PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2014

ON site 54 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 04/14 www.petpla.net Maag and Automatik upgrade Recron Recron Malaysia is a member of the Reliance Group, the world’s largest polyester and textile manufacturing company. Recron is a producer of both textile and bottle grade PET, which it manufactures in facilities in Nilai and Malaka. In its quest to raise production output it deter- mined to upgrade and modernise its existing equipment, in order to sustain machine performance at the high levels, to decrease operating costs and to debottleneck its systems. Polymer pumps and pelletising equipment are, of course, key elements in polymer production and the wear of moving elements – rotors, counter knives and infeed rollers – has a considerable influence on the operating costs. The choice of profile or material for the rotor and adjustments for the pel- letiser will directly affect both end product quality and mate- rial wastage rates. Close cooperation with machinery suppli- ers will usually help to reduce costs and extend equipment life. Recron collaborated with Maag Singapore, part of the Pump Solutions Group of Dover Corporation, and Automatik Malaysia to achieve its objectives. Maag’s new bearing material enables an improved clearance for existing polymer pumps and debottlenecking projects at Recron achieved uplift in production capacity of approximately 15%. This was done without changing other auxiliary equipment, such as universal drive shafts or drive units. The solution was devised jointly by Recron, as the machine operator, and by Maag as the gear pump supplier and the net result is that the plant is now producing more and with fewer interruptions or problems – with a further benefit that Mr Balasubramanian, Technology Manager, explained. ”Of particular notice is the fact that the positive results yielded have been achieved with little investment.” Automatik Plastics Machinery, a Maag subsidiary, sup- plied an under water strand pelletiser that played an impor- tant role in increasing pellet quality and reducing consumable costs. Initial discussions and on-site inspection of machinery and production processes identified potential improvements. New devices were put in place to reduce waste during start- up. A number of old components were replaced in order to optimise the use and alignment of existing tools, such as rotors and bedknives, to actual product needs. Changes implemented on the machines, combined with operator and maintenance staff training, helped to increase productivity and to reduce maintenance time and costs. Mr. Balasubra- manian observed that the local technical support and grinding service for the cutting rotors have helped Recron Malaysia to achieve equipment lifetimes significantly better than it had previously experienced. Chew Phenghuat and Seah Poh Siang, of Maag and Automatik, said that the companies’ approach of co-operation with customers, along with their technical support, enables both companies to provide com- mercial advantage. Maag Singapore was established in 2000; Automatik Plastics Machinery opened its service centre in Malaysia in 2009. www.maag.com SGT, naturally innovative The specialist in PET preforms and HDPE caps for over 30 years. +33 (0)2 40 05 09 37 / www.sgt-pet.com