Extrusion International USA 2-2019

27 Extrusion International 2/2019 Grand Opening of First Plant in U.S. Switzerland-based corvaglia group announced the com- pletion of their first manufacturing facility in the United States, Newnan, Georgia. The international company manufactures 100% recyclable plastic caps and closures for the food and beverage industry worldwide. The new U.S. facility will complement corvaglia’s existing operations in Eschlikon, Switzerland and Ixtlahuaca, Mexico. corvaglia’s business is dedicated to closure design as a verti- cally-integrated manufacturer and supplier of caps and clo- sures for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) containers. Founded in 1991, corvaglia customizes one-piece closure technologies that address the particular needs of its custom- ers and the consumer. This end-to-end market approach Corvaglia Closures USA Inc. www.corvaglia.com is embodied in their slogan ‘Think, Shape, Make, Apply.’ Around the world, corvaglia lightweight technologies are used in bottled waters, carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, isotonics, juices, teas, dairy and edible oils. The new U.S. facility utilizes corvaglia’s in-house proprietary moulds to manufacture lightweight one-piece caps and clo- sures for the North American beverage market. Addition- ally, the corvaglia USA operation offers high-speed digital printing that provides unique short-run customization and branding opportunities. New Plant in the U.S. In April, Milliken & Company began building the largest clarifier plant in its history in Blacksburg, South Carolina. The world-class plant is due to begin operations in 2020 and will boost capacity of Milliken’s Millad® NX™ 8000 clarifier by approximately 50 percent. The expansion is needed to meet fast-growing global demand for this polypropylene additive that is helping users to realize significant sustainability and performance advantages. Demand for Millad NX 8000 is growing in every geographical region and across many end-use markets, with the strongest growth in Asia. Milliken’s investment will enable the com- pany to better serve its customers worldwide and meet dy- namic market requirements. Millad NX 8000 offers many sustainability and performance advantages over previous polypropylene clarifier genera- Milliken chemical.milliken.com tions for plastic molders and brand owners who use it. “In contrast to previous generation clarifier technologies, Millad NX 8000 has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions for plastic manufacturers,” says Zach Adams, global product line manager for Milliken’s Plastic Additives business. “Our propriety technology improves the aesthet- ics and processability of polypropylene, a plastic which is lightweight, has a low carbon footprint and almost always performs better than less sustainable plastics in a life cycle analysis.” Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has validated that the pro- cessing of resin containing Millad NX 8000 requires lower en- ergy consumption than other polypropylene that uses third- generation clarifiers, allowing the UL eco-label to be used on those products. Lower processing temperatures are benefit- ting users with energy savings. Increasing market demand for Millad ® NX™ 8000 clarifier prompts Milliken to boost production capacity by 50 percent (Photos © 2019 Milliken & Company)