Filmmaker Hyplast NV of Hoogstraten, Belgium (www.hyplast.be), awards a contract for a 65-ft blown-film line to the Converting Systems Group of Davis-Standard LLC (www.bc-egan.com).

Slated for installation early this year, the line includes MAC super air-cooled extruders and an 80-in., three-layer proprietary die. The custom die (above) features an insulated IBC system with an unusual internal and external heating mechanism to reduce melt fracture and help increase rates. The design of the upper nip and gusseting is also customized, allowing for dual collapsing techniques. The line will use an 8-in. core extruder and two 6.5-in. skin extruders to achieve targeted outputs of more than 2 tons/hr.

Hyplast, a Davis-Standard customer for over 30 years, produces a range of monolayer and multilayer polyethylene films for the agricultural, horticultural, construction and converting industries. These films include silo and silage bags, ground covers with unique gas retention properties, UV-resistant greenhouse covers, automotive and industrial films, and construction films that provide humidity and weather protection. Many of these films are produced in widths up to 65-ft and in thicknesses of up to 200 microns.

According to Hyplast managing director Walter Willekens, Davis-Standard was able to offer the most complete solution for this project. “We chose Davis-Standard over several other suppliers as they had the best understanding of our technical needs for this job,” he says. “We have also been successful with our previous lines they supplied so we know we can rely on them to build and service what we need. This line will help us further our production capacity and product offering in large-scale agricultural films.”