Matthews, N.C.-based Gneuss Inc. added a size across its line of rotary filtration system for processing polymer melts for film, sheet, fiber, compounding and recycling.
The models RSFgenius, SFXmagnus, SFneos and CSFprimus are now available in what the company calls a size 110, which refers to a dimension on the filter disk. The size 110 systems have screen areas that are 46-62 square inches, depending on the model.
The new size offers almost 20 percent more active screen area than the size 90 for each model, according to Gneuss Vice President Monika Gneuss.
Previously, the next size up was the size 150, which has 50 percent more of an active filtration area.
The new intermediate size will give customers an optimized and cost-efficient filtration solution for every application, particularly those promoting sustainable qualities, Gneuss said.
The company was going to introduce the new size at NPE2021. However, with travel and in-person meetings canceled, Gneuss said virtual meetings, presentations and lab trials are being conducted instead.
"These tools are here to stay and will offer additional options for internal company meetings as well as for getting together with our customers," she said. "With our headquarters being in Germany, these tools are also valuable for including experts from different continents easily and very time- and cost-efficient."
Nowadays, more than 50 percent of company sales are for recycling applications, Gneuss said.
"The emphasis on circularity by our customers is leading to more projects for us, so the percentage of our turnover in recycling applications is steadily growing," she said.
Recycling applications include the use of PET bottle flake to make sheet, fiber or new bottles; the use of agricultural film or other film sources for new bags; and the use of polystyrene containers for new PS sheet, Gneuss added.
While projects and activities almost stopped with the lockdown in March and April 2020, business picked up again later in the year.
"Several big projects/sales came through towards the end of the year, making more than up for the lost months earlier," Gneuss said, noting the projects were related to recycling, not the pandemic.
2021 is shaping up to be a great year, she added.
"While recycling was not a priority for many states during the lockdown, it is back on most companies' agenda with a very high priority again," Gneuss said.
The company is involved with projects for "almost every polymer material out there" —- from polyolefins, polystyrenes, nylons, PVC to specialty compounds. However, the higher percentage of projects involve polyester and bottle flakes, Gneuss said.
The Gneuss systems are used to filter thermally sensitive melts and materials with a high contamination level (RSFgenius), for PVC processing and PVC recycling applications (SFneos) and other applications.
Gneuss' rotary filtration systems are characterized by a filter disk on which the screen cavities are located in a ring pattern. Screens can be changed on the part of the filter disk that is not active in the melt channel, while the production process continues to run without any interruptions or disturbances.
The various models differ in terms of drive design, encapsulation and whether they offer integrated back-flushing.
Gneuss Inc. is the daughter company of Bad Oeynhausen, Germany-based Gneuss Kunststofftechnik GmbH, a family-owned company founded in 1983 that has more than 100 international patents.