Brampton Engineering opens blown film R&D centre (November 20, 2006)

Blown film systems manufacturer Brampton Engineering (BE) has opened its new BE Film Technology Centre in Brampton, Ont.
In the presence of Brampton city officials, industry insiders and others, BE’s president and CEO R.L. Bud Smith and Rami Younes, chair of the board of BE directors, cut the ribbon to open the facility on Nov. 15.
Located in the company’s manufacturing plant at 8031 Dixie Road, the centre features a 9-layer SCD-3 blown film extrusion system that BE has designed for blown film technology R&D.
The centre would be used to conduct trials with production-size equipment, fine-tune new products, produce sample rolls for further R&D and serve generally as a showcase for new blown film technology, R.L. Bud Smith, BE president and CEO, said during the opening ceremony. “Also, our customers are welcome to come here and experiment by running their own lines at this centre,” Smith continued.
Mary Harvey, a corporate communications specialist at BE, said that the new centre had been designed with customer ease in mind. “We wanted the facility to be customer-friendly, and also have the look of a showroom,” she said.
The centre’s SCD-3 system has a nominal output of 300 kg/hr, with a line speed of 100 m/min. The system can process film widths of 1524 mm maximum layflat width tubing or sheet edge, and 1475 mm maximum edge trimmed sheeting. Film thickness of 12-250 microns can be achieved.
The opening of the Film Technology Centre is part of BE’s effort to increase both its sales and its industry profile, and in the process become a global company, Smith said. “We are trying to build up the BE brand name, and also make people aware that we can sell complete film processing systems anywhere in the world,” he explained. “We have sold 17 blown film systems in China, with more to go in shortly. We’ve also sold to companies in countries such as Finland, South Africa and Israel.”