Plastics Technology - Dedicated to improving Plastics Processing.
Issue link: http://pty.epubxp.com/i/827817
NDC Moving to Ohio NDC Technologies, which makes preci- sion measurement and process-control solutions for film, sheet, pipe, profile, and tubing extrusion, has announced that it will be consolidating its Irwindale, Calif., production and administration functions into its facility in Dayton, Ohio, which will become the company headquarters. The Irwindale facility will be upgraded and become its Web Process Solutions Techni- cal Center of Excellence. Dayton has been the long-time home of Beta LaserMike, which supplies measurement technology for pipe and profile extrusion. In 2014, Beta LaserMike merged with NDC Infrared Engineering to form NDC Technologies. 937-233-9935 • betalasermike.com Rapid Granulator Moves to new HQ Rapid Granulator's U.S. operations have moved from Cranberry Township, Pa., to Leetsdale, Pa., remaining within the Pittsburgh area. The new 65,000 ft2 facil- ity includes offices, warehousing, and a 3500 ft² showroom sufficient to display the company's full range of granulators, shredders, and post-consumer recycling equipment. It also brings in-house all U.S. production that had previously been outsourced. Rapid was acquired in 2015 by Lifco AB of Sweden from IPEG Inc. of Cranberry Township. 724-584-5220 • rapidgranulator.com Baerlocher Boosting Metal Soap Capacity by 50% Baerlocher USA, Cincinnati, will add a third reactor for production of calcium, zinc, sodium, and other metal soaps at its Cincinnati facility, which will boost capacity by 50% when fully operational this month. The company is responding to steadily accelerating demand from North American polyolefin and PVC industries. The investment will also support development of Baeropol RST polyolefin stabilization technology (see January K 2016 Materials/Additives report) and solid calcium-based PVC stabilizers. Use of metal soaps is spurred by interest in reducing VOCs and heavy-metal and organotin stabilizers targeted by Euro- pean REACH regulations. (800) 342-6158 • baerlocher.com More Examples of Advanced Chilling Technology Last month, we reported in a Close Up article on a new line of small portable chill- ers due to hit the market in July from Delta T Systems, Richfield, Wis., that is said to embody a unique collection of technologies and features that provide significant energy savings and process stability. Supporting the claim that these technologies establish a new benchmark for chiller efficiency is that fact that one other supplier is using two of these advances to achieve similar benefits—and, at press time, another chimed in with similar energy-saving technology. NPE2015 in Orlanda, Fla., saw the introduction of the NQV portable chillers—10 and 20 tons, air or water cooled—from Thermal Care, Niles, Ill. (see June '15 Keeping Up). It incorporates what both Thermal Care (thermalcare.com) and Delta T Systems (deltatsys.com) agree is the most significant recent advance in process chilling, the variable-speed condenser, which allows the chiller to operate over a wide range of loads without use of an energy-wasting hot-gas bypass valve. Variable- speed condensers have a 20-yr history in HVAC applica- tions, but had not been used in process chillers. Thermal Care's NQV chillers also utilize the elec- tronic expansion valve—rarely used before now on small portable chillers—which Delta T Systems credits with adding to the energy savings obtained with the variable-speed condenser. Audrey Guidarelli, marketing services manager for Thermal Care, says the NQV chillers "have been highly successful products since their release in 2015" and that its "sales continue to grow as more of our customers understand the cost-saving benefits of using variable-speed compressor technology." Just before we went to press last month, Conair, Cranberry Township, Pa. (conairgroup.com), a sister company of Thermal Care within the IPEG group, announced availability of 10- and 20-ton EP2 Series portable chillers (air or water cooled) with variable-speed condensers and premium touchscreen controls. They are said to deliver energy savings of 20-50% compared with conventional fixed-speed compressors and the latest digital scroll compressors. Both Conair variable-speed models are said to handle loads as low as 3 tons efficiently. The 20-ton unit incor- porates a 10-ton fixed-speed and a 10-ton variable-speed compressor. With that unit, Conair notes, energy savings are not as significant in the middle range, where either compressor—fixed or variable—would be running at full capacity of 10 tons. But energy savings in the 3-8 and 13-16 ton ranges are still "impressive," Conair claims. In April, Walmart issued an "open call for U.S. products," inviting companies to come to Bentonville, Ark., on June 28. Walmart said the event supports its bid to purchase an additional $250 billion in U.S. products through 2023. A week later, Return One Million Jobs (ROMJ) LLC (returnonemillionjobs.com) was created to raise $20 million to bring one million manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. from offshore. Headed by Carl Carstensen, who recently retired after 37 years with IBM global consult- ing services, the project will reportedly apply global data analytics to help companies compare the total cost of supplying the U.S. market via manufac- turing offshore or domestically. ROMJ is cooperating with the Reshor- ing Initiative (reshorenow.org). That group offers a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator to help companies quantify the hidden costs of offshoring. Says Carstensen, "If they do the math, using the TCO tools and advanced data analyt- ics, many manufacturers should want to return jobs to the USA to increase profits." Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that Apple will start a $1 billion fund to promote advanced manufactur- ing jobs in the U.S. The ultimate goal: making Apple products domestically. New Group & Big Firms Seek to Energize Reshoring 8 JUNE 2017 Plastics Technology PTonline.com T E C H N O L O G Y A N D I N D U S T R Y N E W S St ar t ing Up