Thermoforming

The initial application for the industry's first cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) elastomer is expected to debut soon in an extruded medical application.

The newly developed material targets plastics such as nylon and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in medical applications including tubing and bags. The benefits of the COC elastomer for film are toughness, purity and moisture barrier.

Reifenhäuser Extrusion is experiencing an increase in orders for thermoforming sheet extrusion lines featuring production capacities between 700 and 1500 kg/hr.

Soaring raw material costs, smaller orders from customers, and a strong pressure on end user prices are forcing producers to rapidly adapt themselves to new market situations, the company stated.

With a total of six multi-layer lines in three years, battenfeld-cincinnati continues to expand its presence in the polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) barrier sheet segment for food packaging.

The machine manufacturer recently received an order from an Asian packaging manufacturer for a multilayer thermoforming sheet extrusion line.

With more companies placing a greater focus on packaging sustainability, sugar cane is making it easier to go green.

AT&T joins Procter & Gamble and Heinz in an effort to use plastic derived from sugarcane.

Some companies manufacture packaging materials; others prefer to grow crops. However, two companies have combined the two processes for one purpose: growing sustainable packaging.  

Rohrer Corp. hopes to build a better package with its recent acquisition of Buckell Plastic Co.

"Rohrer is searching for well-run companies to expand its capacity and capabilities," he said. "Buckell fits this profile and was ready to make a deal," Rohrer Corp. president and CEO Scot Adkins told PlasticsToday.

Winners in the fast-growing and changing medical plastics market will be technology specialists. New quality, cost and regulatory demands are rapidly upping the ante for processors who want to participate.

In that spirit, here are a few areas of specialization coupled with upcoming educational opportunities.

With the purchase of two thermoforming plants, Peninsula Packaging Co. expands both its agricultural thermoforming business and geographical footprint.

Private equity firm Mason Wells has acquired thermoformed packaging manufacturer Mullinix Packages Inc. from the family of its founder, SPE's 2008 Thermoformer of the Year, George Lueken, who passed away at the age of 82 in June.

Bag bans, bottle backlash, wrap rage...in terms of public perception, 2011 was a year many players in the plastics packaging realm would rather forget. But as the new year begins the old year's battles are far from finished, with plastics fighting to hold on to packaging ground it long ago won from glass, aluminum, and paper.