Montreal engineering school buys film line (July 04, 2003)

Ecole Polytechnique, an independent engineering school affiliated with the University of Montreal, announced at NPE that it has purchased a multi-purpose, co-extrusion system from Davis-Standard. The complete system incorporates equipment from Coperion, Cloeren, EGS Gauging, as well as Davis-Standard. Davis-Standard is acting as the general contractor.
According to Rick Keller, Davis-Standard sales/marketing director, coating, cast and blown film, line components will include a coextrusion set-up of three Davis-Standard single screw extruders, two Coperion co-rotating twin-screw extruders, a five-layer Cloeren feedblock, a Cloeren 48-in. single-manifold coectrusion die and a 36-in. three-layer multi-manifold die, an in-line machine direction orienter and an EGS Gauging system for in-line web measurement and control. The line is expected to be installed by the end of 2003.
The line will be used at Polytechnique’s Centre for Applied Research on Polymers (CRASP) for high-level development of micro-porous films and nanocomposite films, as well as general development of sheets, cast films, oriented films extrusion coating and laminating processes. CRASP received a $10.5 million grant from the Quebec provincial and federal governments to purchase the line. Additionally, Group Lavernge has offered 10.000 sq. ft. of floor space to house the line in the company’s Montreal-area facility.
“This is a real production-scale line,” said Luc Parent, lab director at the Centre. “We’re excited about the possibilities of working with partners to develop new products.”