Lehmann & Voss & Co. investing in innovative production technology
| By installing a ring extruder, the Hamburg company is creating the conditions to extend its masterbatch portfolio. For more than 30 years, Lehmann & Voss & Co. have been developing and producing masterbatches based on a wide range of polymers. One particular focus here is on the development of specific formulations tailored to special areas of application and produced as masterbatches exclusively for the individual client. These customized versions today account for more than 70 per cent of production. Although the plant in Hamburg's district of Wandsbek was already equipped with ultramodern extruding, granulating and drying technology for flexible production processes with different system configurations, the company is now venturing a technological leap: after extensive trials a ring extruder has now been put into service. This opens up entirely new opportunities for the production of masterbatches. Unlike conventional twin-screw extruders, the new machine has 12 parallel shafts arranged in a circle. The shafts rotate in the same direction so that the materials pass through the extruder on a spiral path, as it were. The process-engineering plus of this principle is the large number of intermeshing areas between the screws. When the processed material passes through these areas, high shear forces occur. As a result, the melt is both elongated and compacted, which leads to very good results particularly in terms of dispersion. There are further benefits over the twin corotating screws too: the rearrangement of the material in the intermeshing areas results in a more intensive and even working of the material over the entire cross-section of the cylinder so that temperature peaks and associated degradation of product are avoided. In addition, the constant surface renewal and the low volume/surface ratio guarantee a more intensive exchange of heat with the coolable walls. As a result, processing of temperature-sensitive materials is better and less aggressive. Axel Maigatter, Techncial Manager at Lehmann & Voss & Co. explains: "Our new extrusion line with the ring extruder offers our customers the opportunity to raise their cost-effectiveness levels. The extruder has shown during many test runs that impressively high filler levels can be achieved. This reduces the quantities of materials that have to be added in the user's plant. Furthermore, the option of combining different additives in one batch also lowers the number of dosing operations and thus reduces the effort and expenditure on maintaining hygiene at the workplace during processing." Commissioning the new extrusion lines moves Lehmann & Voss & Co. to the technological peak within the masterbatch market. Product developers are currently still excited by the opportunities that the new machine offers in processing nanoscale particles. "We are convinced that the ring extruder will enable us to pursue innovative routes for our customers," says a pleased Volker Oldach, Head of the Masterbatches business team at Lehmann & Voss & Co. "Now it's up to the market to challenge us." |
| Contact: Volker Oldach Tel.: +49 (0) 40 44197-452 Fax: +49 (0) 40 44197-471 E-Mail: volker.oldach@lehvoss.de http://www.lehvoss.de/ |
Lehmann & Voss & Co. Werk Wandsbek Schimmelmannstrasse 103 22043 Hamburg Germany |
