Materials firm Penn Color Inc. has purchased several pieces of new lab equipment for its plastics R&D center in Hatfield, Pa.
A Labtech Engineering film line at the site will allow film to be produced in thicknesses ranging from 3 mils to 50 mils using a variety of resins, including polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic and polycarbonate, officials with Doylestown, Pa.-based Penn Color said in a recent news release.
The firm also installed a coefficient of friction testing unit for the development of surface-modifying additives. The unit already has been used to develop new anti-block technology for PET film and sheet, officials said.
Other technology additions include Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with an ATR attachment, and an inductively coupled plasma instrument for elemental analysis.
Penn Color opened in 1964 and now is a major producer of color and additive concentrates. Later this year, the firm will break ground on a 100,000-square-foot expansion of its manufacturing operations in Hatfield.
Worldwide, Penn Color has annual sales of more than $200 million. It employs more than 650 at five U.S. plants as well as at single plants in the Netherlands and India.