New applications, new markets, new ideas

The third Kurtz specialist seminar for particle foams in the Mexican city of Cancún was completely under the banner of innovations and was a complete success. More than 30 companies from North and South America and Europe had travelled there to get information about the latest technologies, materials and processing methods.

In the field of EPP particle foams, JSP presented the latest development in EPP materials and applications and showed a prospect of market trends. Above all surface finishing with structures such as leather pitting is right at the top of the EPP customers′ lists of wishes - the material is increasingly being used in the visible area of coatings such as pump housings or boiler insulation. As a specialist for development and design of technical EPP applications, the firm of DMT explained the possible potentials of EPP in the mechanical, thermal, electrical and acoustic area. In particular, the new requirements for the introduction of electrically driven vehicles and the great chances of growth connected with this were discussed. 

EPS with potential 

Polioles gave a complete overview for EPS particle foams: precisely with a view to saving energy, EPS is increasingly being used in roof and façade insulation. This means corresponding, economic manufacturing processes in order to serve the market, which is growing very quickly - and so that EPS can assert itself in the long term against alternatives such as PU. The Kurtz foams section presented a special highlight with its new revolutionary plate machine: it enables production of EPS plates with a cycle time of 30 seconds and a thickness of up to 300 mm. In this context, the energy consumption is drastically striking: less than 2 kg of vapour per plate, which makes the method very interesting compared with block production. In this way, plate production can be decentralised and the distances to the final customers become shorter and shorter, which has a positive effect on CO2 production and transport costs.

BOX FOAMER halves cycle time
A further attraction was the new BOX FOAMER, which halves the cycle time compared with the customary method with vacuum. A fish box, for example for salmon, can now be produced in about 30 seconds – with energy savings of up to 50 per cent. This kind of production is principally suitable for all boxes, be they for fish, fruit, vegetables or picnics. This results in completely new possibilities of increasing production by up to 40 per cent without investments in new energy supplies being necessary.

Tools, automation and more
The firm of Olmedo - partner of Kurtz in mould construction - explained the technical details of the "coreless" mode of construction of the moulds, which makes these cycle times and energy consumptions possible in combination with a specific machine technology. A special talk showed the possibilities of Kurtz automation in cooperation with the automation partner Mac Due & Kuka Robotics. They range from simple disposal of the moulded parts from the machine right down to complete palleting of finished products. Positioning of inserts and packaging in film are also possible and can be supplied by Kurtz and its partners as a complete solution.

Thanks to the introduction of the new BASF material "Infinergy" (ETPU), a completely new kind of particle foam, which not only demands other machine technologies, but also develops new markets, has come onto the market. Possible fields of application were discussed and the great potentials were demonstrated with the example of a large sports article manufacturer. The event was closed by the talk by the "EPS Industry Alliance", in which they reported on their activities on the EPS market. The participants then travelled back home satisfied and with plenty of input for their foam business in their bags. It is clear: we will meet again - at the fourth Kurtz specialist seminar for particle foams, wherever it may be held!