BLOWN FILM PROCESSING – News     April 22nd - 24th, 2008 HOSOKAWA ALPINE Expo08 Three exhibitions in one week April 21, 2008 Hosokawa Alpine inaugurates its new assembly hangar Nov. 1, 2007 9-Layer Die Head (Patent pending) Sept. 26, 2007 K 2007 in Duesseldorf June 1, 2007 Cutting The Sod June 21, 2006 Change in the Management of the HOSKAWA ALPINE Aktiengesellschaft Feb. 28, 2006 PLAST 06, Milan February 1, 2006 Emblem Nov. 1, 2005 7-Layer Extrusion Line for Wentus Oct. 1, 2005 New Executive board Sept. 16, 2005 Fast and thorough cleaning of your film die heads June 10, 2005 Vinora AG puts a new Alpine 7-layer system into operation April 22nd - 24th, 2008 HOSOKAWA ALPINE Expo08 Three exhibitions in one week To mark the occasion of the inauguration of the newly built assembly hall, Hosokawa Alpine took the opportunity to invite customers to a three day in-house exhibition, the ALPINE Expo08. From the 22nd to the 24th April over 800 guests from Egypt, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Columbia, Korea, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and all the European countries visited the Company premises in the Peter-Dörfler-Strasse in Augsburg. The business division Blown Film Extrusion exhibited on the 22nd May followed by the Mechanical Processing divisions on the 23rd and 24th May. On the 22nd April 170 customers from the plastics processing sector attended the presentations made by our guest speakers and took the opportunity to experience the performance capabilities of our machines during the demonstrations in the test centre. A 9 Layer Blow Film Co-extrusion Line, HX 65/50/50/50/50/50/50/50/65 30 L/D, using a newly developed 9 layer film die head, NBF 40-56 X was used to produce a barrier film used in food packing with a total thickness of 30 µm and a lay-flat width of 1300 mm. The co-extrusion line was equipped with an extrusion visualization system ExVis which incorporated the newly developed "One-touch change“ Program. During production a demonstration was made to show how fast and easy it is to change between various film programs using this software module. Parameters such as film lay-flat width, film thickness, layer distribution and raw material composition were changed automatically. On a 3-Layer Line, HX 75/105/75, 30 L/D films for flexible packaging applications were produced with a width of 2400mm and a thickness of 50 µm. Of particular interest to many visitors were the the new cooling system, AEC 50/50 SN 710, Double Air, the double cooling ring CCRP 50/50 and the profile control system POS/CRP 50 ExVis. Distinctly higher outputs can be achieved using both systems and in addition these systems ensure that deviations in film thickness and width are kept within narrow tolerances. On an different 3 Layer Line, HX 65/75/65, 30 L/D, stretch hoods with a lay-flat width of 1200 mm (700 mm + 2 x 250 mm) and a thickness of 100 µm were produced. The die head used on this line was the newly developed TBF 16-32 X, with a die diameter of 225 mm. The new X Generation of die heads from Hosokawa Alpine are characterized by a very short melt residence time and extremely short change over times. In addition they permit a greater degree of flexibility in respect of achievable layer ratios which allows product developers more freedom to develop new film structures with different materials. The newly developed Alpine Winder, AWD 20 ZE was also demonstrated. The winder is equipped with electro-motive control of winding shaft lay-on pressure whereby the lay-on pressure is individually regulated on each side. The winder is characterized by short web paths with optimized tension control and is also equipped with driven spreader rollers. Winder control functions are integrated into the process monitoring and visualization system ExVis. The Alpine Film Tube Former, ATF 12 which produced a welded gusseted tube for heavy duty sack applications from a mono-axially oriented flat film was also demonstrated at 80m/min. During the whole day a Film Orientation Line, Type MDO 20/11, was shown in operation. The line is designed for an operational inlet width of 2000 mm and an exit speed of up to 250 m/min. The range of orientation ratios is up to 1:10. Formal presentations were made by three external specialists who are active in the industry: Dipl.-Ing. Werner Posch from the development department of Borealis Polyolefine GmbH spoke about the application of polymer nanocomposites in the production of films including: modification of the surface tension, the UV resistance and the barrier properties. Dr. Dirk Permentier from ExxonMobil Chemical presented ”ExceedTM mPE Film Developments - new advances in coextruded blown films” and showed to what scale developments in the field of raw material science are opening up new possibilities for strong and highly transparent films in the film industry. Prof. Dr. Ingo Büren from the International Packaging Institute (IPI), Neuhausen/Switzerland, focused on the future requirements for flexible packaging. He discussed the possibilities of how flexible packaging may develop in the near and not too distant future, commented on the current and future demands on packaging design and commented that the energy cost and environmental impact should not always be related only to packing the medium itself but must always be considered for the complete product! An evaluation of the survey showed that the complete event was rated positively by the guests. Some suggested that even greater efforts be made in the direction of energy efficiency of the machines and energy saving. The majority of the participants would like to have the event repeated every 2 years. April 21, 2008 Hosokawa Alpine inaugurates its new assembly hangar In less than a year, a new assembly hangar has been built on the company grounds to replace the previous building dating from the 1920s. Measuring 7,100 square metres, there is space for five assembly teams from the pharmaceutical & food, recycling & cutting mill, minerals & metals, chemical, and blown film processing divisions. The area encompasses a further 1,200 square metres’ office space for administration and finance. Around 100 guests, including numerous celebrities, were in attendance on 21st April 2008 to celebrate the official opening. Chief executive Peter Krieg paid tribute to Georg Ringmayr, who took charge of the construction process. He also expressed his gratitude to Achim Vogel, who fought for years in Japan to gain this investment. but he first thanked the president of the Hosokawa Micron Group, Masuo Hosokawa, for the confidence he places in the Alpine staff and management. Nov. 1, 2007 9-Layer Die Head (Patent pending) At the K 2007 Hosokawa Alpine underlined its position as technology leader by introducing a 9-layer die head. 9-layer film blowing lines currently represent the high end of the market and permit flexible manufacture of high-performance high-barrier film. The 9-layer die head NBF 40-56 X offers a high degree of flexibility in the layer distribution and gives product developers working around the world on new formulations enough leeway and flexibility for new and ingenious coex structures with different materials. An output rate of between 350 and 600 kg/h is planned for die diameters between 400 and 600 mm. The die head is laid out for 600 bar and offers short melt residence times combined with an extremely good individual layer distribution. Typical applications for 7- and 9-layer polyolefin-based high-barrier film are consumer film, above all for packaging foodstuffs, cosmetics and pet food as well as film for packaging medical and pharma¬ceutical products. Especially in the food sector, this includes vacuum packs for meat or cheese, flexible thermoformed packs, flexible cover for thermo¬formed trays (sausages and cold meats, dairy products, convenience foods, etc.), as well as stand-up pouches for foods of all types (soups, dry foods, olives, spices, tc.). The barrier is intended to stop or reduce the permeation of oxygen and steam, gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide as well as aromas, flavourings and chemicals through the packaging. In the case of blown film extrusion, suitable barrier materials are above all EVOH (excellent against oxygen, chemicals, aromas and flavourings) and polyamides (excellent against aromas, chemicals, lend themselves well to thermoforming). The special quality of polyolefins such as LLDPE or HDPE is that they provide a good barrier against moisture. By the spring of 2008, a 9-layer system fitted out with all of the new developments will be installed in the Augsburg testing centre. Sept. 26, 2007 K 2007 in Duesseldorf At the K 2007 in Hall 16, booth D06 Alpine produced different recipes on a 3 layer line: Oct. 24 and 25 NexxstarTM Collation Shrink Packaging Film (Raw material - ExxonMobil Chemical) Oct. 26 Collation Shrink Packaging Film (Raw material – Sabic) Oct. 27 Lamination Film (Raw material - Basell Polyolefins) Oct. 28. and 29 Compression Packaging Film (Raw material – Dow Chemical Company) Oct. 30 and 31 Lamination Film or Frozen Food Packaging Film ((Raw material – Borealis) You will also have the opportunity to see some new technical highlights in operation including: - Double cooling ring CCRP 50 designed for high throughputs - Dual winder with reverse winding, for perfect film rolls - “One-touch-change software” for easy changes between programs with a minimal loss of raw material TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION • Extruders HX 75 / 90 / 75 S – 30 L/D All extruders have water cooled grooved feeding section and are equipped with barrier screws in modular design main drive via AC motor hydraulic screen changers HSC • Pneumatic material conveying unit AMC 3/400/15 • Gravimetric meter weight control system ALVIS 3/12 with material dosing AMD 3/12 • 3-Layer blown film die head – TBF 16-32 X : designed for high throughputs die diameter : 325 mm gap : 1,5 mm • Bubble cooling system : external cooling AEC 500 : Double cooling ring, CCRP 50 internal cooling AIC 500 : For operation with double cooling ring bubble diameter control BDC air chiller AAC • Calibration basket ACB: • Profile measuring system PMS : capacitive gauge profile sensor • Profile optimization system POS : Profile regulation system with segmented cooling ring CRP50 incl. profile visualization ProVis • Oscillating nips AON:: 360° horizontal oscillating haul-off system Collapsing frame with carbon fibre rollers • Centre guider ACG • Alpine Corona Treater ACT • Alpine Double winder WD Series 1000 Z: Winding modes : Contact winding, centre winding, centre-surface gap winding, reverse winding Maximum line speed : 150 m/min • Line control / automation : Extrusion Visualisation and Control Software ExVis Communication between all units of the line via PROFIBUS ”One-touch-change” Software June 1, 2007 Cutting The Sod The first sod was cut jointly on 16 May 2007 by Dr Paul Wengert, Augsburg's lord mayor, Achim Vogel, chairman of the supervisory board, Peter Krieg, chief executive officer, the executive board members Georg Ringmayr and Bertram Brenner as well as the architect Michael Feigs, and marked the start of the construction work for the first building phase in Depot Street on Alpine's grounds. In a short speech, the lord mayor of Augsburg explained how pleased he was to see a local company investing in the future of Augsburg as a business location by expanding its capacities, thus setting a positive trend in the region as a result. It is exactly this kind of signal to suppliers and customers that cannot be rated highly enough, and in his eyes, the investment of 20 million euros channelled into enlarging the production facilities is a firm commitment to Augsburg as a business location. Peter Krieg, Alpine's chief executive officer, voiced his pleasure at the investment decision made by the group management in Hirakata, Japan: "This is not just a mark of confidence in the Augsburg company within the Hosokawa group, but also a very positive assessment of Bavaria as a production location." The reasons for enlarging the production facilities are the economic success of the past years, the excellent orders situation and the consistent orientation of the company to its customers and their typical applications. This new orientation was begun as part of a reengineering project and will be completed with the new production hall. In view of the fact that the new-build project will create the prerequisites for manufacturing the machines and systems in an optimised way and thus more cost-effectively, the investment makes an extremely positive contribution to securing the 540 jobs in Augsburg. June 21, 2006 Change in the Management of the HOSKAWA ALPINE Aktiengesellschaft The Supervisory Board of the HOSOKAWA ALPINE Aktiengesellschaft appointed Mr. Peter Krieg, Dipl.-Ing., as President effective May 1, 2006. Mr. Peter Krieg is the successor of Mr. Achim Vogel, Dipl.-Ing., who will retire as per September 30, 2006. The new Management Board of Hosokawa Alpine consists of four members: Mr. Peter Krieg, Dipl.-Ing., President and responsible for the Divisions Film Extrusion, Marketing and Manufacturing, Mr. Georg Ringmayr, Master of Business Administration, Member of the Management Board responsible for the Divisions Finance, Controlling and Personnel, Mr. Bertram Brenner, Dipl.-Ing., Member of the Management Board responsible for all Divisions of the Powder & Particle Processing Business Segment. Mr. Achim Vogel, Dipl.-Ing., Member of the Management Board responsible for affiliated companies. Messrs Peter Krieg and Bertram Brenner belong to the Management Board of Hosokawa Alpine Aktiengesellschaft since October 1, 2005. Besides the changes in the Management Board there are the following personnel changes in the management: Mr. Dietmar Alber, Dipl.-Ing., is the successor of Mr. Peter Krieg as Divisional Manager Minerals & Metals and Mrs. Sylvia Bräunlein, Dipl.-Ing., is the successor of Mr. Bertram Brenner as Divisional Manager Pharma & Food. The appointments have been made early in a conscious move to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities and to maintain the continuity in the management of HOSOKAWA ALPINE upon which our customers rely. Feb. 28, 2006 PLAST 06, Milan The following new developments were presented on the combined stand of Hosokawa Alpine and Elba at the Plast 06, Hall 15, Stand C 16.: New Extruder Series HX With the introduction of the HX Series all extruders will be equipped with direct drive. The resulting HX 50 through to HX 120 extruders are extremely compact and adaptation of the maximum screw speed to the required raw material is effected by means of the main drive inverter. On show was a Three Layer Co-Extruder with HX 65 Extruders. Optimized Diehead Series X The X Series of dieheads is distinguished by the optimised spiral distributors which ensure excellent film quality irrespective of whether they are used for mono or seven layer film. On show was a three layer diehead TBF 16-32 X . Profile Optimising System POS with TRS Segmented-Heating Ring The TRS is an alternative to the segmented cooling ring. Segmented heating of the Heating Ring is achieved via individually controlled cartridge heaters which allows very low film thickness tolerances to be maintained. The improvements in winding quality and downstream machinability reduce waste. New Series CR External Cooling rings with AX Inserts. Equipping the CR Cooling Rings with Alpine AX inserts increases the cooling capacity and stabilises the film bubble. A very user friendly solution to obtain higher outputs when processing LLDPE rich blends. February 1, 2006 Emblem Throughout its over 100-year history, the name ALPINE has always stood for high quality and reliable machines and systems as well as for corporate innovation in the development of new technologies and processes. A high-quality product calls for competence in development, engineering, manufacture and assembly. And this competence in turn stems from the training, know-how, experience and motivation of the company staff. The environment of the company headquarters in Augsburg has always fulfilled these requirements in the best possible way. And it is here that we find the dedicated and excellently trained staff who render a great service to the company, the products and the success of our customers. For this reason and in the tradition of our own self-imposed commitment to high quality, we will continue to lay store by Germany as a business location. The new emblem for our letterheaded company paper with the message ENGINEERED, MANUACTURED AND ASSEMBLED in GERMANY underlines this commitment. Nov. 1, 2005 7-Layer Extrusion Line for Wentus Wentus invests in Höxter site Wentus was founded in Höxter in the year 1965, today employs a workforce of 400 and is a member of the Irish Clondalkin concern. The company specializes in the production of polyethylene and polypropylene fine films and, as a major German manufacturer of polyolefin fine films with 45,000 tons annually, is considered one of the major players in the industry. In Höxter, where the chairman of the board, Mr Bodo Cordes, since joining the organization in 1983, has increased sales more than seven-fold, production quantities more than five-fold, and the number of employees more than four-fold, seven million Euros are currently being invested in the manufacture of custom-made films with special barrier properties, expanding the product range offered by Wentus. The new barrier films, which consist of up to seven layers, are produced on a film blowing system supplied by Hosokawa Alpine. The decision in favor of the Alpine system was taken by Wentus as a result of an extensive series of tests with systems by alternate suppliers, since the seven-layer system by Alpine Hosokawa was found best suited of all tested systems in providing the desired film specification. ALPINE seven-layer film blowing system The Alpine seven-layer film blowing system for Wentus offers a number of special features. The heart of the system is the newly developed film die head, boasting a spiral distributor specially designed and optimized for the Wentus production range. This film die head, which was mainly responsible for the outstanding quality at Wentus, now completes the new „K“ series of film die heads. The reversing rods of the film take-off, type AHR, are equipped with a special non-stick coating, thus allowing the problem-free production of sticky and soft films on this system, as well. The film winder of the series WD 1000 incorporated in this system represents the latest advance in Alpine film winder technology. The film winder, equipped with two winder stations, is designed to accommodate the winding processes contact winding, contact central winding and central winding with gap. Both the winding processes contact central winding and central winding provide the choice of left or right hand winding direction at both winding stations. This guarantees the greatest possible flexibility, a characteristic playing an important role in the manufacture of barrier films. The entire control procedure of the film winder is run by a stored-program control using Profibus technology. The complete equipment of the film winder also includes a stretching device for winder shafts, as well as an edge trim system for edge and center strips at each winder station. The system is equipped with the Alpine Visualization system "ExVis". All machine and system components are integrated in this system and have Profibus connectivity. The complete system is operated by means of a touch screen monitor. Alpine ExVis comprises a database which manages all individual data. These data can be displayed in time-related diagrams and thus allow easy evaluations, analyses and determination of trends. Film recipes and other valuable information can be stored in the database. The visualization system ExVis also provides integrated film profile measurement and control of the film profile. The complete software, for ExVis as well as profile control, has been developed by Alpine and is constantly updated by the Alpine software department. Therefore, special requirements with regard to software can be realized uncomplicated and quickly. The switchgear and control units of the 7-layer film blowing system installed at Wentus are centrally integrated in an accessible and fully climate-controlled container. This protects these components from contamination and provides a constant and optimal operating temperature. Oct. 1, 2005 New Executive board The supervisory board of Hosokawa Alpine Aktiengesellschaft is pleased to announce that in addition to the current members Achim Vogel (Chairman) and Georg Ringmayr (Finance) Mr Peter Krieg, Dipl.-Ing (TU) previously manager of the Minerals and Metals Division and Mr Bertram Brenner, Dipl.-Ing (FH) previously manager of the Pharma and Food Division have been appointed to the management board, effective from 1st October 2005, in preparation for the retirement of Mr Achim Vogel, Dipl.-Ing which will take place in 2006. The appointments have been made early in a conscious move to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities and to maintain the continuity in the management of Hosokawa Alpine Aktiengesellschaft upon which our customers rely. Sept. 16, 2005 Fast and thorough cleaning of your film die heads As one of the worldwide leading manufacturers of film blowing systems we are constantly striving to improve our services for your benefit. Our investment in a modern vacuum pyrolysis cleaning system, supplied by a reputable German manufacturer, now enables us to clean your valuable film die heads even faster and more gently. This means for you: -reduction of down times through minimal turn-around times, -reduced workload for your personnel, - no mechanical damage of sensitive runner surfaces. Our new system is capable of thermally cleaning components with a weight of up to 5 tons at a max. temperature of 450°C. In this process, the individual process steps are executed automatically and controlled in a sequence consisting of heating/melting off, pyrolysis and oxidation. Additional cleaning is performed as required and in consultation with the customer, with the added advantage that disassembly is much simpler due to the previous pyrolytic cleaning step. We are pleased to offer you this service for cleaning of standard blown film types such as PE; other types and additives upon request. After prior consultation, we are also able to clean film die heads from other manufacturers. We would be glad if our new service would be of interest to you. For your inquiry we have prepared a form for you to complete and return by FAX or e-mail. You will receive our price quotation without delay. download inquiry form June 10, 2005 Vinora AG puts a new Alpine 7-layer system into operation Founded in 1953 and meanwhile a member of the PetroplastVinora Group, Vinora AG is a leading Swiss manufacturer of polyethylene film. At the Jona location, the company has now commissioned a new Alpine 7-layer system that will be employed to produce barrier film for medical applications. After several test series at a number of different machine manufacturers, Vinora decided on the Alpine system, with which the required high film quality can be best produced.

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