Nordson Corp. is seeing a surge in demand for gear pumps and screen changers by producers of melt blown polypropylene microfiber sheet used in the masks and gowns needed by health care workers treating patients with the fast-spreading COVID-19 virus.
Gear pumps provide the uniform melt flow and pressure needed for a quality product while screen changers filter out impurities for medical uses.
Since the pandemic, Nordson has shipped its BKG NorCon brand screen changers to extrusion OEMs in Europe and its BKG BlueFlow gear pumps to OEMs worldwide starting with China, according to Sven Conrad, global business director.
"There continues to be an urgent need for the microfiber fabrics used in protecting medical professionals as they cope with the surge in COVID-19 cases," Conrad said in a news release. "Like other companies in the plastics industry, Nordson supplies products that are essential in the global effort to mitigate the spread of this deadly infection. It shows once more that, given proper handling and disposal, how important plastics can be in our modern society."
In the melt blowing process, extruded polymer passes through small holes in a nozzle surrounded by high-speed blowing gas, producing the randomly oriented microfibers that make up a nonwoven sheet.
Nordson offers a range of melt stream products, including screws and barrels for extrusion and injection molding, filtration systems, pumps, valves, extrusion dies and pelletizing systems.
Founded in 1954, Nordson saw sales of $2.2 billion and a profit of $483 million in fiscal year 2019, which ended Oct. 31, 2019. The company is based in Westlake, Ohio, with operations and support offices in nearly 40 countries.