Riverdale Global builds first fully automated liquid colour manufacturing plant

The sign outside the High Point plant.

Riverdale Global, a supplier of liquid colour management technology, is nearing completion of what it calls the first fully automated plant for manufacturing liquid colourants and additives for the plastics industry.

Housed in a 200,000-square-foot facility on a 23-acre property in High Point, N.C., the new facility – which represents a US$4 million investment – is expected to be producing colourants this summer.

The High Point plant will automate production of pigments and their dispersion in liquid carriers. “While the standard industry practice is to use the same equipment and containers for multiple colours, [we are] building dedicated hoppers, augers, and containers for each pigment, eliminating the need for cleaning when switching from one pigment to another,” said Paul Maguire, president of Riverdale Global. “The containers have built-in pigment mills and dispersion blades and remain closed and sealed to prevent cross-contamination and material waste.”

The containers combine any of 100 pigments with various types of liquid carrier to produce single-pigment dispersions (SPDs). Riverdale Global has hundreds of SPD formulations in its database. The SPDs are shipped to “satellite” plants where they are custom-blended for local customers.

“Our new operation at High Point will be completely computer-controlled, making possible real-time inventory control that will reduce order lead times and allow for automatic traceability with raw material lot numbers,” Maguire said. “Combined with dedicated equipment, this control will ensure superior product quality and consistency.”

Already operational at the High Point facility are a colour development laboratory and a satellite plant for blending SPDs. The satellite operation has been relocated from nearby Statesville, N.C.

Riverdale Global is headquartered in Aston, Pa.