Sustainable Plastics - October 2021 - 20

Fakuma
Fed 26 MTS
extruder with 3
gravimetrically
metered material
streams and metal
separator in
the main stream
continued from page 19
The extruder for melt preparation
is installed parallel to the
roving line, which allows considerable
savings in the space
required by the plant. All maintenance
access points for the
individual plant components
have been designed to allow
direct and fast access to ensure
the highest possible plant availability.
(Hall A6, stand 6217).
Handling
The Roemheld Group will
present a coordinated concept
for the efficient change
and handling of dies or moulds
throughout the entire process
chain for the first time at the
Fakuma 2021. Dies or moulds
can be handled easily, quickly
and safely from removal to
transport up to positioning and
clamping on the machine. The
concept is based on coordinated
components that can be
combined depending on the
customer's requirements. A
wide range of products is available,
from racking systems and
transport carts to magnetic
clamping plates for quick and
safe positioning and clamping
on the machine.
Different types of racks can
be assembled for storing dies or
All Hellweg's granulators are now equipped with the digital Smart Control System
moulds. Die or mould transport
is carried out by changing carts.
Different models for different
weights are available that can
be moved either manually or
electrically with battery power.
A uniform docking system
with which all racks and transport
carts are equipped ensures
safe handling. Dies or moulds
can only be moved when the
components are firmly connected.
(Hall A1, stand 1223).
Size
reduction
At Fakuma 2021, Hellweg is
highlighting the fact that its entire
range of granulators is now
equipped with the digital Smart
Control System, which was premiered
at K2019. Monitoring
is now an option for all sizes,
starting from the 150 series machine-side
granulators for small
'Drawing a line in the sand'
As a raw materials producer,
Ascend Performance Materials,
worldwide the largest fully integrated
producer of nylon 6.6
resin in the world, is also very
much looking forward to the opportunity
Fakuma offers to engage
with its customer base and
the market, said Steve Manning,
Ascend's senior director for engineered
plastics. " The focus
will be on the emerging technologies
that we are bringing to
the market, " he said. These include
the expanded portfolio of
Starflam flame-retardant engineered
plastics and expertise in
halogen-free formulations, that
came with the acquisition of
Eurostar Engineering Plastics,
a France-based compounder;
and Ascend's first venture
outside the world of PA 66, in
a new long-chained polyamide
product family called HiDura.
The HiDura PA 610 and PA 612
grades, developed for applications
such as automotive fuel
systems, brake line applications,
and battery seals offer excellent
chemical and hydrolysis
resistance.
" Automotive is one of the
most important aspects of our
business, " said Manning. Demand
has rebounded strongly
since the drop when the pandemic
started, which means
the biggest current customer
20
October 2021
for the new materials is the
traditional automotive sector.
" Although, that said, we continue
to develop the space for the
e-mobility as that application
emerges, " Manning emphasised.
'It is clear that a technology
shift is going to occur from
traditional internal combustion
engines to a more sustainable
e-mobility platform. We actually
have embraced that transition
and we're working very closely
with our customers to make
sure we are able to deliver new
technologies as that trend continues. "
E-mobility
is not the only way
the company has turned its
sights on sustainability. Much
has changed since the year
2018 - the year the company
adopted as the baseline against
which it measures the progress
it has made on accomplishing
its own sustainability ambitions.
" That's the point in time that we
can draw a line in the sand, and
we developed our roadmap of
how we were going to approach
sustainability. "
For Ascend, the primary
commitment was to lower its
overall greenhouse gas emissions
across its supply chain
by 80% by 2030. " That's the
ultimate target and we're doing
that measuring that against the
2018 baseline, " said Manning.
any of the Ascend footprints will
shut down, said Manning. " A significant
accomplishment for our
overall sustainability initiative. It
is actually turning out to be the
single largest capital investment
- $175 million - ever performed
by Ascend. From a level of commitment,
that's something that
we are proud of. "
And at the Pensacola, Florida
Steve Manning
To that end, Ascend embarked
on several major capital investment
programs, some of which
are this year now nearing completion.
" For example, in our
Texas facility, we have a major
program in place that will fundamentally
change the way we
operate that facility and will cut
our carbon losses by up to 40%
out of that site. It's technology
that involves how we actually
catalyse the process; and so
it's very fundamental and ultimately
will allow us to have
much higher yields out of that
operation. "
At Ascend's site in Decatur,
the company is in the final stages
of installing a state-of-the-art
co-generation facility for power
generation - a huge electrochemical
operation. When it
comes online later this year, the
very last coal-fired operation at
facility, the company has developed
a technology that will ultimately
reduce the greenhouse
gas emissions at this site alone
by greater than 90%.
As a result: " We've been really,
really focused on executing
these capital programs and
we are in the position that we
are starting to mitigate our admissions,
to see our numbers
move, now in 2021. "
At Fakuma, next to the new
products that will be on display,
the company will also be
focused sharing this message:
on helping people understand
our sustainability strategy and
where we stand, said Manning.
" And how we can align
with our customers. It's that
important to our customers
to make sure that their suppliers
are aligning themselves in
such a way as to ensure that
they can have business continuity
and solutions as they
grow. " (Hall A4, stand 4111)
Sustainable Plastics - October 2021

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