Strictly-Extrusion

In the first initiative of its kind in the wire and cable industry, Teknor Apex Company (www.teknorapex.com) has advised customers that it will supply only non-lead stabilized (NLS) PVC compounds after July 31 of this year, it was announced today by the company’s Vinyl Division. In the case of NLS compounds that have already been fully developed and established as compliant with requisite codes and standards, the company will cease producing lead-stabilized versions effective immediately.

Also included in the changeover are pre-colored compounds, for which the Vinyl Division’s sister business Teknor Color Company has developed color concentrates that comply with the European Union’s Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations, including restrictions against use of lead.

Underscoring the significance of this initiative is the pioneering role of Teknor Apex in developing PVC as a workhorse compound for insulation and jacketing, as well as the sheer number of such compounds—over 3,000—now offered by the company, according to Mike Patel, industry manager.

“For decades after Teknor Apex began manufacturing PVC wire and cable compounds in the 1940s, lead-containing additives were the most effective means of making PVC thermally stable while maintaining its outstanding electrical properties,” Patel said. “All that has now changed. New non-lead stabilizers plus advanced compounding technology has enabled us to manufacture NLS compounds whose performance and cost are comparable to lead-stabilized materials.”

Customers that have not already initiated a changeover to NLS compounds are urged to do so as soon as possible, noted Patel. Teknor Apex representatives will contact these companies to provide NLS-compound recommendations and other advice.

SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) officially opened its Centre for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI), a state-of-the-art research laboratory, at its local manufacturing facility. The CMI, which was funded with $700,000 matching funds from the Province of Ontario’s Rural Economic Development Program, will work collaboratively with area universities and colleges to expand plastics manufacturing knowledge and expertise. The knowledge network development initiative was supported in cooperation with the Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation.
The opening of the facility included remarks by the Honourable John Wilkinson, Minister of Research and Innovation; Lou Rinaldi, Member of Provincial Parliament, Northumberland-Quinte West; Paul Van Laren, Cobourg site leader, SABIC Innovative Plastics; and John Curvey, Americas manufacturing manager, SABIC Innovative Plastics. A facility tour of the laboratory and its equipment followed.
‘Eastern Ontario is home to some of Ontario’s top research talent,” said Wilkinson. “The Centre for Manufacturing Innovation provides an important opportunity for Ontario’s top researchers to join manufacturers in Northumberland in pursuit of innovative products and services that can be marketed to the world.”
“This investment is a part of the McGuinty government’s strategy to support research and innovation that will build on regional strengths to boost Ontario’s economy and create the next generation of good-paying jobs for families living in Eastern Ontario, and all across the province,” said Rinaldi.
“Our partnership with the Province of Ontario is dedicated to developing better applied management processes in the plastics industry,” said Van Laren. “Collaborative research in applied plastics technology will help set new standards for manufacturing innovation and attract talent and investment to this region.”
Key Projects Already Underway
The CMI will be available to students and faculty from institutions such as the University of Waterloo, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), and others who are pursuing plastics research and manufacturing projects. Staff members from the Cobourg facility will oversee and assist the academic researchers. Two projects are already underway.
One new project focuses on colour reproducibility. Dr. Mike Szarka and Dr. Ghaus Rizvi from the UOIT are working to increase the percentage of successful colour matching on the first pass through the extruder, as well as minimize the need for subsequent colour adjustments, with the goal of reducing cycle times.
The other key project, headed by Dr. Costas Tzoganakis of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Waterloo, is studying X-based control to determine whether physical characteristics such as melt flow and impact strength can be determined from monitoring extruder characteristics.
Specialized Research & Technologies for the Plastics Industry
Research areas include online precision colour monitoring and control, online materials characterization, and productivity improvements. The ultimate goals of the centre are driving economic development through manufacturing excellence, and establishing best practices for the plastics industry.
Specialized equipment in the CMI includes an Equitech Online Colour Meter, which monitors colour of the melt inside the extruder; a Dynisco VS1000 Online Rheometer for experimentation with online melt flow measurements; and a 26 mm nine-barrel Coperion extruder with side stuffer and two feeders. The lab also features donated equipment from SABIC Innovative Plastics, including a mould machine for colour chips, a Macbeth Colour Eye 7000, a colour booth, a Tinius Olsen MP600 Melt Indexer, a Thermo Instruments Nicolet FTIR Impact 410, and an impact tester.
The manufacturing facility near Cobourg specializes in fast turnarounds of small, custom-colour batches of different SABIC Innovative Plastics materials, including Lexan*, Cycoloy*, Cycolac*, Xenoy*, and Valox* resins. Rapid fulfillment and delivery are available for locations worldwide.

The new Iranian Company Atlas Film (http://atlasfilmcompany.com) has purchased a 5-layer 8.2m wide BOPP extrusion line from Brückner (www.brueckner.com) with an output of 26,000 tones, which will be the largest and most efficient production line for BOPP film in Iran so far. This will enable Atlas Film to capture the market with added value specialty films. Brückner is a leading supplier of stretching lines for oriented films with innumerable references all over the world.

AMI (www.amiplastics.com) has announced the dates for the next international conference on Multilayer Packaging Films, which takes place from 24-26 November 2008 at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany.
Multilayer Packaging Films 2008 provides a forum to discuss the market trends for the specialty and barrier film industry and the latest technology. All aspects of specialty films will be presented and discussed, including (but not exclusively):
• Applications and markets
• Materials and material selection
• Interlayer adhesion
• Multilayer film manufacturing technologies
• Testing and quality control
• Food contact and barrier properties of different materials
• The latest innovations and packaging case studies
Interested parties, who want to take part as a speaker in the event, can submit their papers. The deadline for sending an offer of a paper is 24th May 2008.
Further information can be found on the conference web site at:
www.amiplastics.com/ami/AMIConference.asp?EventID=127 or contact Dr Sally Humphreys, sh@amiplastics.com

Davis-Standard, LLC (www.davis-standard.com) will host a workshop on “The Basics of Plastics Extrusion” on April 1 and 2, 2008 at its headquarters in Pawcatuck, Connecticut. The two-day class will cover the fundamentals of plastics extrusion, as well as the composition and properties of various polymers and the mechanics of essential downstream processes. Topics include extruder components, temperature control, maintenance and screw design.
In addition to instruction, course participants will tour Davis-Standard’s laboratory and manufacturing facilities and will have access to polymer process engineers and technical specialists. The fee is $750 per person with a 10 percent discount given for groups of three or more. Course books and materials are included, and class size is limited to promote student/teacher interaction.
For enrollment or more information about Davis-Standard’s seminars and on-site extrusion training, contact Wendy Smith at (860) 599-6119 or at wsmith@davis-standard.com.

The blown-film specialist Next Generation Films (www.nextgenfilms.com) has expanded its production capacity and purchased 3-layer, 87-in. blown-film line from Windmoeller & Hoelscher (www.whcorp.com), which will be installed in their Lexington facility this summer.

Swedish-based Arla Plast AB has invested in another extrusion line for the production of multiwall PC sheets at its facility in Kadan, Czech Republic. The start of production has been scheduled for the early part of 2008. Leif Nilsson, Managing Director of Arla Plast AB said: “This line will further strengthen our position in the European market. The line will not only add capacity for the multiwall sheets but also allow us to grow with our customers and further enhance our principles of speed, flexibility, service and quality for our customers. We look forward to develop innovative products with high quality on these investments and to serve our valued customers”.
Arla Plast AB was founded in 1969 and is specialized in the extrusion of solid plastics sheets made from Polycarbonate, Polyesters and ABS. The company is privately owned and is exporting 80% of its products.

The german manufacturer of extruded products SIMONA AG has announced to open a new 40,000 square meters factory in Jiangmen, in the south of China. The expansion will be carried out in several stages and the start of production is scheduled for the third quarter of 2008. In the first stage the company will concentrate on the production of polyolefin sheets. In the second stage they will expand their facility to include PVC products.

Davis-Standard, LLC will host a workshop on “The Basics of Plastics Extrusion” on April 1 and 2, 2008 at its headquarters in Pawcatuck, Connecticut. The two-day class will cover the fundamentals of plastics extrusion, as well as the composition and properties of various polymers and the mechanics of essential downstream processes. Topics include extruder components, temperature control, maintenance and screw design.
In addition to instruction, course participants will tour Davis-Standard’s laboratory and manufacturing facilities and will have access to polymer process engineers and technical specialists. The fee is $750 per person with a 10 percent discount given for groups of three or more. Course books and materials are included, and class size is limited to promote student/teacher interaction.
For enrollment or more information about Davis-Standard’s seminars and on-site extrusion training, contact Wendy Smith at (860) 599-6119 or at wsmith@davis-standard.com. To register online, visit www.davis-standard.com.

Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany and the Indian machine manufacturer Kabra Extrusionstechnik Ltd., Mumbai, have now completed 25 years of highly successful cooperation in serving the Indian ex-trusion equipment market. The partnership has been further strengthened by the joint venture which was established in 2006. Working as a team, the two companies have repeatedly set milestones in the performance of their PO and PVC pipe extrusion lines, with a total of almost 1,300 lines sold, and just under 100 granulators that have been installed as well.

Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik recognized the potential of the Indian extrusion equip-ment market at an early stage and in 1982 entered into a license agreement with the Kolsite Group, a manufacturer of plastics machinery already established in that market. This partnership showed a highly positive development to the benefit of both sides from the very beginning. During the first few years, Kolsite established a mod-ern production and technology infrastructure for BEX products and sold 11 BEX twin-screw extrusion lines for PVC pipe production. Over and over again, from the foun-dation of Kabra Extrusionstechnik in 1985 to the formation of the joint venture in 2006, when Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik and its American sister company American Maplan acquired a 14% stake in Kabra, these companies were able to install extru-sion lines which set benchmarks in their market. Thanks to the joint venture, Kabra Extrusionstechnik has gained access to the latest know-how of Battenfeld Extrusion-stechnik and American Maplan, and is thus optimally prepared to meet the future requirements of the booming Indian market.
Dynamic market development in India

In 2006, about 14 million tons of plastics were processed into pipe worldwide. Until 2010, the total capacity is expected to increase by 5% annually to about 17 million tons. Market researchers estimate that the annual growth rate in Asia will be about 6%, with India even showing a growth of almost 20%.
In the strongly fragmented Indian market, about 25,000 producers are currently processing a total of approximately 7 million tons of plastics. This volume is expected to grow to 12 million tons by 2010, almost twice the current figure. Today, about 900,000 tons of thermoplastic material is already being processed into pipes in India each year, more than 80% of which is PVC. This segment is also expected to grow at an enormous rate, since more and more pipes are needed for agricultural irriga-tion systems, drinking water, waste water and gas transport, plumbing and cable conduits. With its customized line concepts including extruders, dies and complete downstream equipment, Kabra Extrusionstechnik offers suitable solutions to meet the demands of every manufacturing task, not only for pipe production, but since 2006 also for profile extrusion. In 2007, Kabra installed the first complete line for the production of PVC door frames, thus underscoring once more its technological lead-ership in the Indian market.