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For Victrex, the journey from resin supplier to high-performance film extruder includes a path through an atmospheric plasma surface treater from Enercon.
In a twist on the old cliche, one longtime UK-based resin supplier decided that if you want something done at all, sometimes you just have to do it yourself. Victrex has been supplying PEEK resin, primarily used for plastic injection molding and stock shapes, for more than 20 years. During that time, only one user saw the potential in extruding traditional filmstock from PEEK for a broader range of high-performance applications.
But that company didn't have the market reach of Victrex's own worldwide sales and marketing network, explains Mike Percy, global technical leader, Victrex APTIV films. "We felt there was a greater opportunity for PEEK polymer-based film (in the broader marketplace) if it was actively sold out there," says Percy. "We also felt that we knew the material better, by far, than anyone in the world," since Victrex controls 95% -98% of the market.
Percy says Victrex, which became an independent company after a management buyout from ICI in 1993, has been integrating the PEEK polymer supply chain over the past seven years. First, the company developed its own monomer feed streams to guarantee continuous availability, then melt filtration and compounding capabilities. Victrex recently expanded its polymerization capability with the opening of a new £32 million Victrex PEEK polymer plant.
After extensive market research and numerous customer requests, the company decided in 2006 to develop a proprietary extrusion line and convert its PEEK resin into film. Victrex subsequently invested nearly $10 million to expand its UK facility and build a custom-designed, 1.5m-wide extruder that produces the film, trademarked APTIV, in thicknesses from 6-750 microns.
The ER-WE-PA/Davis-Standard production line includes an extruder, roll stack, and winder and features a computerized control X-ray...