(July 9, 2007) “We know that barrier packaging in the food and medical sectors is well established and we realized that we needed to apply the benefits of multilayer barrier properties to our product lines of industrial, construction and agricultural film,” says Tom Stoebner, Business Development Manager at Raven Industries Inc. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.
For example, he says they wanted to add barrier layers for methane and radon gas to their under concrete slab moisture barrier film. They saw a need for film with layers of nylon and EVOH. They also saw advantages of making products with thin outer layers to economize on material costs without sacrificing film properties.
“We lead the industry with product development and our Research and Development group identified the need for new products so our task was to find the equipment to do the job,” says Mike Feltman, Raven’s Process Technology Manager.
In late 2005 Raven began the process of specifying a new seven-layer line. They also identified the need to increase their 3-layer capacity. At that time they had several three-layer lines and a five-layer line. Feltman remarked that there are only a few players in the multilayer film machinery market and “we had experience with BE’s competitors. We looked at BE’s technical background and their ability to support us.”
Stoebner says they knew about two prominent US companies with BE multilayer barrier lines and “they are satisfied BE customers.”
BE (Brampton Engineering) has more multilayer (7-10 layer) blown film systems installed around the world than any other manufacturer. They design and manufacture the equipment at their worldwide headquarters in Brampton, Ontario Canada. In addition to a satellite sales office in the US they have a sales and service office in China, a joint venture, MBE in India and agents in approximately 35 countries.
At the heart of every BE coex barrier film line is BE’s signature product the SCD die. This modular pancake die provides a streamlined polymer melt channel on the face of each die plate. “We knew about BE’s pancake die. Its capability for quick product changeovers combined with the ability to tear down only the layer you need to clean was very attractive to us,” says Feltman.
Shown left to right: Mike Feltman, Process Technology Manager, Gary Kolbasuk, Product Development Manager, Tom Stoebner, Business Development Mgr/Marketing Manager
Bud Smith, President and CEO of BE says, “we work hard to listen to our customers to ensure we understand their product needs so that we can design and build equipment to meet their requirements and give them the flexibility to meet future demands. Multilayer line operation is complex and we follow through with installation, start-up and service. ”
“We appreciated BE sales staff’s role in introducing us to the designers and technical people who could answer our difficult questions. We had a lot of discussions around polymers and the need to design a die and screws that would handle many different materials. We require a very large layflat so we also met with winder and roll handling specialists to talk about the nuts and bolts of handling material as wide as ours. These face-to-face meetings with BE technical staff— the people who were actually going to design our equipment - gave us a feeling for the commitment of BE staff to produce the products we needed. We visited a BE customer with 7 and 9-layer lines and saw how good those lines looked. They were impressive installations – robust and functional and designed with operator efficiency in mind, “ says Feltman.
“We made our choice based on price, equipment capability and service after installation. We were very comfortable ordering both systems from BE – a 94-inch 3-layer line and 134-inch 7-layer line. Service was a big issue with us on a previous installation. During this installation, when we had questions BE’s project manager was quick to respond to every issue. He went looking for the answers and was always there for us.”
An operator friendly control system is essential for smooth operation of a blown line. Feltman says, “Since the start-up of the lines we are really impressed with BE’s control system, ITALYCS-4, and how it responds and gives direction for troubleshooting.”
Raven’s new 7-layer films are heavy - up to 20 mil. Samples of their new under slab moisture barrier film were introduced to the US market in June 2007.
Until now, US customers have had to rely heavily on European film suppliers for soil stabilization and fumigation applications. Raven’s new barrier mulch film for agricultural applications will soon be available.
Stoebner says, “we are also working on incorporating a barrier layer into our interim landfill coverings to help capture methane gas for use as an energy source and to control emissions.” These barrier products will consist of either a seven layer co-extruded sheeting or a laminated structure with a heavy polyester fiber reinforcement for ultimate tear resistance and durability.
Jim Groninger who heads up the Engineered Films Division at Raven says, “we anticipate a prompt return on our investment in these new BE lines because we will be able to introduce new unique products to our market. We are committed to delivering new products and this equipment from BE will allow us to do that.”
