Plastics News Show Daily - April 3, 2012 - (Page 12)

12 PLASTICS NEWS, April 3, 2012 Frigel shows off-site cooling monitors By Roger Renstrom PLASTICS NEWS CORRESPONDENT ORLANDO, FLA. — Frigel North America Inc. (Booth 1991) is displaying a Web-based remote monitoring system that allows off-site Frigel technicians to quickly identify, and often resolve, performance and maintenance issues for the company’s cooling systems. “For customers with Web-connected systems, we can analyze operating parameters, correct settings, troubleshoot equipment functions and potentially provide instant service,” said Al Fosco, Frigel regional sales manager in East Dundee, Ill. Globally, parent firm Frigel Firenze SpA in Scandicci, Italy, near Florence, designs, manufactures and sells process cooling equipment to plastics processors. The PMR remote control panel in a customer’s facility functions as an interface between Frigel’s equipment and the Internet with capabilities to monitor critical system functions, such as fan speeds, compressor loading, set point and operating tempera- tures, pump pressures and flows, ambient temperatures, reservoir levels, filter pressure drops, alarm conditions and many more variables, including trend logs. And, as needed, technicians can make corrections to system settings to quickly solve operational problems. Frigel Firenze and software design firm Project Engineering combined forces to introduce this new technology in late 2010 and have added features with each new generation of the PMR. Effective March 1, Frigel North America began distributing HBTherm AG temperature control systems in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Costa Rica. Principals for Frigel Firenze and HB-Therm in St. Gallen, Switzerland, began discussions in early 2011 about establishing a distribution relationship in North America. Frigel’s North American net- work of technicians and sales representatives is seen as helpful for HB-Therm supporting its customers, said Reto Zürcher, HBTherm chief executive officer. HB-Therm units can control water with temperatures up to 356° F (180° C) and oil with temperatures up to 482° F (250° C). “The high-temperature water-control units can replace oil units,” Fosco said. In addition, Frigel introduces the Microgel RCP line of self-contained water-cooled chillers for applications such as PET processing, closure molds, multicavity molding, high-speed medical and blow molding. The size range for the “super chiller” is 9.2-126.7 tons. Also, Frigel offers Ecodry highefficiency modular fluid cooler systems and the machine-side Microgel units for super-high-efficiency cooling and Turbogel highperformance temperature control units. In August, Frigel Firenze and two partners formed joint venture Frigel Asia Pacific Co. Ltd. in Bangkok, Thailand, for sales, service and manufacturing support in the region. The partners are Chudleigh-Sutch Technologies Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong and Matsui Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan. GN adds five new positions By Roger Renstrom PLASTICS NEWS CORRESPONDENT ORLANDO, FLA. — GN Thermoforming Equipment (Booth 1683) added three new positions to its engineering department in Chester, Nova Scotia, and two to its sales staff in Jihlava, Czech Republic. Workforce expansion for the manufacturer of roll-fed, in-mold cut thermoforming machines reflects strong response for its GN760 plug-assist thermoformer, now making its North American debut in a demonstration at NPE2012 after a launch at K 2010 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Jerome Romkey, GN marketing See us at NPE Booth 7947 At NPE, the machine is running a 10-up common-edge die tool for PET meat trays. manager, reports overwhelming response to the GN760 and anticipates further growth for cut-inplace machinery. GN is trying to expand its offering. At NPE, the machine is running a 10-up common-edge die tool for PET meat trays. The demonstration underscores the machine’s low-scrap capability. GN’s tooling technology can reduce skeletal web scrap to 18 percent from 30 percent when compared to typical form-cut-stack machines. The new cut-in-place machine has 30-inch-by-21-inch forming area and helps meet a demand for medium- to large-volume runs. GN has sold GN760 units to customers in Poland, Russia, South Africa and Mexico, with most manufacturing custom food trays of PET, high-impact polystyrene, polypropylene or PE/PET laminate. Romkey said the plug-assist thermoformer and common-edge tooling give processors an opportunity to improve profitability in an era of escalating resin prices and environmental footprint pressures. With an electronic regeneration system, the GN760 is energy efficient when compared to competitive equipment, Romkey said. The model uses servo drives for plugging, material transport, stripping and stacking, and boasts a radiant infrared heating system with 60 zones. www.kraussmaffei.com The AX machines are our answer to the challenge of energy efficient production. AX machines have what it takes to keep your costs down and profit margins secure. Speed, reliability and precision add up to high output, repeatability and low resource consumption. Benefit from KraussMaffei know-how and the quality of our machines – and see your energy consumption shrink. NPE, West Building, hall B, booth 1503 A rock solid investment. AX series injection molding machines Engineering Passion http://www.eoat-products.com http://www.erema.net http://www.erema.net http://www.kraussmaffei.com http://www.kraussmaffei.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Show Daily - April 3, 2012

Plastics News Show Daily - April 3, 2012

https://www.nxtbookmedia.com