Pipe-extrusion process eliminates downtime for automotive parts supplier
Canadian Plastics
Like many automotive parts suppliers, Trelleborg AB's plant in Nantes, France was pressured to reduce costs. Instead of relocating to a low-cost country, it opted to improve productivity, developing a...
Like many automotive parts suppliers, Trelleborg AB’s plant in Nantes, France was pressured to reduce costs. Instead of relocating to a low-cost country, it opted to improve productivity, developing an innovative pipe-extrusion process to increase its competitiveness.
Creatub II is a continuous extrusion system with an integrated moving die head. The technology, which was developed at the facility several years ago, can produce pipes with different diameters with zero change-over time from one product to the next.
“Our production process was very traditional,” explains Roger Alies, manufacturing manager at the plant which produces engine hoses for Renault and PSA Puegeot Citroen cars.
“We would extrude a ‘green’ hose, shape it in an autoclave then wash it and complete the finishing process. The Creatub system has provided us with a 20% reduction on the final production costs.”
Creatub II cures with hot air, so there is no steam or external emissions. The process is capable of producing up to 20 different products at the same time, eliminating the batch work process of traditional extrusion lines and raising machine efficiency to above 90%.
