Heat-transfer-fluid specialist Paratherm Corp. (Booth N6022) of West Conshohocken, Pa., has developed a food-grade National Sanitation Foundation-certified fluid for ingredient and beverage packagers.
A New Jersey-based blow molder of plastic bottles began using the MG fluid in April.
The blow molder needed to give its customers confidence in the safety and nontoxic integrity of the containers for beverages and food ingredients. The processor needed a single fluid both to hold mold temperatures at about 300° F in some short runs and at lower melt-point temperatures for others.
Separately, also in April, a Tennessee rotational molder of soft plastic automotive dashboards began using Paratherm's MR midrange heat-transfer fluid to cycle from forming temperature to ambient in a controlled fashion. MR is rated for service from 30°-550° F and contains an additive that is not present in the MG fluid.
Plastics and rubber processors account for about 29 percent of Paratherm's more than 3,000 customers - 12 percent of them chemical and pharmaceutical processors, and 11 percent food processors.
The producer of hot oils and thermal fluids began operations in 1988. The firm employs 14 and, in 2004, moved from smaller quarters in nearby Conshohocken and now occupies 10,000 square feet.