Firms are investing in machine direction orientation film at plants in Ohio.
New company Eclipse Film Technologies is specializing in machine direction orientation film, but only on the orientation side, where it will not handle extrusion, an official said during the Society of Plastics Engineers' Antec, held May 6-10 in Cincinnati.
Eclipse is leasing a 25,000-square-foot production site in Hamilton, Ohio, where it currently employs about three.
``The plan is to have one line with no extrusion capabilities,'' said technical director Ryan Breese. ``We are going to focus on orientation technology. It falls back on the business model to be able to bring in any type of substrate. Flexibility is one of the key parameters of our operation. There is an unprecedented amount of freedom in what we're able to design to meet the needs of a given application.''
Eclipse will focus on food and medical packaging, touting the benefits of MDO films, which it said includes increased modulus, strength, and optical and barrier properties.
Breese said the company will work with oriented films it designs for the industry and will provide tooling.
``Based on significant enhancements that you see in physical film once it's been oriented, there are significant opportunities for MDO films'' in the North American market, Breese said.
The company is owned by silent investors. Eclipse recently added Sara Porter as its business development manager.
Meanwhile, Polymer Packaging Inc. of Massillon, Ohio, has installed an Alpine MDO system as part of a $23 million expansion it will complete this month. The orienter uses a shaftless unwind that can accommodate 3- or 6-inch cores and can orient film with a maximum lay-flat width of 78.75 inches, officials said in a news release.