Ettlinger at NPE2018: New filter technology and leveraging global sales and service network are key drivers for success

Ettlinger’s newest melt filter ERF350 raises throughput to a whole new level for a global customer base. This advancement in the filtration of contaminated polymer feedstock is a further development on the proven ERF250, which has become the most popular model in the Ettlinger portfolio. Since 2004, nearly 400 continuous melt filters in the ERF series have been installed successfully around the world. Ettlinger will also bring their newest member of the ECO family to NPE2018. The ECO continuous melt filter series is designed for processing PET and materials such as super high melt Polypropylene which flows very easily.  Since being launched in the market in early 2015, ECO has become a first choice for numerous leading manufacturers of film and strapping as well as for converting PET fines.

NPE2018 will be the first major trade fair under the umbrella of the international Maag Group, to which Ettlinger has belonged since January 2018.  Visitors to the exhibition will find Ettlinger high performance melt filters at Booth S20189 on Level 1 in the South Hall Recycling Zone and also at the Maag Booth W5775 on Level 2 in the West Hall.

Principle: All filters are self-cleaning with a rotating, perforated drum, through which there is a continuous flow of melt from the outside to the inside. A scraper removes the contaminants that are held back on the surface and feeds them to the discharge system. This enables the filter to be used fully automatically and without any disruptions over a period of weeks and months without having to replace the screen. The advantages are ultra-low melt losses and good mixing and homogenizing of the melts.

28% more efficient with the ERF350                                                  

Ettlinger ERF filters are suitable for filtering all standard polyolefins and polystyrenes as well as numerous engineering plastics such as styrene copolymers, TPE and TPU. Foreign particles such as paper, aluminum, wood, elastomers or high-melting polymer composites can be reliably removed from base materials containing up to 18% contaminants. The new ERF350 is the first model in a new, performance enhanced generation. Depending on the type and level of contamination in the melt and the selected screen size, it achieves a maximum throughput of 8,300 lbs/hr. This represents an increase of around 28% compared to the proven ERF250 using the same filtration surface, the same small footprint and high energy efficiency.

Managing Director Volker Neuber: “Our ERF high performance melt filters are a highly efficient way for recycling plants to strengthen their competitiveness in what is a fiercely contested market. Companies which process large quantities profit greatly from our technology, and above all from the awesome performance of the ERF500, which is suitable for throughputs of up to 13,200 lbs/hr.” He cites compounders where PP is converted for use in the automotive sector or manufacturers of, say, LPDE packaging films as typical users. “There is a huge demand here in the US for high quality regrind and hence also for our filters. By the time the exhibition opens its doors, we will have already sold 14 units of the high-capacity ERF500. There are several promising projects in the pipeline that give us reason to believe we will close more ERF500 contracts before NPE2018 is over.”

ECO for high quality extrusions                                                      

Whereas the ERF series is optimized for separating foreign particles from heavily contaminated polymers, the melt filters in the ECO series are ideal for filtering very easy-flowing materials such as PET or PA containing up to 1.5% contaminants as well as for polyolefins and polystyrenes during the extrusion of films, sheets and other semi-finished products. The ECO series is offered in two different sizes – the ECO 200 and the ECO 250 – for screens from 80 µm to 1000 µm and a maximum throughput of 3,900 lbs/hr or 6,600 lbs/hr.

“We’re already well established today in the North American market with our ECO PET series,” says Mike Diletti, GM of Ettlinger in the Americas, “and PET bottle recyclers in particular profit from the extremely low melt losses. The ability to recycle PET strapping and the fact that the melt filters can be directly integrated into PET thermoforming lines are opening up attractive growth opportunities for us.” He mentions processing of PET fines – the second fraction which is created in significant quantities when non-returnable PET bottles are recycled in addition to the actual flake – as one specialty. “This is an input material that’s difficult to handle due to the very high proportion of paper, aluminum or PVC. Our ECO filters also remove a very high percentage of the high quality PET from the fines without any problems, so that it can be reused in the manufacture of complex products.” Once again, Diletti takes an optimistic view of the future: “We currently have five orders for ECO filters which are about to be shipped to customers in the U.S. The ECO activity is extremely interesting right now. We have a very healthy mix of repeat customers and new customers as well.”

Stronger global presence

Since January, Ettlinger has been a part of Swiss based Maag Pump & Filtration Systems, a Dover Corporation company and global leading manufacturer of gear pumps as well as pelletizing and filtration systems for demanding applications in the polymer, chemical and petrochemical industries. The first few months together have already confirmed that the expertise of both firms will assist the development of innovations and new processes in the polymer, compounding and recycling markets.  “Maag’s worldwide presence will ease our entry into new markets where we haven’t previously been active,” Neuber reports. “And it will help us serve our existing customers better and faster wherever they happen to be located.”