Summit Films: Where People & Technology Combine for Peak Blown Film Production
Summit Films produces custom converter grade film and bag film for all types of applications. The company takes great pride in how their employees serve their customers and their 99.9% on-time delivery rate is no accident. Whether it be training their team or adding new equipment, when they find an opportunity to improve, they make an investment. This is what brought a new Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) OPTIMEX II blown film line to their production facility in Summit, Mississippi.
The new five-layer line required a corona treater and according to Maintenance Manager Joe Rayborn, the company’s first choice was Enercon. “We had our first experience with Enercon a few years ago when we replaced some old power supplies on another brand of corona treaters. They were rock solid and reliable. Next, we purchased an Enercon treater for one of our lines and the Enercon equipment has always worked great.”
“There’s simply no better option than Enercon.”
Joe Rayborn Maintenance Manager Summit Films
The corona treater for the W&H line has a treat width up to 87” and relies on a 20kW Compak™ Pro power supply capable of treating both lay flat sides of their polyethylene films up to 500 fpm. Width of treatment is adjusted with stainless steel electrode segments, and a ceramic coated ground roll provides a highly durable dielectric.
The treating system is seamlessly integrated through network control as part of the highly automated W&H blown film line. The Enercon treater increases the surface energy of the films, enabling additional converting applications. Some of these processes take place at Summit’s sister companies, Clearview Packaging in Albany, NY and Milwaukee, WI, which are all part of Innotex Packaging.
Enercon Treater Performance & Support
Rayborn says the Enercon corona treater performance is superior to any treater they have ever had, and the additional support from Enercon has made their experience truly exceptional.
“They sent a team down here to support us during start-up and have been with us every step of the way. Their technicians are amazing.”
Joe Rayborn Maintenance Manager Summit Films
Some of the issues that the Enercon team helped clarify with the Summit team included concerns relating to dyne levels and film wrinkling. “To an untrained observer, you immediately associate the corona treater with these types of issues, but Enercon taught us how to look at the process holistically. It turned out that our dyne levels were lower than expected because we had changed the amount of slip in the film. We worked with our rheology experts to reformulate our blend and that resolved the problem.”
Reduced Scrap and Minimized Waste
With the entire application dialed in, the line works around the clock 24/7 producing film. The result is a huge reduction in scrap. And that’s important to any company, but especially to Summit Films. The company strives for a closed-loop system reclaiming scrap to make new material and minimize waste.
“When I find a supplier who not only provides us with reliable equipment performance, but also has the capabilities to support us through application issues, I know we’ve found the right partner to help us serve our customers. There’s simply no better option than Enercon,” concludes Rayborn.
