Presenting progress in plastics

24 August 2010



Düsseldorf is the destination for K 2010, the world’s leading plastics and rubber industry trade show, running from 27 October - 3 November. Some 3,000 exhibitors will display the latest products and innovations. This is Part 1 of our show preview.


This expanding show is testament to the growth of the use and variety of plastics in packaging.

A new BASF (Hall 5, stands C21/D21) online tool - the Ecovio Eco-Efficiency Compass - will make it much easier to decide when to use biodegradable plastics. Up to now, anyone who wanted to base a decision on a solid foundation had to turn to extensive individual eco-efficiency analyses or other life cycle assessments (LCA) that scrutinise the consumption of resources during the manufacture, use and disposal phases of a plastics product.

The software compiles all of the relevant data for the production and disposal of selected products – the findings of many exhaustive Eco-Efficiency Analyses – in a single user-friendly interface. Various parameters that are crucial for the ecological evaluation of a given product can be quickly checked, revealing their impact on the product’s eco-efficiency right away. The easy comparison of the ecological footprint of various approaches allows the user to quickly ascertain whether a biodegradable plastics is actually more environmentally friendly.

Visitors to speciality chemicals expert Clariant’s exhibit (Hall 8A, stand J11) will see new masterbatches for compostable bioplastics products and packaging. New Renol and Cesa-compostable masterbatches incorporate conventional (non-natural) additives said to make them more economical and more process and light stable than ‘natural’ products. This results in a broader choice of colours and additive functionality for biopolymer applications requiring compliance with European and US standards governing compostability and ecotoxicity.

Under its sustainability banner of‘Responsible Innovation Now’, DuPont Performance Polymers will present advances in high performance polymers and elastomers for industries including the health care, food, and packaging sectors. A new FG (Food Grade) family of products will provide compliance with several regional food contact regulations including FDA, European Food Contact 2002/72/EC and GMP (EC) 2023/2006. Easy-open packaging solutions will also be featured on the stand (033, Hall 6).

Microlayer technology developed by Extrusion Dies Industries (EDI) for thick film and sheet promises to extend the shelf life of retort, hot fill, and flexible food packaging, while increasing formability in thermoforming. EDI will feature the technology in a display of its ’layer multiplier’ system on stand G06, in Hall 2.

At its Technology Center in Chippewa Falls, EDI is carrying out a ’scientifically rigorous study’ of the benefits and limitations of layer multiplication. One result is the development of a technique for selective multiplication of the barrier resin layer of a multilayer film or sheet structure. By transforming a single layer of a resin such as EVOH into several microlayers, it is possible to reduce oxygen transmission rate (OTR) by 60 to 80%, the company claims. The resulting benefits for food packaging are said to include prolonged shelf life, enhanced quality and lower material consumption.

EDI’s layer multiplier is a special tool that can be engineered to multiply some or all of the layers within a coextrusion ‘sandwich’ provided by a feedblock. The resulting microlayer structure then passes into the manifold of an extrusion die, where it is transformed into film or sheet of target width and thickness profile. No matter how many microlayers there are in the structure, the overall thickness is no greater than that of a conventional coextrusion, and the structure contains the same amount of raw material, stated EDI.

On stand G82, in Hall 3, Indian manufacturer Kody will demonstrate the Nuzen S-737 450 MPM slitter rewinder. The Nuzen is a duplex winding machine capable of handling a very wide range of web material, including laminated paper, BOPP, polyester, PVC, multilayer film, and foil, in web thicknesses from 10-250 micron - even more for customisation. Models are available with working widths from 1,100-1,650mm, unwind diameters from 1,100-1,500mm and rewinds 600-800mm.

Top speeds are 300, 400 and 600m/minUsed in pharmaceutical packaging, LyondellBasell’s (Hall 6 stand D24, ) Purell PE 3420F resin is said to represent ’a new LDPE performance benchmark’ with a density of 0.933g/cm³. The new grade processes easily and has a wide range of best-in-class mechanical properties, the company states. Compared to standard LDPE, it has very high sterilisation temperature resistance and provides significant wall thickness reduction potential, which offer cost-saving capabilities for customers using blow-fill-seal (BFS) technology.

The latest version of the Material Data Centre internet information portal will be presented on stand E04, in Hall 5, by M-Base, supplier of material information systems to the international plastics industry. The Material Data Centre offers a complete set of Campus data and material data from other sources, covering the complete international market. Additionally, an application database, a tradename directory and a growing selection of searchable literature sources are offered. Easy to use navigation tools are available.

M-Base says the Material Data Center offers designers specific functionality, such as fitting programs for the determination of material parameters for different models, a toolbox for calculation of cooling times, flowlength and design elements, and CAE interfaces. The principal data and functionality is available for free after registration at www.materialdatacenter.com

Supplier of tungsten carbide coatings for plasticising feedscrews and continuous mixing rotors Surface Engineering (Hall 13, stand B91-5), will present its products and services in Hall 13, stand B91-5. Visitors will see samples of tungsten and chromium carbide coatings as well as detailed exhibits that explain how carbides ‘provide two to five times longer equipment life’.

ColorMatrix Group (Hall 7A, stand D05) will showcase its liquid colorant and additive technologies, fluoropolymer colour concentrates and compounds. Breakthrough technologies for thermoplastic applications will include Excelite, a liquid foaming agent for PVC foam sheet extrusion that reduces density and improves lightweighting ‘for a better print finish, greater clarity and increased definition’, says the company. PET additives and a ‘pioneering’ fibre delustrant will be featured, said to enhance the quality of PET fibre and improve processing efficiencies. In addition, for long-term recyclability of PET containers, newly developed Optica PET resin toners and Joule RHB re-heat additives will help manage energy costs, colorant waste and inventory levels, and benefit product aesthetics ‘even when using recycled resin’, states ColorMatrix.

Colines’ latest addition to its cast film lines, the Handrollex Triple, will be seen running (Hall 16A, stand 39). It produces stretch film rolls, for manual and automatic use, with in-line slitting and jumbo rolls up to 500mm diameter. Multiple in-line cuttings and mini rolls of 100mm are possible. A coreless option is on the way.

Colines has been working on the processing of extremely low thicknesses (8 to 12 micron) and fine-tuning the cling behaviour, with raw material supplier Sabic. Sabic’s linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) stretch film and polypropylene (PP) cast film will be seen running on a Colines line. Sister company Elav, which develops automation systems for Colines, will present new generation management software that is said to guarantee consistent qualitative standards. While another Colines business, Welding Machinery, which supplies converting equipment for air-bubble and EPE films, will display a working line.

New PET drying systems that offer low energy expenditure will be shown by Moretto (Hall 11, stand H57). The system, called Eureka, involves no investment up front to achieve ‘marked reductions in material treatment costs, increased profits, improved performance and better quality’, says the company. The combined X Max dryer, Flowmatik controller and new OTX hopper with 8,000kg/hour capacity, is designed to achieve faster, consistent and gentle drying of highly hygroscopic polymers such as PET.

First-timer at the show, Plasmawerk Hamburg (Hall 3, stand E29) will present its CAPS plasma technology system for modifying web surfaces in applications using polymer films. The company believes CAPS can avoid the use of more expensive surface coatings, make redundant those that may be harmful to the environment, and it will cut running costs and capital investment. Based on proven corona technology, CAPS is said to give ‘extremely’ good adhesion through chemical bonding due to increased surface tension. The custom built systems will handle material widths up to more than 4,000mm and line speeds up to more than 1,600m/min.

French company Calemard (Hall 3A, stand 96) has extended its slitter rewinder range with the Vega S, for plastics films, adhesive tapes, laminates or multilayer products. Up to three cutting systems can be fitted to the same machine, and for narrow tapes, a lay-on arm is said to ensure a perfect rewinding quality. In addition, the Vega S has been designed to reduce unloading times and speed up production restarts.

Calemard spooling lines offer full computer control of winding profiles and individual setting of each position, to ensure flexibility, consistency, stability of the spool - especially for narrow width materials - and exact repeatability.

Sharing the Calemard stand, sister company Roll Concept is targeting plastics based industries with Alveotube rollers and winding cores. Light in weight and resistant to rust, the aluminium profile combined with an alveolar structure will help save money and achieve productivity gains, it is claimed.

Brückner Servtec (Hall 3, stand C73) will present four new types of economical to run high performance lines that offer new capacity potential for biaxially oriented films at a maximum 10.4m wide produced at 525m/min, and a cast polypropylene line for widths up to 6.2m at speeds up to 300m/min. Brückner will also present its newly optimised cast film temperature control. The cooling zone is variable, and controlled to reduce energy use.

Visitors to the show can learn how Brückner can adapt an existing BoPP line to serve the bioplastics polylactic acid (BoPLA) packaging market. The company has already helped BoPP producer Taghleef Industries to modify one of its lines in Italy. It involves an extruder screw designed to ensure gentler plastification, and temperature control that allows for the fact that PLA must be stretched at considerably lower temperatures than other polymers.

Brückner Servtec and German manufacturer Seebach have formed a joint venture company named Brückner Seebach Filter Solutions India. Visitors can see filter products that are being made in India, near Pune, exhibited by Seebach on its stand (G61, in Hall 10).

Tickets now available online

Visitors to the K 2010 website (www.k-online.de) can purchase tickets for the show at 2007 prices. The online price is €49 instead of €55 over the counter. The three-day ticket is available online for €108, (€12 less). To order, simply click on the ‘Online Ticketing’ link and enter the desired number and type of tickets. The admission tickets also serve as return tickets for buses, trams and trains.

Innovation Compass points to the highlights

To make it easier in finding the many new developments at K 2010, - a device that will show the direct route to all the highlights - will be launched on the K website (www.k-online.de) six weeks before the fair opens. The Innovation Compass will enable users to tailor their own visit to the show.

The main themes of the Innovation Compass cover products and processes which will have a decisive impact on market trends in the plastics and rubber industry over the coming years. These include: Plastics made from renewable resources; fibre composites and their processing; materials/hybrids; faster manufacturing processes; increased throughput; faster production changeover times; energy efficiency; materials efficiency.

Exhibitors at K 2010 who have innovative contributions to make with their products, processes or applications may be included in the Innovation Compass, posting selected exhibits and explaining why they constitute innovations in relation to the associated theme.

Visitors to the show will be able to gain valuable insight into new developments in areas of importance to them, even before K 2010 opens its doors, contact the suppliers in advance, then learn more about these particular exhibits at the show.

For more information, contact Ludwig König on +49 (0) 211 4560655, email KoenigL@messe-duesseldorf.de.


K 2010 Layer multiplier system by EDI. EDI Bruckner can adapt an existing BoPP line to serve the bioplastics polylactic acid (BoPLA) packaging market. Bruckner ColorMatrix will showcase liquid colorant and additive technologies for PVC and PET. ColorMatrix Surface Engineering will display samples of tungsten and chromium carbide coatings. Surface Engineering Moretto’s Eureka X Max dryer. Moretto

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K 2010
BASF
Clariant
Dupont
Surface Engineering
EDI
Kody
Lyondell Basell
M-Base
MTF Technik
Brückner
Color Matrix
Colines
Moretto
Plasmawerk
Calemard and Roll Concept

Moretto Moretto
Bruckner Bruckner
K 2010 K 2010
ColorMatrix ColorMatrix
EDI EDI
Surface Engineering Surface Engineering


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