Posted 1 May 2012 By Anthony Clark
Machinery supplier Cincinnati Milacron is gearing up for an expected growth in the European wood plastic composite (WPC) market of around 20% during 2012.
“We are seeing more customers coming to us looking for higher-output machines after realising that their existing plant is just not up to the job,” said Steve Jones, Cincinnati Milacron’s European business manager and WPC processing specialist. “It’s now becoming increasingly apparent that running a basic extruder is just not viable for successful and profitable production of WPCs.
“The company is seeing a significant rise in enquiries for replacement screws and barrels for competitive machines due to screw breakage and excessive barrel wear,” he added. “It is frightening just how many competitors screws are breaking. As the need for more output increases producers are finding their standard extruders and barrel coating technology are not surviving.”