Strictly-Extrusion

DuPont Filaments-Europe B.V., Langraaf/NL, today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the assets of the German company Pedex, Wald-Michelbach/Germany, a specialist in high-technology brush filament manufacture. The acquisition is likely to be finalized by October 31, 2005, pending regulatory approval. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The transaction reinforces the company’s commitment to the filaments
industry, where well-known brands such as DuPont™ Tynex®, Tynex® A,
Chinex® and Orel® filaments are part of its product offering. As part of the
agreement, DuPont Filaments-Europe will acquire Pedex’s existing
manufacturing assets in Wald-Michelbach, Germany, including around 130
employees. The company will also gain ownership of the various filament
products and technologies marketed by Pedex, as well as its marketing and
sales distribution network.
The Pedex range of products for industrial use and personal care is based on
the innovative use of specialized monofilament technology. Its acquisition
complements the existing DuPont Filaments’ offering in these sectors,
enabling the company to meet the needs of customers worldwide. Indeed,
the inclusion of the Pedex business, which has a particularly strong focus in
Europe, will further strengthen DuPont Filaments’ overall global coverage.
Further areas for synergy are created by DuPont’s company-wide position
as a prominent material supplier to the cosmetics industry and industrial
sectors – both markets which stand to benefit significantly from Pedex’s
product offering.
Commenting on the acquisition, Thierry Marin, global business director of
DuPont Filaments said: “The two companies complement each other
perfectly. The successful integration of Pedex’s innovative products, and
highly competent employees, will reinforce DuPont Filaments’ position as a
global supplier of high- performance filament solutions.”

An open house at Uniloy Milacron srl in Italy marks the first public showing of U.S.-made Cincinnati Milacron-brand extruders outside of North America, now that a five-year noncompete agreement with SMS AG has expired. “It’s our first push into markets outside of North America, with U.S.-manufactured extruders going out to the world,” said Tom Brown, Milacron’s general sales and product manager for extruders.
Brown said officials of the U.S. company are studying where to set up Cincinnati Milacron extrusion facilities outside of North America. Both companies also now will do battle in the fast-growing Asian market.
Milacron showed two extruders at the Magenta open house Sept-21-23: A TC-55 and a TP 93-26. The TC-55 is a conical twin-screw extruder, with a screw diameter of 55 millimeters. It is designed for custom profiles, windows, pipe, fencing, wood-flour, cap-stock coextrusion and other applications. The TP 93-26 with 93mm screws is the company’s smallest parallel twin screw extruder. It is used to make pipe, siding, profiles and sheet. The machines were built at Milacron’s main U.S. plant in Batavia, Ohio,
Milacron is taking the fight to Europe, home country to its arch-rival Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH of Vienna, Austria. Milacron was the long-time owner of the Vienna business, but sold it in 1999 to SMS of Düsseldorf, Germany. SMS also makes Battenfeld and American Maplan brand extruders. Milacron and SMS signed a noncompete agreement that kept them from intruding on each other’s markets. The agreement expired Jan. 1. The Austrian Cincinnati Extrusion has opened a U.S. facility in Erlanger, Ky.

Plantic Technologies Ltd., which makes thermoformed trays from plant-based biopolymers, has purchased a new 103-millimeter twin-screw compounding extruder.
The line will be Plantic’s third from Lebanon, Oregon-based Entek Manufacturing Inc. It will be shipped to Plantic’s Melbourne headquarters by the end of the year to supply customers in Europe. Mark Fink, Plantic´s business development manager, would not say how much the extruder cost.
“At the moment, we produce for the Australian and New Zealand markets, and we export rolled stock to Europe and it is converted there. We are considering the Japanese and United States markets, but there is nothing solid there yet,” Fink said.
Australian companies using Plantic thermoformed trays include confectionery manufacturers Cadbury Schweppes Ltd. and Darrell Lea Chocolates Pty. Ltd. Fink said Plantic also is moving into packaging for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
The company also is exploring injection molding. New products under development include a flower bulb package that spaces bulbs evenly and can be planted, and a mosquito trap that falls apart when the insecticide runs out.
Kirk Hanawalt, Entek sales vice president, said extensive laboratory trials to overcome challenges in manufacturing the cornstarch-based material helped it win the first contract to supply Plantic in 2003. Entek also has supplied Plantic’s research partner, the University of Queensland’s Centre for High Performance Polymers, in Brisbane, Australia, with a 27mm extruder.

The Pentaform® line of custom formulated thermoforming films has been extended to include the new ‘Easy Form’ high-performance Pentaform® rigid vinyl films for face-seal blister and clamshell packaging applications. The new ‘Easy Form’ Pentaform® films allow for a broader, more forgiving temperature range during the thermoforming process, thereby reducing the potential for thermoforming problems and increasing productivity. The new film is well suited for use in pilfer-proof, high visibility, and RFID capable packaging, as well as a broad spectrum of products that require blister pack, clamshell, two-part clamshells, club packs, and tray applications.
Pentaform® high-performance ‘Easy Form’ vinyl films have enhanced material flow and distribution in the formed part as compared to traditional thermoforming films. The improved material flow and distribution allow for more efficient material flow making sidewalls thicker around the formed part resulting in a superior formed part. Ten percent improved cycle time on most molds can be expected with this new technology material. ‘Easy Form’ Pentaform® films allow customers to transition between short and long runs faster by reducing the number of poorly formed parts, which creates thermoforming machine time for other orders resulting in higher thermoformed part throughput and cost savings. ‘Easy Form’ films also provide optimal down gauge potential for even further material cost savings.
‘Expanding our thermoforming film line to include the ‘Easy Form’ Pentaform® high-performance films,’ notes Peter Gianniny, Klöckner Pentaplast’s business manager for thermoforming films, ‘continues to provide our customers with the latest proven technology and broad selection of thermoforming films to meet all their packaging needs and improve thermoforming line productivity.’
Founded in the U.S. in 1977, Klöckner Pentaplast of America, Inc., is the largest producer of high-quality rigid films in the Americas. The company’s product line includes vinyl, polyester, polypropylene, high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), BAREX®, ACLAR®-laminated, COC-laminated and -coated, and PVDC-coated films for pharmaceutical, medical device, food, electronics, and general-purpose thermoform packaging, as well as printing and specialty applications.

Boomer Industries, the Northern Ireland custom profile extruder, officially opened its new £1.6m (E2.4m) facility in Lisburn last Friday. The move to the 3,000 sq metre purpose-built facility will create 13 new jobs at the 40-strong company. It has also invested around £300,000 (E440,000) in new machinery. Regional development agency Invest Northern Ireland provided £399,000 (E589,000) of assistance to the project.