Rani Plast to install world’s largest Davis-Standard blown film die
Leading Nordic film supplier, Rani Plast of Finland, is adding large-scale blown film capabilities with a new Davis-Standard line equipped with a 2.3-metre seven-layer Centrex IBC die.
When completed, this is said to be the largest seven-layer blown film die Davis-Standard has built for any customer to date; the company has been supplying these for agricultural applications since 2010. The line, slated for installation in spring 2016, is being customised to meet Rani Plast’s specifications for producing both high barrier agriculture films and non barrier conventional PE-based films.
The die and tower are capable of producing a bubble up to 22 metres unfolded at high output rates with a dual lip, automatic profile control air ring. Complementing the superior die design are seven Davis-Standard MAC extruders fitted with DSB screws and continuous screen changers to deliver a high quality melt at cool controlled temperatures, critical for maximising output rate and film quality. The tower equipment features multiple bubble cages and Davis-Standard collapsing and gusseting equipment.
“Davis-Standard’s equipment has performed well for us, which is why we chose them for this blown film line,” said Mikael Ahlback, managing director of Rani Plast. “This line will be installed at our facility in Terjarv, Finland. It will support the production of high barrier and non-barrier film structures ranging in thickness from 30 to 200 microns. The die design uses concepts that will allow us to optimise the amount of high cost EVOH resin used in our barrier film formulation.”
Rani Plast is a 40-year customer of Davis-Standard in the areas of extrusion coating, cast film and blown film. The new line will support the continued growth of Rani Plast’s extensive agricultural films business throughout Europe and the world. Rani Plast chose Davis-Standard’s Centrex die because of proven versatility for a diverse film portfolio. The die is capable of processing high-quality film with optimised coex ratios for thicker skin layers and low-percentage core layers for barrier-based structures as well as conventional non-barrier structures requiring a variety of polymer blends.