Extrusion International USA 1-2021

27 Extrusion International 1/2021 „ What began in 1971 with a fi ve-person machine shop in a small city of 14,000 is nowNordson Corporation’s global EDI® brand, recognized worldwide for advanced engineering and precision workmanship in the production of fl at dies for fi lm, sheet, and coating. The EDI team celebrated the 50th anniversary of the EDI busi- ness on February 15, the day of its founding as what was then called ExtrusionDies Incorporated. Nordson acquired the com- pany in 2012 and last year consolidated three EDI operations in Chippewa Falls into an extensive new facility, one that is still in the same town and is still the world headquarters for the EDI brand. Today manufacturing facilities in the US, Germany, Japan, and China support the brand, as do sales and technical service staff located in these and other countries. The global EDI team consists of 350 employees. Some of the other products developed under the EDI brand are: coextrusion feedblocks that are adjustable on-line and provide variable layer sequencing; multi-manifold coextrusion dies; mechanisms for rapid width adjustment; internal deckles that minimize edge bead formation in extrusion coating; lay- er-multiplier tooling that yields microlayer structures; fi lm dies that eliminate tradeoffs between uniformity and melt fl ow; and multi-layer fi xed-lip slot dies. The founders of Extrusion Dies Incorporated were Jack Barney (president), John Altman (manager of manufacturing), and Darold Schuster (manager of accounting). All three came from the Chippewa Falls fi rm Johnson Manufacturing, a diversi fi ed manufacturer of plastics processing equipment, includingdies. The three founders saw a need to focus on dies alone. Starting in 1971 with two employees, the founders began by reworking existing dies, but within a year they produced their fi rst new dies. Next, by partnering with key extrusion OEMs, which had traditionally built their own dies, Extrusion Dies Incorporated developed a reputation for excellence that was crucial for the company’s growth. Today, along with extrusion processors and web converters, equipment OEMs continue to be important customers. A large number of EDI teammembers, both in Chippewa Falls and at overseas locations, have been with the brand for many years. Last year Nordson completed construction of the new world headquarters, a 145,000 sq. ft. (13,500 sq.m) facility not far from the three sites previously used for the EDI business. The facility houses operations for manufacturing, engineering, af- termarket service, sales, technical support, R&D, and laborato- ry trials. It includes new, advanced manufacturing equipment that streamlines work fl ow and produces dies with tighter tolerances, and a communications platform that permits close collaboration with EDI teams around the world. 50 Years of Global Leadership in Polymer Extrusion and Fluid Coating Dies Celebrated „ On December 30, 2020, Messe Düsseldorf and Corferias (the International Business and Exhibition Center of Bogota) signed an agreement with Acoplasticos (Asociación Colombi- ana de Industrias Plásticas) to purchase a share of and jointly organize COLOMBIAPLAST, one of the most important inter- national trade fair for the plastics, rubber, petrochemical and packaging industry in the LatAm region. Accordingly, Messe Düsseldorf – through its subsidiary Messe Düsseldorf North America (Chicago, USA) – acquires an equal share in COLOM- BIAPLAST and becomes involved in organizing the event. Messe Düsseldorf is renowned as the organizer of K, The World’s No.1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, held every three years in Düsseldorf, Germany. With this agreement, Messe Düsseldorf adds COLOMBIAPLAST to its “Global Gate” portfolio of plastics and rubber trade fairs. Messe Düs- seldorf’s expertise in organizing plastics and rubber trade fairs around the world together with its extensive network of sales of fi ces and subsidiaries in 141 countries will increase international participation at COLOMBIAPLAST and help to grow the trade show. The next edition is scheduled for June 22 to 25, 2021 at Corferias in Bogota, Colombia. Expands Global Gate Portfolio for Plastics and Rubber Messe Düsseldorf GmbH www.messe-duesseldorf.de www.k-globalgate.com Nordson Corporation www.nordson.com Nordson Polymer Processing Systems www.nordsonpolymerprocessing.com New EDI ® Facility with Nordson Sign