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Commercial, Sustainable Product Solutions Developed At Parkinson Technologies' Marshall & Williams Plastics Pilot Facility

May 2, 2008
Woonsocket, RI

Numerous companies in the plastics industry are working to commercialize sustainable (bio-based, renewably sourced, and biodegradable materials) product solutions at Parkinson Technologies' Marshall & Williams Plastics pilot lab facility, according to the company.

One notable recent development is from BioSolar, Inc., developer of bio-based solar cell components made from renewable plant sources. This is an example of just one type of sustainable product that is being developed with the help of valuable experimental knowledge obtained at Parkinson's facility.

"The BioSolar product is an exciting development and we're proud that they chose Parkinson as their development partner," said Ken Forziati, Business Development Manager at Parkinson Technologies. "In addition to BioSolar, many of our regular lab customers have been dedicating an increased proportion of thier development activities in the biax lab to investigating ways to incorporate sustainable bioplastic materials into new and existing products. The majority of these products are for disposable food packaging and label applications", he said.

BioSolar Product Development

BioSolar, Inc. is developing technology to produce bio-based materials from renewable plant sources that will reduce the cost per watt of solar cells. Most of the solar industry is focused on photovoltaic efficiency to reduce cost. BioSolar is the first company to introduce a new dimension of cost reduction by replacing petroleum-based plastic solar cell components with durable bio-based material.

When they were looking for a facility to develop their new product ideas, BioSolar contacted Parkinson first. "They are an industry leader in orientation equipment," said David Lee, President of BioSolar. "We knew of thier excellent reputation and their pilot development lab is outstanding." Product trials included running films of different materials, with one goal being to add strength to the bio-based materials through orientation.

"Everyone at Parkinson has been extremely cooperative and accomodating," said Lee. "They are good communicators and their technical support has been invaluable."

Parkinson's Marshall and Williams Plastics extrusion and orientation pilot facility is the most complete film and sheet development laboratory commercially available for customer use. The state-of-the-art facility offers in-line extrusion for single layer or up to five layer film/sheet co-extrusion, machine direction orientation (MDO), and transverse direction orientation (TDO). Customers have the option of stretching their previously cast blown roll stock or extruding film/sheet on site from thier unique resin formulations. The lab line is designed to process a variety of polymers and under a wide range of processing temperatures, widths, speeds, and material thicknesses, providing customers with a unique opportunity to develop new products, optimize processing conditions, and generate samples for pre-marketing evaluation.

For more information on the Parkinson Technologies lab or to schedule a trial, call Ken Forziati, Business Development Manager at (401) 762-2100. e-mail mwlab@parkinsontechnologies.com.

About Parkinson Technologies

Parkinson Technologies is a leading designer and manufacturer of large-scale web-handling, winding and plastics processing equipment, and is the parent company for Marshall & Williams Plastics brand processing lines, Parkinson Winders, and Key Filters screen changers. With a world-class pilot plant facility, Parkinson also offers its customers complete flexibility to conduct plastics sheet/film extrusion and orientation R&D and to produce commercially viable marketing samples. Parkinson's customers include a broad range of companies, from venture-backed startups to Fortune 50 enterprises, all of whom demand innovative solutions to their web processing challenges.