Cast film catching on in emerging markets

Macro Engineering & Technology Inc.(Mississauga, ON) has produced a one-of-a-kind seven-layer cast barrier film line with PVDC encapsulation for a client in China. A similar line will be delivered to Latin America in the spring of 2004.
While seven-layer cast lines are still a rarity (there’s reportedly less than six such lines lines in the world), new technology is making the process more economical.
"Edge encapsulation makes cast barrier film price competitive," explains Mirek Planeta, Macro’s president. One of the main drawbacks of cast barrier film has traditionally been trim waste.
The CLX-7210 line Macro designed for its Chinese client used two extra extruders for edge encapsulation. By having edges made of a single resin, rather than the seven-layer barrier structure, edge trim can be easily reprocessed.
Adolfo Edgar, Macro’s area sales manager for Latin America, says there has been increased interest in cast barrier film in the last few months. "Emerging markets are looking for the unique capabilities offered by the cast film process. High clarity glossy structures will PP in the outer layer for deep draw forming applications are simply unattainable with the blown film process."