Düsseldorf, Germany — Energy savings continued to be a market imperative for blow molding equipment companies exhibiting at K 2022, as did the need to run recycled materials. For Italian supplier Plastiblow srl, that has translated into the launch of a new coextrusion machine that requires less energy and runs post-consumer resin at a fast, productive pace.
"We needed to have as much energy efficiency as soon as possible," said Sales Manager Francesco Varuzza of Corsico, Italy-based Plastiblow.
The machine works off the concept that the less material is used in production, the more energy can be saved. The new machine is designed for flexibility in a continuous extrusion process, with a toggle system that can shift from smaller servo motors for lower tonnage to that of higher-tonnage output, Varuzza said. The use of a coextruded, three-layer head is efficient, using 0.28 kilowatts per hour of energy in most configurations, low for industrial packaging applications, he said.
Recycling also was a focus. The machine on display at K 2022 in Düsseldorf used a polyethylene compound from French-based resin producer TotalEnergies that includes 50 percent post-consumer material comparable in quality to virgin PE and is able to be colored. The machine produces stackable, 20-liter industrial packaging containers in two cavities and a three-layer confirmation.
Plastiblow, a unit of plastics processing group Plastimac, has also established a collaboration with blow molding machine producer Sipa SpA, Varuzza said. The companies will exchange customer lists and potentially work on packaging R&D solutions, he said.
In March, Plastiblow established a presence in the Americas by opening a spare parts and service center in Miami, called Plastiblow North America LLC, along with distributor partner Plastec USA Inc. The center is servicing both the United States and Mexico, with Mexico being a primary market for many Plastiblow machines, Varuzza said.