In 1998, flex-pack converter Malpack Polybag Co. Ltd. became the first Canadian company to produce cast-stretch film. Since then, the company's cast-stretch division has seen 100 percent growth, making Malpack (Scarborough, ON, Canada) a key player in the North American market.

Now, the manufacturer of blown films and printed bags adds another cast-stretch line to its operation—its third system from Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering Co. Inc., Gloucester, MA.

The newest line, 147 in. wide, processes six 20-i.-wide rolls at speeds to 2,000 fpm. This gives Malpack added flexibility and capacity to meet customer needs. All of BG's cast systems lets Malpack produce films made from standard materials as well as advanced metallocene resins.

Four Contracool® extruders, fed by a AcuraBlende gravimetrics feeding and blending system, move the melt through screen changers into a Cloeren multilayer feedblock and Epoch™ III AutoGauge die. The molten web is deposited onto a Battenfeld Model 700 cast-film unit. To eliminate film "neck in," small air nozzles and electrostatic rods help keep the edges pinned onto the roll. Malpack's new line includes these edge pinners. Downstream, the edge is trimmed, ground, and fed back into the system's core layers.

A key feature on Malpack's line is the new shorter, staggered-turret design of BG's Model 1002DS winder, which reportedly allows rolls to be wound with consistency at higher speeds and minimum vibration. Malpack included BG's new roll-stripping system, which strips finished rolls from the winder's cantilevered shaft onto an unload table. This is said to increase production flexibility, minimize operator fatigue, and cut edge damage.

Line functions are continually monitored and managed by BG's Extrol 6032 Integrated Process Control System, from material feeding to web management.