Plast 2015 | event report
The Plast exhibition is the best place to catch up on the latest machinery developments from Italian manufacturers. Peter Mapleston reports from this year’s show
The pick of Plast 2015
The Italian Plast exhibition that takes place just outside Milan every three years is above all else a showcase for Italian plastics processing technology. Italian machinery companies, most of them located not far from the motorway that stretches from Turin, around Milan and onto Venice, are among the most innovative producers of extrusion and mixing equipment. Here is a review of what was on show at Plast 2015, which took place on 5-9 May. ICMA San Giorgio had the largest of its new high-
performance MCM-HP co-rotating compounding extruders on its stand, a 62-mm version. The company introduced the range at K 2013 with a 42-mm model, and company managing director Giorgio Colombo said market reception has been very positive. The unit is primarily intended for engineered
compounds, and combines high volume and high torque with low energy consumption. The latter is helped by the use of water-cooled motors and improved barrel insulation. The machine has a maximum torque density of 16 Nm/cm3
. Colombo said that he is satisfi ed with the current
state of the market, at home and abroad. “The Italian market is recovering, admittedly from a low level,” he said. “People have started to invest again. This is important because we have some very good and loyal customers in Italy.” A few weeks before Plast, the company announced that it had commissioned a laboratory compounding and pelletizing line for testing in Monroe, near Detroit,
USA. The line is equipped with a 50-mm MCM extruder, which is said to be particularly versatile and capable of covering a wide range of compounds including engi- neering plastics and fi lled compounds. The line also comprises a gravimetric dosing system from Enginplast and a control system from Gefran – both also Italian – who have teamed up with ICMA for its North American development plan. Comac was showing its EBC 55HT 52D co-rotating
extruder, which is intended for colour masterbatch, and is capable of producing materials with up to 70% organic pigment or 80% inorganic pigment by weight. The difference is largely due to the difference in density of the two types; dispersing organic pigments is also more diffi cult, the company notes. In both cases, however, the extruder provides “optimal” dispersion. This is the fi rst time the company has exhibited the machine with such a high L/D ratio (52), said Riccardo Pellegrini, head of the company’s R&D department. “Machines for masterbatch are normally much shorter, around 36 L/D, but for optimal dispersion you need the extra length,” he explained. After the show, the extruder was due to be delivered
to Athena, a supplier of single-pigment concentrates in northern Italy. “The market is picking up in Italy, especially for masterbatches, where we have a strong position,” said Pellegrini. “For a while this market was
www.compoundingworld.com June 2015 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 57
ICMA showed a 62-mm
high-perfor- mance
twin-screw extruder
Giorgio Colombo of ICMA San Giorgio believes the Italian market is recovering
PHOTO: PETER MAPLESTON
PHOTO: PETER MAPLESTON
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