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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jill DaPonte
Marketing Specialist
ph (401) 762-2100 x312
fx (401) 762-2295
jdaponte@parkinsontechnologies.com
Parkinson Technologies and The Dow Chemical Company Discover Benefits of Using New Plastics Orientation Technology
June 21, 2006
Woonsocket, RI - USA
Parkinson Technologies Inc, the worldwide exclusive licensee of the patented Compression Roll Drawing (CRD) machine direction orientation process, has recently conducted a series of trials in collaboration with The Dow Chemical Company, designed to explore the advantages of using this novel technology to uniaxially orient polypropylene sheet. From polypropylene resins provided by Dow™, CRD sheet samples were produced at Parkinson’s Marshall and Williams Plastics Extrusion and Orientation Pilot/Lab Facility located at their corporate headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Properties testing and thermoforming trials were subsequently conducted at Dow’s TS&D facilities in Midland, Michigan.
“We’ve known that CRD technology would enable the production of thicker OPP sheet through low draw ratio orientation,” said Parkinson’s Business Development Manager, Ken Forziati, “but we discovered and were pleasantly surprised by the additional property and processing enhancements associated with OPP sheet produced using this method.”
Among the most promising new findings were dramatically improved low temperature impact performance and substantially reduced haze. Additionally, for thermoforming applications, the major processing benefit of using CRD sheet over regular cast PP sheet is the elimination of the characteristic sag normally exhibited as the sheet is heated to forming temperatures. The result is significant improvements in throughput through reduced cycle times and increased sheet widths. OPP sheet produced using CRD technology also exhibits improvements in tensile properties typical of those that would normally be expected in an oriented product.
“With the ability to produce thicker oriented sheet, and through improved optics and processing enhancements, we also see a real potential for CRD technology to enable the use of Dow’s clarified polypropylene resins in place of APET in many applications, with a material cost savings of perhaps 30 percent or more.”
For more information and to see sample CRD materials, visit Parkinson Technologies at Booth #5756 at the NPE Show in Chicago from June 19-24.
About Parkinson Technologies Inc.
Parkinson Technologies is a leading designer and manufacturer of large-scale winding, web-handling and plastics processing machinery. The company also operates pilot plant facilities which are available for customer R&D and production of prototype materials. Parkinson’s brands include Parkinson Winders, Marshall and Williams Plastics and Key Filters and the company serves major materials processing customers worldwide. Additional information is available at www.parkinsontechnologies.com. Their Marshall and Williams Plastics Extrusion and Orientation Pilot/Lab Facility is the most complete state-of-the-art plastics orientation laboratory commercially available for customer use.
About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
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