"The most fully-automated carousel machine in the world"
Over 800 delegates and exhibitors attended ARMI's Fall meeting in the Rosemont Convention Centre, Chicago. ROTOPLAS '05 was billed as the best rotomolding showcase of the year, and it didn't disappoint.
493K Ltd, a rotomolding control systems manufacturer displayed its new K-KONTROL EXPORT PACK and led an industry presentation on (REAL)PROCESS CONTROL. Gareth McDowell, 493K's Managing Director, was supported on the podium by Harry Covington of Ferry Industries (machinery), and Dru Laws of Mity-Lite RMD (molders).
Harry Covington's process control overview discussed the range of products available through Ferry Industries, including: IRT (Infra Red Thermometry); Rotolog III (Active Cooling); 493K's K-KONTROL (High Temperature Sliprings) and K-PAQ (Real Time Pressure & Temperature measurement).
Jeff Arnold (ARMI CEO) and Gareth McDowell.
Mity-Lite's Dru Laws told delegates how Mity-Lite have linked K-KONTROL with two machines, producing what he referred to as "the most fully-automated carousel machine in the world". Dru added that K-KONTROL was giving consistent scrap rates of less than 1% - helping Mity-Lite to balance arms, and reduce overall labour costs.
To obtain a copy of this presentation you can download it by clicking here though 493K will be giving a more in-depth look at this over the next few weeks in our newsletter.
Gareth McDowell, Reijo Strom (Motoplast) and Raji Khouri.
STP Rotomachinery and Polivinil Rotomachinery (Rotomachinery Group) have joined forces and expertise. Eric Joly said: "We joined forces to bring to our global customer base, a full range of rotomolding equipment, designed to suit the needs of rotomolders on every continent."
Eric Joly, Customer Service Technician, STP.
Lucca Sacchi added: "This is our first year attending the Rotoplas exposition as a new international group, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants at Rotoplas '05 for their unprecedented interest in our products and companies."
Eric Joly, Robert Marcous, Stephan Courtois and Luca Sacchi.
www.stprotomachinery.com
"The effects of Hurricane Katrina have begun to affect hydrogen prices and possible limitations on supply are being considered. This is not likely to be a problem for Bonar because of our size, but smaller companies may have a problem achieving sufficient resources, and at a price that suits."
"Consolidation continues in the rotomolding sector, it is extremely competitive, and Bonar is always looking at new opportunities to expand our markets and to enhance our premium services. The 'conversion' process is still not exhausted, molders are slowly replacing fibreglass with rotomolded products, and highly polished surfaces and other advanced finishes are opening up new ground for rotomolders. Rotomolding offers excellent cost savings compared to fibreglass, and it allows more design freedom. We are clearly hoping to take more of the fibreglass market share." Mike Hacker, Regional Custom Sales Manager.
"Customers appreciate cost savings, especially in materials and we have been investing in technology and replacing older machines to deliver the best prices quality products."
"The rotomolding sector has not been vertically integrating quickly. Vertical integration is moving at a much greater pace in injection molding. However, vertical integration with large customers will continue to be part of the business model."
www.bonarplastics.net
Dave Dulak, Stephen Osborn and Bruce Meyer. Ashish Udani, Rimrock Automation, Inc.
Rimrock's rotation systems division recently released a new robotics communication system. The process allows finishing robots to simultaneously complete diverse tasks. In principle, several robots can work together on the same part at the same time, an approach designed to reduce handling time.
www.rimrockautomation.com
Melt-blended and compounded products were on display at the Muehlstein stand.
The production benefits of melt-blended resins were emphasised, in particular, the Muelstein team was keen
to highlight new specialist effects, including granite stone effect products.
Muehlstein are offering a range products formulated to avoid swirls or other molding defects. Muehlstein spoke of the production savings despite material cost being higher. The team explained how molders are overlooking hidden costs and adding unnecessary time and materials to the process.
"Most dry-blending is a sideline for roto-molders," explained a Muehlstein spokesperson, "Higher volumes and larger parts require careful cost control. High end products need structural strength, while some molders are aiming Dennis Cobb and Charles Shedo, Muehlstein.
for better outdoor weatherability. Muehlstein, an agent for Exxon Mobil,
emphasised the contribution of new technology including new foamable products. "The single message we want to get across at RotoPlas is that we have been developing a full service for molders, essentially, we are now a one-stop shop."
www.muehlstein.com
"Customers are driving our research and development," said Dennis Anderson of Rivers Metal Products Inc.,
"our customers' growing needs force us to innovate continually. Everything we do will start in sheet form,
but the complexity of sheet metal molds has increased hugely."
"Sheet metal mold design capability has increased; new coatings and mold textures are adding new opportunities for premium quality products; and new technology has truly changed the way we build molds. Large and small components for the marine industry and agriculture sector are growing sectors for Rivers Metal.
Jerry Niday, Liaison and Project Manager and Dennis
Anderson, Plant Supervisor, Rivers Metal Products, Inc.
Anderson, Plant Supervisor, Rivers Metal Products, Inc.
"Trinidad, and the West Indian market in general has been a very good market for us. The West Indian region illustrates our attempts to develop new markets and niche products, a process which we expect to expand quickly."
"Essentially, we are mold builders working exclusively with sheet metal, not cast," said Dennis, "we've been building molds for the rotational molding industry for over 25 years. Rivers Metal have been very proactive in finding and developing ways to make molds that meet or exceed our customers design requirements. We've been continually creating new molds by the adoption and adaptation of new technology."
"Today, there are very few shapes that can not be economically accomplished in sheet metal. Molders and designers continually push the envelope, requesting more from moldmakers in terms of geometry, quality and delivery. Our customers drive us to do more than was possible the year before; it's a healthy approach that benefits everyone."
www.riversmetal.com
"Converting from fibre glass and steel to rotomolded products is the big challenge. We find a lot of products are now being sourced in India. Within five years the Indian rotomolding sector will double. We are not simply aiming to produce new products, we are also continually producing new control systems. The market is expanding, especially for the manufacture of automotive components."
Rajendra Shukla, Rafael Jesus and RS Mathur.
www.mplast.com
Drader were offering excellent discount at the RotoPlas exhibition, reinforcing the brand's dominance. Drader estimate that between 85 - 90% of welding guns used in rotomoulding, are produced by them.
Terri Groves, Sales Representative, Drader Injectiweld.
www.drader.com
"New machines are our strongest theme this year. We have created a fast industrial shuttle machine that can use two, three or four arms in circumstances where customers need different melting times on each arm. Clients had told us of 'overtaking' problems in other machines, where the potential collision of arms was a problem, so we sought a solution. With our shuttle machine, cooling is now possible at another station."
"The machine has been developed in India and Germany. The engineering was focused on Germany and the software was written in India, which has acquired a strong reputation for quality coding. None of the parts are re-engineered. We changed the concept of how the machine worked and coded new software to enable the approach."
Dhanu Patell and Schivinder Cawla, Reinhardt.
"We have been explaining to customers that it is a lower investment option to begin with a two arm machine and then upgrade to a four arm facility. As the customer's manufacturing capability increase, time is saved and a 40% increase in production can be achieved."
"Of concern in the marketplace are the prices of resin and the price of oil. But we do expect the price of oil to decline in about three or four years."
www.reinhardtindia.com
"CRM has become a flexible project management service which delivers value added services, including design and assembly. The market place has changed dramatically in recent years and to meet customers needs we have developed a flexible bespoke approach to enhance rotomoulding production. A key sign of strength for the rotomolding sector is the increased range of products being produced. We are producing many marine parts, including the boat interiors, which are created by our customers design and style teams working closely with our engineers."
"There has been an increase in capital spending during the last four months, but the overall trend this year has been a slow in capital spending, stalled, of course, by the cost of resin and high oil prices."
Corey Claussen, Vice-President / Co-Owner,
Custom Roto-Mold Inc.
www.customrotomold.com
Chem Trends showcased a new water based release agent, which they described as, "User friendly and non-hazardous." This follows a trend led by local government and Environmental Protection Agency requirements. Consumer and environmental protection legislation has been pressing hard, with more to come. But many rotomolders are becoming proactive, making more use of our water based agent, changing their process before they are compelled to do so by health and environmental legislation.
John Lundis, Joy Barra and George Barton.
www.chem-trend.com
Rotocast's vacuum mold was showcased at the exhibition. They said it's designed to help achieve a fast turn around and increased quality.
Commenting on current market conditions, a spokesman said: "Increasingly, the industry is surcharging because of increased transportation costs, a reflection of soaring oil prices, but trade is still buoyant. Today customers are demanding a quick turnaround and with more competition in the marketplace service levels are rising. There is a lot of consolidation in the sector, and many businesses are exiting, but this is partly a reflection of the strength of those that remain, rather than a sign of a shrinking market."
Mark Bradley, Mol Bechemer, Paul Arato,
Edward Kissel, Pat de Shuc, Ken Herold.
www.rotocastmold.com
CIBA presented new, experimental products at RotoPlas. A spokesman commented: "We are using the conference to determine if we should progress with some new products we have developed. This is a great opportunity to showcase our research benefits and to sample the market for new ideas, but foremost, this event provides us with a test bed for moving new products to the next stage of development."
"Regarding changes within the rotomolding sector: market share has diminished for many companies, product technology has increased, and more cost effective solution packages are now available. The value CIBA brings to the market is improved efficiency, and our advice is one of prudence, 'invest to save'.
Jiong, Lisa, Ram and Rich from Ciba.
15% Energy Savings Using New Stabilization Technology
CIBA also reported on rotomolding trials which were recently conducted to demonstrate significant energy savings using new stabilization technology from Ciba Specialty Chemicals. The new stabilization technology features Ciba® IRGASTAB® FS 302 as a key ingredient to promote densification of the polymer during molding and enable the production of high impact products after shorter heating times or lower oven temperatures. Ciba® CHIMASSORB® and Ciba® TINUVIN® hindered amine light stabilizers are used in the formulation to provide long-term weatherability.
The trials were conducted at Chroma Rotational Molding Division's Product Development Center in McHenry, Illinois, using an independent arm carousel molding machine manufactured by Yorke-Kann Engineering.
In the trial, 16" (40 cm) cubes of ~3 mm thickness were molded from a hexene LLDPE copolymer (nominal MFI 3 dg/min, density 0.938 g/cm3). The new formulation based on Ciba® IRGASTAB® FS 302 was compared to a commercial control stabilized with a conventional system. The heating times and temperatures required for optimum cure were determined by visual examination of part cross sections as well as ARM impact and density measurements.
Parts molded with the new formulation required only 11 minutes to cure at an oven temperature of 550oF/288oC vs. 15 minutes for the commercial control used in this trial. With the new formulation it was even possible to reduce the oven temperature to 500oF/260oC and produce fully-cured parts after a heating time of only 14 minutes.
By taking advantage of the fast curing effect of the new formulation to reduce heating time or oven temperature, a 15% reduction in gas consumption during the heating step was achieved in this trial. In actual usage, the specific energy reduction percentage will depend on machine type, parts being molded, and molding temperature, as well as other factors.
In addition to energy savings, the new formulation based on Ciba® IRGASTAB® FS 302 offers other benefits to rotomolders. The broad processing window provided by the new formulation means that high impact parts can be produced over a wider range of heating times. For molders this reduces the risk of producing undercured or overcured parts. The new formulation also provides reduced discoloration after molding. Depending on the machine type and part being molded, with this new formulation shorter cycle times and improved molding productivity may also be realized.
For polymer producers and compounders, the new formulation based on Ciba® IRGASTAB® FS 302 offers unparalleled flexibility in formulating. It can be combined with light stabilizers and other effect additives in Ciba's broad range in order to meet specific customer, molder, and end-user needs.
www.cibasc.com
"Brand strength really matters" said a Henkel spokesperson. He was speaking regarding the reliability required of suppliers in the rotomolding market. "The cost of raw materials has really gone up in the last five years so the purchasing power of larger groups is more important than ever."
"During this show, we have been explaining the benefits of our water based product range. The Environmental Protection Agency, amongst others, has been requiring a switch from traditional solvents to water based products. The stringency of government regulations depends on which part of the country a supplier is based in."
Steve Ritchie and Gary Fox.
MAS Products Inc., manufacturer of threaded inserts, spokesperson said, "We are currently involved in a new burst of development for medical and marine products. Like most companies we have had to adjust prices to reflect overall market pressures. Steel tripled in price in recent years, the price of brass is high again. We have absorbed most of these costs to ensure the best price for our customers, and our view is that, overall, global market prices have stabilised for the moment."
Wally Berndt, Debbie Berndt, Jim Richardson, MAS,
and Tad Boldan, CRM.
and Tad Boldan, CRM.
French machine manufacturer SAT's Sales Manager, Walter Jaconelli said, "Because rotomolding is dedicated to heavy and large parts, minimising floor space, relative to the size of the mold, is important. Within this frame of thinking is energy efficiency. We have worked hard to produce a system capable of lowering gas consumption by about 40%. Allied to this has been new technology to achieve quicker heating and cooling."
"In general, the market has continuing problems with the cost of materials. Despite this, the rotomolding market is growing. Eastern European and Asian centres are brining a lot of movement in the market, western production and competition are under threat. Having said that, a lot of production is not able to be transferred, and so we are looking more towards partnership Walter Jaconelli, SAT. arrangements, which enhance our cost effectiveness, while maintaining our
excellent and innovative research and development."
www.sat-thermique.com
"Good design sells," said an MIG spokesperson. She was speaking at one of RotoPlas's most colourful exhibition stands. MIB was promoting brand promotion amongst rotomolders, encouraging molders to move away from paper-based graphics and to create premium products with a variety of nylon graphics, anti-microbial and specialised hygiene finishes.
Jason Brownell, Matt Stevens, John Scheiner and
Alan Reeves
www.moldingraphics.com
Alan Reeves
Jerico has recently moved to a new building in anticipation of growth approximating 15% over the next two years.
A spokesman said there has been a strong demand for speciality products, including flame resistant materials.
"'JFlex', one of our flexible materials, has also been attracting a lot of attention."
Joel Mark, Jeremy Sabo, Stephen Copeland.
Green Leaf Inc., Manufacturer of liquid handling products stated: "Our base is in the agriculture industry, but we are also looking towards developing the retail side of our business, particularly in the gardening sector. With a new president at the helm of the company we are excited to see further growth on the horizon."
Kevin Payton and Teko Coda, Green Leaf.
www.grnleafinc.com
"Our big news is that Ingenia have been building a new plant in Houston, Texas, primarily as a new research and development laboratory."
"Price wise business is good, despite pressure on material costs. We have been expanding our business to the middle-east, and we've been progressing strongly in the Mexican market for two years."
Rashed Zaman, Business Planning and
Support Specialist, Ingenia Polymers, Inc.
www.ingeniapolymers.com
Pallmann displayed a new pulveriser with its whole housing one block of steel. Instead of welded pieces, Pallmann have been bringing costs down with the unimodular system. It can produce a very round particle with good density, and special grinding segments, can better cool particles during the grinding process."
"The rotomolding industry is going through another round of group consolidation and acquisitions. With technology advancing and new enhanced resins, additional markets are opening for rotomolders."
Edward S. Wojtal, with colleagues from
Pallmann Pulverizers Co, Inc.
www.pallmannpulverizers.com
"There is a process of education which is necessary in Mexico at the moment. The challenge is to encourage molders in a new way of thinking, to consider new markets, and to show them how to open these markets. In part, we continue to make the argument for the advantages of plastics over stainless steel."
Maria Auxillia and Warren Bowman, Polimeros Mexicanos.
www.polimeros.com.mx
Horacio Lobo and his team displayed a new rotomolding machine designed to achieve rotomolding consistency. A spokesman said the advantages over other machines include effective heat transfer. "Using quality components throughout, we have been able to provide a great machine at a competitive price. Essentially, we are offering an equivalent price, but a better quality, stainless steel system."
Edgar Hernandez, Moviplas, and Sergio Almeida.
www.moviplas.com.mx
Carlos Garcia has launched a new company producing permanent labels for rotomolders. Printed on a paper transfer, the label binds with the mold, and can be used by every rotomoulder.
Eduardo Collard and Carlos Garcia, Logos.
www.wheelindustries.com
Corcoran have evolved in line with Irelands' rapid industrial progress, meeting the increasingly sophisticated needs of its customers. With a comprehensive list of base raw materials, Corcoran Chemicals offers an unrivalled knowledge of the chemicals and plastic raw materials sectors. Our experienced research and development has immediate access to major manufacturers, giving us a vital edge when sourcing our customers' requirements.
Global contacts with leading chemical companies across Europe, North and South America and Indo-Asia allow Corcoran's customers to avail of the vast technical resources on the international chemical Industry.
Martine Renaudat, Andrew Byrne and Eric Maziers.
An awareness of the specific requirements of all types of industry, combined with independent status, enables Corcoran Chemicals to provide the most appropriate solution every time.
www.corcoranchemicals.com
Kurt Stahle and Lisa McCool of Centro. Centro's Ben Robertson.
The Nova Chemicals Team. Mity-Lites' Russell Whatcott and Dru Laws at the
Society of Plastics Engineer's stand.
Laura and Dirk, Innovex Systems. Orla Nugent, Paul Nugent and Conchita
Miranda, Miraplastek.
Bob Bundy, Tracy Barton, Paul Kinsella and Roger Goris. Jara Weiss from New Jersey, with Ronald
Joannou Sr., Chris DeFilippo, Thomas M. Crowe.
The ICO Crew. Jon Oplotivich, Dugan Bradfield and Rich Apodaca.
Daven J. Claerbout and Tracey Brill. Tom Fish and Michael Kominski.
"The rotomolding market is healthy, but we are all working hard to stabilise prices."
Lisa Romero, VMP.
Greg LeFevre, Larry Paillson. Martin Coles and Ray Simpson.
Cheryl Wilson and Tracy Barton. Mark McCourt and Mark Kearns.
Dennis Rovach and John McWilliam, Diamond Plastics. Justin Boychuk, Technical Sales Representative,
Fabco and colleague, John.
Doug Austin, Sentry Insurance. Michael Poirier, EJ Consen, Rob Balantino
and Ryan Keates.
Alan Rubin and Duane Emerson. Powder King's Mark Yerrick.
Linn Derickson and Charlynne Eberhart and Dave Smith and Billy Hayes with Steve Bryant.
William Moreland, Custom Plastics.
Todd Keske, Chris Woods. Patty Zitkus, Wegener.
Randy Herr, Gina Herr, Shairah Herr, William Bixter. Randy Pertelli and Meaghan Fitzgerald, Franklynn
Industries, Inc.
Gerry Williams, Phil Young, Larry Cole and Sharon Cole. Martin Toth and Jay Hooper.
Larry Moller, Derry Bragelton and Jeff Stein. Brent Sanders And Michael Juppe.
Robert W. Edelmayor and Glen Dublinski. Harry Howard, Gretchen Leighliter.
CRM's Tim Emerson takes an unconventional Rick Wallock, Norstar, and Rory Jones.
approach to plastics.
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