Former officials of Corona Designs Inc. have purchased its intellectual property and customer list and founded Corona Dynamics LLC, a company in Rowlett, Texas, that makes equipment for corona treatment of plastic sheet, blown film and foam, plus treater rolls and electrodes.
Corona treatment increases the wettability of polymer surfaces, giving better adhesion for printing, coating and bonding.
Darwin Whiteside founded Corona Designs in 1974. He was an independent sales representative who gained his knowledge of electronics as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War II.
His son, Curt Whiteside, is one of four partners in the new company, Corona Dynamics, where he is coatings and materials manager.
The others are Keith Woodson, who was general manager of Corona Designs and is now vice president and CEO of Corona Dynamics; his wife, Cathy Woodson, who is president of Corona Dynamics; and Donnie Chapin, engineering design manager
The partners have more than 75 years of experience in the corona treating industry.
Corona Dynamics' proprietary coating on both the company's new and refurbished rollers efficiently spread a dielectric charge over a larger area, which improves print quality.
The company claims its refurbished rollers last twice as long as rollers from original equipment manufacturers, at half the price.
Corona Dynamics is continuing to manufacture Darwin Whiteside's DiamondMesa electrode design, which the company claims improves wetting by more than 25 percent over conventional electrodes, and reduces power requirements.
The current product line also includes a Texas-made, split-box treating station designed to compete with offshore stations, a next-generation power supply, and treater rolls coated with proprietary, durable compounds that resist abrasion and heat with a high release coefficient, according to the new company.
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