Streetsboro, OH-based Automated Packaging Systems (APS), a supplier of bagging machinery and “bags-on-a-roll” packaging materials, installs a 3-layer, coextrusion, blown-film system (above) from Hosokawa Alpine American (www.halpine.com). The new coextruder produces film in rolls that are 40-percent larger than standard rolls, which results in more efficient production with fewer splices and less scrap, APS says.

“This extruder gives us unique capabilities to produce high-quality films for both traditional and special applications,” says Jim Kauffman, executive vice president of APS manufacturing operations. “We're investing in the future of plastics manufacturing in the US, where we are continually creating improved plastic-film materials for bag-packaging applications in hardware, medical, food, pharmacy, fulfillment and retail packaging.”

APS built an addition to its current manufacturing facility in Keyser, WV, to accommodate the 57-ft height of the new extruder. APS invented the original Autobag® pre-opened bag-on-a-roll materials more than 40 years ago.