Reifenhäuser details blown film production in tropical climes

Reifenhäuser said the Indonesian market for blown film packaging is booming, with the country’s consumption of plastics increasing from 9.7kg to 17.5kg per capita over the last decade, so requiring higher output rates and the production of high-end films. The challenges to be tackled and the economic conditions to be fulfilled to satisfy high demand were discussed at the second Extrusioneers Summit, held by Reifenhäuser in Jakarta on September 2.

The event was attended by more than 70 visitors, which featured presentations given by experts from Reifenhäuser, KBA, NGR, Plast-Control and Dow Corning.

Juergen Rehkopf, managing director of Reifenhäuser Singapore and organizer of the event, said: ‘With the Extrusioneers Summit we have offered producers the opportunity to exchange views and have face-to-face discussions with experts in production lines, conversion processes, recycling and raw materials, on topics such as return on investment, overall efficiency and sustainability, and to look beyond their own areas of activity. The great interest in the event shows that there is a high demand for exchanging information, particularly on the subject of productivity.’

The most important message to the attendees was that high output rates required already today due to increasing demands can be realized in tropical zones, like Indonesia, with advanced technology using modern cooling concepts making it possible.

An Open House following the Extrusioneers Summit demonstrated this in practice, with packaging film producer Nusa Eka demonstrating the performance of its Evolution Ultra Cool cooling concept on a Reifenhäuser blown film line under tropical conditions and with high air humidity. 550kg/h of mLLDPE were produced at 35 degrees C at the bottom, 50-55 degrees C at haul-off level and 28 degrees C cooling air coming from a 350mm die.

Reifenhäuser said this showed that high productivity can be obtained without many years of know-how in the high-performance market, with Nusa Eka new to this market and using Reifenhäuser technology to get off to a fast start with their strategic step.

James Winner, managing director of Nusa Eka, said: ‘Today, we are able to produce dimensions and, of course, also qualities that are quite different from the previous ones. This will not only enable us to strongly grow in Indonesia, but also to enter export markets of the ASEAN free trade area. The best evidence for this is the fact that the line was working at full capacity only several months after production start. ‘

Nusa Eka was the first company in South-east Asia to use the Evolution Ultra Cool cooling concept, with other companies from Vietnam and Thailand now also utilizing it.

Rehkopf added: ‘Much is happening in South-east Asia in technological respects. Ultra Cool has absolutely proven in practice. Ever more producers recognize the added value of high-performance systems. However, the demands made on packaging and technology will continue rising. In our opinion, the trend will go from three-layer lines to five-layer polyolefin lines in the medium term. We will further accompany our customers down this road.’

The next Extrusioneers Summit is scheduled for 2015 in Vietnam, with a focus on 7-layer lines provided with Evolution Ultra Cool and Evolution Ultra Flat.