Elite Plastics, one of the UK’s leading PE extrusion companies, is known for keeping up with the significant advancement and innovation in polymer technologies. Their research and development have enabled them to create ‘recipes’ that enable them to manufacture cutting-edge polythene films for multiple industries.
To help them stay at the forefront of their industry, the company has invested in a bespoke 3-layer co-extrusion blown film line from Italian designer and manufacturer of complete extrusions line for packaging and converting, Bandera. The line has been developed to utilise at least 30% recycled content into the film recipe whilst still maintaining the technical characteristics Elite’s customers’ demand. It features a compact and functional layout providing Elite with maximum flexibility for a variety of applications. It also has a flexo printing facility.
According to Josh Salmon, commercial director at Elite Plastics, Italy-based Bandera are among the world leaders in building complete blown film lines. The company started in 1947 and with this heritage comes decades of experience and expertise, he said, and they utilise the latest technologies to produce lines that will allow us to drive forward technical innovation in the film market. Elite Plastics asked Bandera to propose a state-of-the-art line for Elite Plastics, and ‘Bandera met the brief perfectly’.
It has been a long process for Elite Plastics to get to the point of commissioning this state-of-the-art line. The site had to be prepared, and crucially the roof had to be raised to provide the required height. Elite took advantage of the opportunity to install a large Solar PV system on the roofs of both their extrusion halls, as part of its Net Zero Strategy. Film produced on the brand-new Bandera line - and their other lines, for that matter - will have been made partially utilising solar power, reducing the carbon footprint of the products.
“The result will be well worth the investment,” said Josh Salmon. “We will be extruding products like shrink films, high-performance films, form fill and seal films, lamination films and other technical films using LDPE, LLDPE, EVA, MDPE, MLLDPE etc.”
The project was supported in the UK by the team at UK Extrusion, who are agents for Bandera - and renowned for their relationships with their clients. Josh Salmon describes the relationship between the two companies as ‘more of a partnership than a customer/supplier relationship’.
The commissioning, he said has been ‘fantastic, as our engineering team have built the line, which has been a remarkable internal project, with support and communication from Bandera and UK Extrusion when needed at different phases’.
“The engineers are now on-site completing final mechanical checks before we put power to the line and start all the electrical checks. We will then start running tests of the new line. The whole team are very excited to start running wet tests. We expect to be in full production at the beginning shortly,” he declared.
Steve Trainor, managing director of UK Extrusion added: “We always look on each project as a partnership with our client, and in this particular instance, it could be seen as akin to a marriage. Josh and I have some colourful conversations, but behind the humour are two people who respect one another’s abilities and goals. It has been a pleasure for our team to work with Elite Plastics, and we are very excited to see the first film coming off the new line.”