Packaging firm expands cast film capacity

“The speeds we run today are absolutely unbelievable when compared to what we were doing when we started out (27 years ago),” says Malpack Ltd. president Guy DiPietro. “And the developments of the past five years are amazing. If you want to grow your business you must have good equipment. You can’t compete without it.”

True to that philosophy, Malpack is putting the finishing touches on a third production facility located in Ajax, Ont., for the Stretch Film Division.

Malpack is a manufacturer of cast stretch film and blown film, as well as a converter of plain and printed plastic bags.

Central to the expansion at Malpack’s new facility is a state-of-the-art Battenfeld Gloucester Model 700 five-layer cast stretch film extrusion system. The new 147-inch line produces film in six 20-inch wide rolls. It is capable of processing up to 25 million pounds of material annually. A three-layer line also from Battenfeld Gloucester produces the balance of Malpack’s stretch film.

The five-layer system uses four Contracool extruders, optimized with proprietary screw designs just for Malpack. This enables Malpack to handle standard materials, as well as process advanced metallocene and higher performance resins.

“With the new line, our flexibility is so much greater. We are able to satisfy a broad range of customer requirements, while maintaining tight quality and cost controls,” says DiPietro.

Malpack’s line is also equipped with Battenfeld Gloucester’s new model 1002-CS Winder with center shaft support for automatic roll removal and handling, and a Cloeren 147-inch Epoch III AutoGauge V die and a five-layer coextrusion feedblock. An air knife and vacuum box are also incorporated into the system and are designed to ensure optimum contact of the extruded film with the roll surface.