W&H sells blown-film line at NPE2009

Windmoeller & Hoelscher (W&H; Lengerich, Germany) secured the sale of a 3-layer high-output Varex blown-film line on the second day of NPE2009—the fourth system sale it has announced this month. W&H was unable to identify the buyer of the 134-inch lay-flat system, saying only it was sold on Tuesday of the five-day show. On June 17th, W&H announced the sale of two blown-film lines to ISO Poly Films (Gray Court, SC). That purchase order included a 5-layer Varex with a 63-inch working width and Filmatic S dual-surface winder, as well as a Multicool D stacked double air ring with Optifil P3 gauge control. The second line was a 3-layer 110-inch Varex line with grooved feed extruders, a 25-inch Optifil P2 die, and a Filmatic T dual-turret winder. W&H has worked with ISO Poly, which was purchased by Sigma Plastics in March, since 2001.

On June 23, W&H announced the sale of a 3-layer Varex coextrusion film line with an 87-inch working width and Filmatic dual-turret winder to Next Generation Films (Lexington, OH). Expected to be in production in the fall of 2009, the unit is the fourth W&H system for the company, which is applying patent-pending nanotechnology to create three-layer film structures for the produce market with the same performance as 7-layer structures. Andrew Wheeler, VP of W&H in North America (headquarters in Lincoln, RI), told PlasticsToday that the company bought its first 3-layer W&H system, a 103-inch line, in 2001. After working with another supplier, it has bought its last three, including the most recent, from W&H.

Next Generation, which was founded in 1994 by Chairman and CEO David Frecka, now has 22 blown-film lines serving specialty applications in food packaging, automotive, courier, and protective packaging. The company operates a 100,000-ft² recycling center it uses to repelletize scrap that is then applied in house. At present, the company is installing a wind turbine to power the recycling center. —[email protected]