UPM attracts €1 million orders

December 2007

PRW - published 20/12/2007

By John Whitehead

Ancillary supplier argues IRD technology now accepted

20 December 2007 - UPM Machinery Sales is celebrating more than €1m worth of orders for its infra red drying technology following K2007.

According to UPM director, Roy Fowler, the systems are for installation in Portugal, France, Germany and Holland. He told PRW: “This is a very different situation from the previous K three years ago when we were essentially introducing IRD to the marketplace.

“But fortunately this new technology based on short wave infra red had been accepted primarily by the APET sheet extrusion and thermoforming food packaging market with over 50 installations operating 24/7 worldwide to date.”

Based in Langley, Berkshire, UPM exhibited on the stand of Italy’s SB Plastics Machinery in Düsseldorf.

UPM Manages Total Project

December 2007

Boehringer Ingelheim

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Boehringer Ingelheim is a research driven group of companies with almost 39,000 employees in 137 locations globally dedicated to the development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals to improve health and the quality of life.

Some two years ago UPM were contracted to install a waste plastic extraction system at the Bracknell facility and as a result of that success were requested to act as main contractors for a material feed system as the main material supplier for the two grades of LLDPE wanted to convert from bag supply to tanker deliveries for silo storage.

Due to this change in bulk material delivery it was necessary to develop a cleansing station whereby any form of contamination together with dust and fines would be removed prior to transfer to any of eight Rommalag Blow Fill and Seal machines to produce unit dose vials under sterile conditions fully automatically utilizing a Siemens S7-300 PLC Control with software developed by UPM interfacing to the Load Cells indicator on the external Silos.

All pipe work was rough bored to eliminate “angel hair” generation and all contact components were manufactured from stainless steel with the main installation located on a mezzanine floor installed 12 meters above ground level.

Chris Grail Project Engineering Manager expressed complete satisfaction in the professional manner in which UPM managed the total project which was fully operational within the agreed time schedules “this system had to interface with existing equipment without causing any disruption to our production and the UPM engineers were extremely adaptable to our needs displaying that rare quality of integrity and acted as excellent ambassadors for UPM”.
 

Boehringer Ingelheim website: www.boehringer-ingelheim.co.uk

INFRARED PET DRYING AND CRYSTALLISING

September 2007

Inquitex S.A.

Inquitex S.A. has recently installed at its factory in Andoain (Spain) two IRD (infrared rotary drum) PET drying and crystallising units from the British firm UPM, represented in Spain by Safiplast S.L. (www.safiplast.com) . Each IRD is part of a different extrusion line, replacing and improving on conventional drying and crystallising equipment.

On the first line the IRD unit, handling 1,000 kg/h, uses PET flakes made by shredding recovered PET bottles. The flakes are dried and crystallised in the IRD unit and then fed into two extruders producing PET in sheet form for use in a range of industries.

The second line uses a mixture of chippings and flakes from PET bottles, which are dried and crystallised in the other IRD unit, also with a throughput of 1,000 kg/h. This then feeds into an extruder producing polyester fibre.

While the applications are different, in both cases the installation of the IRD units has meant considerable energy savings and simplification of the process in comparison with conventional recycled PET drying and crystallising systems. Compared to these systems, IRD involves only 60% of the investment and power consumption is similarly lower. Moreover, the drying and crystallising process takes just 12 minutes rather than the four or five hours needed by conventional systems. As crystallisation is simultaneous with drying, it makes it possible to reuse and recycle PET.

This investment by Inquitex is proof of the firm’s commitment to the technology of the future.

Inquitex S.A. website:  www.inquitex.com

Safiplast website: www.safiplast.com

The Queens Award

July 2007

Queen’s Award Presentation

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Champagne flowed at UPM as Philip Wroughton, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire presented The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for their Infrared Dryer (IRD) which offers speed and energy saving advantages to processors of PET which can be crystallised and dried in one pass eliminating the need for a separate crystalliser and a separate desiccant dryer resulting in a reduction on initial investment costs.

Representatives of key customers attended together with The British Plastics Federation; the Polymer Machinery Manufacturers and Distributors Association and the Mayor of Slough. Peter Davis Director General of the BPF speaking at the event said “UPM have set the gold standard for the industry”.

Roy Fowler commented that with any new product the proof of the pudding is in the eating and it was Kevin Mills of Flight Plastics who gave UPM the opportunity to trial their first infrared dryer in a production environment back in June 2003 which allowed them to move forward with their development and Flight subsequently ordered an IRD which was delivered in early 2004 that has operated trouble free on a 24/7 basis and Fowler confirmed that the 50th IRD has been supplied to Reliance Industries in India who are the worlds largest producer of PET fibre and yarn.

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K Show Preview

 July 2007

50th IRD goes to India

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The 50th infrared dryer (IRD) manufactured by UPM Machinery Sales Limited has been despatched to India for Reliance Industries who are the worlds largest producer of Polyester Fibre and Yarn and the 3000 litres capacity IRD will crystallise and dry 43 tons per day of amorphous PET (assuming a material bulk density of 600g/l) together with a smaller 1000 litre IRD and all associated vacuum conveying and gravimetric blending equipment.

Dutch film producer Folietechniek B.V. has also expanded production at it’s Raamsdonksveer headquarters with the installation of a new 150mm screw diameter extruder from Battenfeld resulting in the installation of a 3000 litre capacity IRD to supplement the two existing 1000 litre models catering for some 10,000 tonnes per year of amorphous PET that requires crystallising and drying to final moisture contents of better than 50ppm (0.005%).

Kees de Maertelaere, Operations Director of Folietechniek B.V reports complete satisfaction with the performance of the first two IRD units which were supplied as part of a total turn key project and also congratulated UPM on their professionalism and expertise in achieving a trouble free and reliable installation operating on a 24 hour 7 day basis with zero maintenance.

Kees also commented that IRD is probably the most exciting development in material drying technology experienced to date.

Infrared drying (IRD) has been accepted world wide as the preferred solution to crystallising and drying either blends of amorphous regrind and crystalline virgin PET or 100% R-PET or PCR in one pass so eliminating the need for a separate crystalliser and a separate desiccant dryer.

As standard practice UPM incorporate a modem into the IRD control so with installations as far afield as South Africa; Japan; North America; India and throughout Europe any IRD can be viewed operating in the respective production environment and any necessary adjustments made by UPM engineers on-line offering 24/7 after sales support.

UPM decided to focus IRD initially on PET applications primarily for the thermoformed food packaging sector where majors such as Sharp Interpack; Huhtamaki and Pregis have extolled the benefits ranging from energy savings of 50% being achieved compared to conventional equipment plus the initial investment cost is reduced through to “the most simple user friendly crystallising and drying system ever developed allowing quick start up and full fail safe control conditions” (see UPM website for IRD Testimonials” but now other PET processors are employing IRD for spunbond non-wovens and Strapping accounting for a significant world wide market expansion resulting in the need for UPM to again review their existing production facilities to cater for demand.

With the success of being awarded the Queen’s Award for Industry in the Innovation category still ringing in their ears UPM will exhibit IRD at the K show on the SB Plastics Machinery stand in Hall 10 Booth B50.

Belt Conveyors

2007

Plastek UK focus on the design manufacture and decoration of packaging solutions for the personal care; cosmetics; pharmaceutical and food markets from a new 180,000 square feet factory based in Mansfield, Nottingham with a range of injection; injection blow and stretch blow machines and have engaged UPM for automation of their product handling.

UPM have created a specialist division incorporating box fillers; product counting by weight; product conveying controlled through bar code reading and complete systems to transfer product through all stages of manufacture.

At Plastek UK under press reversing reject belt conveyors operate via the machine SPC control to ensure only good product is transported via swan neck conveyors to high level conveyors to minimise floor area occupied and then through a fire wall to the assembly / filling lines with over capacity storage facility subject to high level detectors.

The complete system is controlled from a central PLC with all belts FDA approved and installation was achieved without disrupting production.

Spotlights Mixing & Metering

2007

UPM are justifiably proud of their relationship with Nypro Ireland which originated in 1983 with one of the first centralised material handling systems installed in Ireland serving 20 machines processing a wide variety of engineering thermoplastic materials and progressed in 1988 with a new additional factory on the Bray site having two floors allowing all services such as granulators; dryers and mould temperature controllers for 25 machines to be located on the ground floor and the machines installed on the first floor.

This concept was unique and allowed virtually clean room moulding conditions as beside each machine a discharge chute passes through the floor allowing a robot to drop sprues / runners to the granulator below and the regrind automatically mixed with virgin; dried and conveyed back to the machine hopper.

Then another factory was added to the Bray site in 1992 based on clean rooms to class 100 specialising in moulding for the electronic and pharmaceutical sectors.

UPM have supplied some 20 gravimetric blenders over the past two years which are mounted directly on the feed throat of each machine having size ranges from 80 ton through to 350 ton processing PP / PET for accurate blending of Masterbatch and virgin materials.

Kevin Jones, Maintenance Manager of Nypro has standardised on the UPM equipment due to the reliability; zero maintenance and trouble free operation with very user friendly controls which allow weighing to an accuracy of 1/100 of a gram.

Granulators

2007

Greenwood Air Management who are part of the Aliaxis Group which includes Marley Durapipe and Hunter Plastics have expanded their compliment of injection moulding machines with a new Engel 120 ton tie bar less complete with robot and multi cavity mould for PVC window vents.

UPM have formed a Technical Partnership with all members of the Aliaxis Group and some eight years ago installed a central material blending; drying and conveying system having 20 stations to fully automate the Material Handling at Greenwood Air so it was a simple extension of the system for the new Engel machine based on a low profile fully soundproofed granulator operating on a closed loop feed allowing regrind to be fed back immediately at the machine.

Conrad Thrower, Manufacturing Manager of Greenwood Air complimented UPM on solving a difficult reclaim application as the headroom available for the granulator was only 800mm and also expressed satisfaction with the overall system operation which has proved labour saving and improved efficiency throughout the moulding hall.

Blending

2007

Gravimetric blending equipment manufacturer Ferlin Plastics Automation claim to have conducted a survey with hundreds of users to find the optimum design integrating customer demands for their new mini blender incorporating a novel mixing chamber design for 100% evacuation and the level sensor located external so eliminating any wear problems when using glass re-enforced materials and also fitted with four quick release hoppers for ease of material changes.

Ferlin offer a complete program of some fifty models with throughputs from 1 to 3000 kilos per hour all based on a modular system that features a base frame with up to ten hoppers; pneumatic slide or dosing valves or a combination with screw feeders; weighpan; loadcells and a mixing chamber with horizontal mixer.

All contact parts of the Gravimix blending systems are stainless steel and the controls feature an industrial panel PC with an LCD touch screen display that has a USB memory stick storing all usage data which can be imported on data processing software like Microsoft Excel and Lotus Notes so connecting to a computer network is a standard feature.

The company is represented in the UK and Ireland by UPM Machinery Sales Limited.
 

PRW Drying Feature

2007

By contrast UPM claim the dehumidified air dryer model DB104 is the smallest twin desiccant bed high temperature drier available n the market suitable for locating directly on the feed throat of moulding machines with throughputs of 5 to 20 kilos per hour of engineering thermoplastic materials that require drying at temperatures between 70 to 180°C.

Jon Carter, Engineering Manager at Algram Group based near Plymouth is responsible for some 30 moulding machines operating in a purpose designed 4000m2 factory that has standardised on the DB104 as quote “satisfies all our criteria for presenting a wide range of materials in optimum condition to the moulding machine screw”.

The technical advantage in having two desiccant beds lies in one is always in circuit whilst the second is being regenerated ensuring a constant minimum dew point of -40°C.

UPM are now able to cater for applications using infrared or dehumidified air achieving final moisture contents as low as 30ppm (0.003%) with applications from 5 to 5000 kilos per hour.