One of Europe’s most modern cup producer will increase its capacity by adding its fourth Reifenhäuser CSC extrusion line that will come on stream in a few weeks. Already, Optipack, based in Leppersdorf, Germany, is running three extrusion lines supplied by the Reifenhäuser Group for inline production in combination with vacuum thermoformers from another German manufacturer.

The extrusion line has a capacity of 2,200 kg/hour of polystyrene and 1,700 kg/hour of polypropylene. The polishing stack is equipped with four temperature-controlled post-cooling rolls and haul-off rolls, likewise temperature-controlled, that allow the film web to be fed into the vacuum thermoformer maintaining an exactly defined residual heat. In combination with a thickness gauge, a width measuring unit and extruders with srew diameters of 130, 120 and 50 mm designed for gentle plastification, high-quality films of an extremely high level of reproducibility are ensured at the intake of the vacuum thermoformer. The film web is automatically guided into a cutting station and shredded if it deviates from the preset parameters in case of product changeover. The scrap rate already reduced to a minimum is further lowered and makes the production even more independent from the operator’s capabilities. Another basic idea behind the investment is that the operation of the fourth extrusion line is also ensured by one person, which means that only two operators and one quality tester are needed for four extrusion and thermoforming lines.

Reifenhäuser CSC says it has accepted the challenging task and is proving once more that the high degree of automation of its lines still provides potential to increase the efficiency in the production of yoghurt cups. The firm specialises in the development and manufacture of complete cast film lines, sheet lines and coating lines as well as dies and winders for the production of films for packaging, surface protection, office supplies, hygiene articles and industrial applications.