Investment group Madison Capital Partners has added four units of Dynisco Inc. to its plastics equipment stable.Madison said it was buying Dynisco Instruments, Dynisco Extrusion, Dynisco Polymer Test and Dynisco Europe GmbH from Berwind Group. Berwind is retaining the largest Dynisco unit, which makes hot runners. Richard Paolino is president of the new Madison-owned firm, called Dynisco LLC.
The new Eliminator Air Ring from Brampton Engineering Inc., Canada is said to raise output and clarity of multi-layer blown films. It even makes low-melt-strength formulations possible that couldn’t be blown otherwise.It costs 15-20 per cent more than other air rings, but customers report 20-30 per cent higher throughput rates and greatly improved clarity. The difference is that Eliminator has an infinitely adjustable lower lip as well as upper lip. It also has a top ring with adjustable hole openings.
Uponor (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of Uponor Oyj of Espoo, Finland, has won the agreement to supply Thames Water Utilities Limited, part of the Thames Water Group, with its needs for polyethylene pipes and fittings for the next 3-5 year period. Uponor’s estimate of the package value is between £25-30m (EUR 40-50m) for the contract period. The contract was negotiated by, and will be managed through, Connect 2020 on behalf of Thames Water. Uponor has demonstrated its ability to deliver innovative products and ways of working to enable cost to be driven out of the supply chain.
Dover Flexo Electronics Inc.,USA has introduced a new large-diameter transport roll controling tension for winding delicate narrow webs or laminates that cannot bend beyond a certain arc. The “Big Wheel” is 4 in. tall x 5.5 in. in diam., vs. 1.5 in. diam. for standard transport rolls. Supported on one side only, the wheel is attached to the model FRA tension transducer, which measures tension during winding or transporting, then signals the controller to maintain consistent tension throughout the process.
The stack of converging wedges in this new Mixing Breaker Plate creates elongational flow for dispersive mixing plus flow in axial and radial directions for distributive mixing. This novel plate, developed by The Madison Group, USA and Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering, USA takes up the same space as a conventional one, so it’s retrofittable.
Environmental Polymers Group plc, UK is raising more than US$4.3 million for a major expansion. The publicly traded company plans to establish a production plant at Earlham, England, where it has a pilot plant. The company claims to have pioneered technology to produce polyvinyl alcohol resin in pellet form.
Extrusion Solutions LLC, USA has launched the first adjustable weir for tubing extrusion. Called MicroCenter, it uses three micrometers to position medical tubing before calibration and cooling tanks. This is far easier than standard fixed weirs, which move the entire water trough into alignment. The weir adjusts a 0,5-in. gap in x, y, z directions using 12 PTFE sizing inserts or a stainless-steel iris with an opening of 0,30-0,470 in.
Sigma Stretch Film, USA has opened a new 50,200-square-foot manufacturing plant in Belleville. The plant can produce 35 million pounds of industrial stretch film annually. Like all Sigma’s stretch-film plants, it has Battenfeld Gloucester extrusion lines for both blown and cast film. It can coextrude up to nine-layer cast film. Sigma Stretch has a total annual capacity of more than 240 million pounds now.
Advanced Polymer Alloys (APA), USA has launched a new chemical foaming-agent concentrate for its Alcryn Melt Processible rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer. The foaming agents were developed jointly with Reedy International Corp., USA. Reedy specializes in blowing agents for plastics. The concentrates are sold by Reedy as Safoam RIC 25 and RAZ 50. By achieving a very uniform dispersion of chemical blowing agent in Alcryn, these products permit much better control of foam density and cell size with low levels of blowing agent.
An innovative die delivery program recently developed by Davis-Standard gives blown film processors a timely alternative for replacing worn-out dies. Davis-Standard’s new PE Series dies are ideal for LDPE and LLDPE monolayer applications, and can be delivered to customers in eight weeks, compared to a typical delivery of 14 to 16 weeks. The PE Series dies are available in the most widely used sizes including 4-inch (100 mm), 8-inch (200 mm), 10-inch (250 mm), 12-inch (300 mm), 16-inch (400 mm) and 20-inch (500 mm). The dies feature proven spiral geometry, angled channels and streamlined parts. The dies are supplied with metric fasteners, and are machined from high quality stress relieved forgings that are polished and nickel-plated with chrome plated lips for durability. Available with the WesJet™ air ring and IBC (internal bubble cooling) capability, the dies come standard with a choice of oscillating or stationary cart. For more information, contact Keller at Davis-Standard’s manufacturing facility in Somerville, N.J., at (908) 722-6000, extension 2266.
