Film and bag maker Champion Plastics has added three blown film extrusion lines, helping the company fill gaps in film widths and sizes.
The Clifton, N.J., company just completed installation of the monolayer machines from Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc., said Champion division head John Callaghan. The company discussed the expansion at East Pack 2005, held June 13-15 in New York.
The monolayer machines have extrusion heads of 12-30 inches and help the company make larger-sized film, Callaghan said.
Two machines added capacity and the third replaced an existing unit, he said. The 250,000-square-foot facility has 16 extrusion lines. The machines will hike plant production by 15-20 percent annually.
Champion invested more than $1 million in the new equipment and needed to raise the roof in one area to 35 feet, Callaghan said. The company makes polyethylene film and bags for food packaging, chemicals, pharmaceutical and industrial uses. The company plans to add about a dozen people, bringing its total staff to about 152, he said.
The company, founded in 1972, is owned by XL Plastics Inc. of Clifton. Within the next 14-18 months, the flexible packaging supplier plans to add its first coextrusion machine, Callaghan said.
