeric materials. The third acquisition, for E2.4m, is air heater products company Farnham Custom Products, based in North Carolina.

Source One Packaging, a US packing company has turned to polyolefin films, as a replacement of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) shink film used for food products.

The company plans to extend its packaging and tamper evident packaging product line by using polyolefin films. Currently, tamper proof packaging is expected to have a potential market due to the growing public concerns over bioterrorism and food safety in general.

Source One’s new products ensure security from tampering and pilferage for food and non-food applications, including sealing small packages and unusual shaped items.

Compare with PVC film, polyolefin film offers better characteristics, such as doesn’t become brittle and yellow with age or break down during the heat-sealing phase of packaging. Moreover, PVC production lines create odor and smoke as the film deposits on the sealing equipment and carbon builds up on the sealing tools over time. Therefore, polyolefin film without the above problems require less maintenance and promise a cleaner, higher quality appearance, according to the company.

This month the third film line with 4.6 m die for the production of PP was delivered to China, which was required for the multiple requirements of food packaging. Compared to the usual film lines with width of 2–3 m, these larger lines have certain special requirements in respect to engineering and processing technology. has drawn on its many years of experience of know-how in the building of cast film lines to design lines for three-layer polypropylene films in widths up to 4.8 m, that guarantee quality film. Lines for the production of three-layer PP cast films have three extruders: one extruder of 180 mm screw diameter and two coextruders of 90 mm screw diameter. Slot dies with widths up to 4600 mm have, due to their coat hanger channels, optimum melt flow and automatic control of film thickness. Using the patented coextrusion adapter REIcofeed three-layer PP films in thicknesses of 20–120 microns can be produced. The casting unit, with main chill rolls of 800 or 1000 mm, can be adjusted in height and moved in operating direction, and guarantees high film quality with its even roll surface temperature distribution (± 1°C). Film thickness gauge, oscillation, pre-treater and post-cooling rolls, are integrated into the haul-off unit. Finally, tried and tested winding technology is installed. Output of these lines is up to 1450 kg/h gross at speeds of 230 m/min.

With the development of a central vacuum system for calibration tables about three years ago, Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, Germany, set a benchmark for the profile extrusion industry. Now the machine manufacturer has introduced the new low noise calibration unit. Up to 10 vacuum pumps can be installed in each calibration table. The rotor disks inside the pumps create a loud noise with a frequency of about 400 Hz at the air pressure release valves. To reduce this enormous noise emission, the machine manufacturer has tested and compared vacuum pumps from a number of different suppliers, discovering differences of four to eight dB (A) in noise emission, and then decided in favour of a pump with an optimised air release valve. Moreover, the sound emitted by that pump is directed through a special under-water exhaust pipe. The surrounding water absorbs up to six dB (A) of the sound. Finally, Battenfeld has equipped its low noise calibration unit with pipe sound absorbers and/or sound baffles to further reduce the residual noise emission from the expelled air. The low noise calibration unit received its name because of the substantially reduced noise level compared to conventional calibration tables. Thanks to an optimised pump and several sound absorbing devices, Battenfeld has succeeded in a substantial reduction of noise emission from the vacuum pumps.