Contractor cooperation benefits both parties

Danish rigid food-packaging processor R. Faerch Plast (Holstebro) has opted to use Battenfeld Extrusiontechnik (BEX, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany) as its prime contractor for its seven extrusion lines, not all from the same equipment maker, producing PET, polystyrene (PS), and polypropylene (PP) sheet.

The cooperation began eight years ago when Faerch invested in two co-rotating twin-screw extruders with melt degassing to process non-dried polyester. These units came from Coperion Werner & Pfleiderer (Stuttgart, Germany) since at that time BEX did not offer such equipment. “The lines that have been installed stand out by their high output, flexibility, and favorable price-performance ratio. BEX offers us optimal reliability as prime contractor,” says Henrik Andersen, technical manager at Faerch. The cooperation proved a two-way street as practical experience BEX gained has been used to improve its own machine components. Faerch has installed a new high-speed PP line from BEX which handles about 20% of its total annual sheet production of nearly 50,000 tonnes. This BEX1-75-34 extruder with a 75-mm extruder yields an output of 1400 kg/hr. At 1500 rpm, the extruder is said to reach more than three times the output of conventional extruders of the same size. At the same time, says Færch, it offers a smaller footprint, improved handling properties, and lower energy consumption. —[email protected]