Extrusion International USA 4-2019

26 Extrusion International 4/2019 EXTRUSION INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS NewPresident On September 3, Charlie Rogers assumed his new position as President of KraussMaffei Corporation in Florence, Ken- tucky (USA). He succeeds Paul Caprio, who left the company at the beginning of June. Rogers reports to Michael Ruf, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the KraussMaffei Group. Charlie Rogers has around 20 years of industry experience and also brings expertise in European business. “We are pleased to have found an experienced manager in Charlie Rogers who use his expertise to expand our US busi- ness,” explains Dr. Michael Ruf, KraussMaffei COO. KraussMaffei Corporation USA www.kraussmaffei.com New President Charlie Rogers (Photo: KraussMaffei) 30th Anniversary as a Leading Global Supplier of Blown Film Equipment Addex Inc. www.addexinc.com the fully manual Manual Gauge Control (MGC) with individual- ly-adjustable control bolts, as well as Addex’s patented External Gauge Control (EGC), which cuts controllable thickness variation by over 50%. In 2013, the tandem external gauge control was in- troduced, adding a bubble stabilizing lower ring to sit “flat to the die” and increase output rate. In 2001, Addex’s foray into die design produced the patented REDI die – a side-fed, stackable die. Cree used the concept of reg- ular division of the plane to interlace flows of polymer through the die, aptly named the REDI die. The REDI die is Cree’s die of choice on the Addex R&D line since it is modular and streamlined, allowing it to process difficult-to-runmaterials. Most recently, Addex has taken an industry lead with the intro- duction of its patented air ring design called Intensive Cooling, which has eclipsed all previous industry developments in terms of increased output and bubble stability, becoming the first major advancement since the company narrowed its product mix to fo- cus exclusively on blown film cooling. Introduced at K 2016, Intensive Cooling began as a stackable configuration of two to four cooling elements, which were fully enclosed and mounted between the die and the air ring. Using air from each cooling element flowing in opposite directions to create a vacuum, bubble stability was greatly improved, which in turn led tomassive output gains. Addex continues to innovate and is now entering Phase 2 of In- tensive Cooling development. The company is examining the de- sign of other components in the blown film process, such as the main air lip design, air collars and IBC – all to optimize total sys- tem performance in combination with Intensive Cooling. Addex will showcase its Intensive Cooling technology at the upcoming K 2019 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany. Addex is celebrating 30 years in the plastics industry. A tech- nology-driven equipment manufacturer, Addex has been at the forefront of the latest advancements in blown film equipment since its founding in August 1989. The company, co-founded by President Bob Cree and former president and current Chairman of the Board Rick von Kraus, has steadily grown fromhumble be- ginnings to its current position as a global manufacturer of blown film equipment. Through direct-to-customer sales and strategic partnerships with leading processors throughout the world, Addex continues to successfully meet the needs of processors in its core market - the blown filmpackaging industry. Addex entered the blown film industry in 1989 with the intro- duction of the first hybrid analog/digital microprocessor-based Internal Bubble Cooling (IBC) control system, which was fueled by Cree’s personal interest in building computers. The IBC went 100% digital in the early 2000s – a patented industry first - along with the addition of a “quick-changeover” feature, high-speed servo valve, and split sensors to deliver the fastest reaction time in the industry, ensuring the tightest possible layflat control. In 1994, Addex launched its patented horizontal oscillating haul- off, functionally namedGauge BandRandomizer (GBR), which in- cluded anti-web wander and anti-camber features – again indus- try firsts. In 2009, the GBR line was extended to operate vertically while integrating a patented equal and opposite accumulation of film to eliminate line speed variation common to vertical designs. Another key milestone came in 1995 when Addex made a sig- nificant advancement in gauge control, introducing the patented Internal Gauge Control (IGC), an internal-to-bubble, IBC-based gauge control system. With resolution in excess of 360 zones and advanced measurement capability, the control capability within 1 deg. of resolution is still the best resolution in the industry. In 2004, in response to processors’ need for a simple-to-operate, cost-effective gauge control system, the company introduced