US Packaging Machinery Shipments Eclipse $6B

Arlington, VA -- Sixteen of the seventeen machinery categories that PMMI monitors in this annual report experienced growth in 2006. Two categories, Wrapping (+18.6 percent) and Capping, Overcapping, Lidding and Sealing machinery (+11.2 percent) enjoyed double-digit growth. Converting machinery was the only machinery category with a modest decline of -0.6 percent.

Exports of packaging machinery surpassed the $1 billion mark for the third consecutive year with $1.012 billion in equipment sold overseas, an increase of 0.5%. U.S. domestic demand, which includes domestic shipments and import figures, increased by 8.4% to $6.637 billion in sales. Domestic shipments were up 7.2% to $5.098 billion and imports were up 12.6% with $1.539 billion in sales.

“U.S. domestic demand for packaging machinery has been particularly strong for the past three years with 9.8% growth in 2004, 7.6% growth in 2005 and last year’s 8.4% growth,” notes Charles D. Yuska, president & CEO of PMMI. “While things have slowed in 2007, capacity levels remain high, and we expect consumer goods companies to continue their past buying patterns at slightly moderate terms.”

Growth Factors in 2006

The following growth factors supported the strong industry growth in 2006:
-Increased focus by U.S. companies on manufacturing/packaging cost reduction and
productivity improvement to combat rising labor, energy and raw material costs.
-Continued strong cash positions among U.S. corporations.
-Increased need for highly flexible packaging machinery to accommodate shorter packaging runs with a widening range of packaging styles, sizes and configurations.
-Greater demand for turnkey packaging system projects (total line solutions).
-Favorable reception to new machinery introductions with advanced features and benefits including robotics, servo technology, faster speeds, greater packaging precision, easy packaging line integration, touch screen user controls and smaller footprints.
-Demand for machinery upgrades due to packaging format changes to support consumer marketing efforts.

Attention made to product tracking and labeling, as well as continued pressures to add package security features to protect product integrity, prevent counterfeiting or product contamination.

“Over the past few years, PMMI has been working closely with its members to keep up to speed on the changing marketplace, and to ensure they are delivering value beyond the machinery solutions they create,” adds Yuska. “The sales numbers PMMI members are posting are clear indicators that they are meeting the needs of the customer community and are poised for long term growth.”

2007 Shipments To Moderate

U.S. packaging machinery shipments are forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 3.1% over the next three years, increasing from $6.110 billion to $6.689 billion by 2009. Growth in 2007 is expected to be essentially flat at 0.5% growth.

Market Considerations

Growth rates for 2007 and beyond are dependent on a number of economic factors, including:
-U.S. Gross Domestic Product is forecast to grow by 2.0-2.5% in 2007, followed by stronger increases in the range of 2.8-3.2% in 2008 and 2009.
-Overall U.S. manufacturing capacity stands at 80% as of June 2007. Capacity utilization at non-durables manufacturing plants, where the majority of shipments come from, stands at 82% as of June 2007, the generally agreed upon trigger point for meaningful expansions.
-Machinery demand from overseas markets, including China, Brazil, India, Russia and Eastern Europe will grow.

U.S. Corporate profits will remain relatively solid, but companies will take a careful look at economic conditions, especially the impact of the housing market.

A copy of the Executive Summary of the 2007 Shipments and Outlooks Study can be found by clicking here. A copy of the complete study is also available from PMMI for $2,500 (non-member price).  To order a copy, contact Paula Feldman, director of statistics, PMMI at 703-243-8555 or via email.

Source: http://www.pmmi.org/

Powder Wetting : Optimize & Speed-Up

Hauppauge, NY -- Solids like fumed silica, calcium carbonate, gums and thickeners are difficult to wet out and often stubbornly float on the surface of a liquid during the mixing process. The newest generation of powder inductor/mixers - called the In-line Solid/Liquid Injection Manifold, or “SLIM,” combines the mixing of powders and liquids simultaneously.

The powders are directly injected into a specially engineered high-speed rotor/stator, where the powder is immediately dispersed into the liquid stream. In many applications, these new solid/liquid injection systems shorten mixing cycles by more than 50%.

Since this new in-line system eliminates the need to dump solids directly into an open batch vessel, it virtually eliminates “dusting,” too. This has led to a significant reduction in the volume of airborne particles in plants that have switched to the new induction system.

As with any other mixer or blender, the process of specifying a powder induction system for your application is best accomplished working closely with your mixer manufacturer, in a testing laboratory. This gives you an opportunity to systematically assess the unit’s efficiency, working with your own ingredients, in a controlled setting. It also allows you to refine your mixing technique – an important step in optimizing the performance of any mixer.

The process should always involve close collaboration with the engineers who will specify your powder induction system. To make the process as smooth and efficient as possible, bring the right information to the table - and be ready to address the following key issues in system specification.

Know your product Start by identifying the characteristics of your raw ingredient streams as well as the final product (the result of mixing liquid and powder). The amount of powder you can induct into a liquid stream depends largely on the viscosity and flow characteristics of the materials your machine must handle.

Transfer rates are generally highest when viscosities are low, but SLIM systems perform well across a wide range of viscosities. Induction rates are not affected significantly by the specific gravity of the powdered component. Transfer rates relate more directly to the natural flow properties of the powder.

Optimize the system In general, higher horsepower and larger rotor sizes will produce greater powder flow. Working with your mixer manufacturer, choose the configuration that balances horsepower, rotor diameter and throughput to meet your production requirements.

Field experience and laboratory tests have shown that to optimize powder induction, you should run your solid inductor/mixers at maximum speed - even when it appears that performance is adequate at lower speeds. AC variable frequency inverter drives allow you to change speeds and fine-tune shear rates before or after the powder induction phase. But speeds are best kept constant during powder induction. Shear rates can also be adjusted by choosing the stator design that provides the optimum balance between shear and flow.

The most common choices are the Slotted Head and the Square Hole Disintegrating (LSHD) head. The Slotted Head stator provides an elevated shear rate, but maximum powder induction is usually achieved with the LSHD because it poses less restriction and allows higher flow.

Optimize interconnections Achieving optimal performance relies highly on the velocity of the fluid as it passes through the inductor/mixer. Any factor that adversely affects the inlet or outlet flow of the liquid will have a negative effect on powder induction. When making inlet and outlet connections, always use tubes and hoses with the largest possible diameter. Minimize restrictions and disturbances to flow by using full-ported ball valves and avoiding butterfly valves, elbows, and “tees” in the line. Locate the powder inductor/mixer close to the source of the incoming liquid, and keep the discharge tubing short.

Of course, this solids-induction device is also a high shear mixer - and recirculation gives you an excellent opportunity to fine-tune particle size. This can be especially advantageous in applications that require extremely high quality end-products with a tightly-defined particle size distribution. When returning the product to the recirculation vessel, submerge the return flow under the surface of the liquid to minimize aeration.

For more information contact:
Charles Ross & Son Company
710 Old Willets Path
Hauppauge, New York 11788
Phone: 631 234 0500
Toll Free: 800 243 ROSS
Fax: 631 234 0691
Email: mail@mixers.com
Web site: http://www.rossmixing.com/

Malvern adds to its US Process Systems Team

Malvern, UK -- Malvern Instruments has appointed Raymond Augustine as Field Service Engineer, Process Systems in the United States.

He will be responsible for the installation and service of Malvern’s range of Insitec® on-, in- and at-line particle characterization systems, and Parsum in-line particle probes, at customer facilities throughout the US and Canada and Mexico. Additionally he will be part of the team that provides technical phone support via the Malvern Instruments help desk.

Raymond joins Malvern Instruments from Mettler Toledo Ingold (Process Analytics Division) in Bedford, MA where he was a Service Technician and Formal Trainer for six years. Before that, he was a System Level Test Technician with Teradyne in Boston, MA.

Raymond has an Associates in Applied Science, Electronics Technology from ITT Technical Institute in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Source: http://www.malvern.com/

CEMA : Equipment Sales "Roar" Back in June

NAPLES, FL. -- The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association reported that its June 2007 Booked Orders Index was 187 up 37 points or an increase of 25% from May 2007's Index of 150 (1990=100).

The June 2007 Index represents an increase of 39% from the June 2006 Index of 135.

June Booked Orders Indexes were 211 for Bulk Handling Equipment* and 180 for Unit Handling Equipment*(1990=100).

The Twelve-Month Index for Booked Orders was 151 in June. Index in June is up 6 points or 3% from May 2007's Twelve-Month Index of 146.

The CEMA Billed Sales (shipments) Index was 147 in June. Index in June is down 9 points or 6% from May 2007's Index of 156. The June 2007 Index represents a decrease of 4 points or 3% the May 2006 Index of 151.

June Billed Sales Indexes were 222 for Bulk Handling Equipment* and 132 for Unit Handling Equipment*(1990=100).

The Twelve-Month Index for Billed Sales was 146 in June. Index in June represents no change from May 2007's Twelve-Month Index of 146.

* Since Bulk Handling Systems booked and billed sales are reported quarterly, they are averaged back to the two preceding months to enable a running monthly index.

Source: http://www.cemanet.org/

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Mr. Odle needs help conveying material through a pipe:

I have an application where I need to apply powder flow through a pipe + be reasonably sure of what's going to happen. Here are some specifics:

We are producing Zinc Stearate powder and are currently milling the powder finely (99.5% through 325 mesh).

This material is flowing from a rotary valve through a pipe into a hopper to be packaged. The path from the valve to the hopper is through an 8" SS pipe which is approximately 3.5 to 4 vertical, then goes through a bend into a 35 degree (from horizontal) section leading to the hopper. This 35 degree section is approximately 5-6 feet long.

We need to use another hopper which is right next to the current one, however there is a head-space problem. By my calculations, we can only obtain about a 30-35 degree angle in the new bend and need to travel horizontally approximately 9-10 feet through 8 inch SS pipe.

I plan to automatically divert from the rotary valve through a 45 degree diverter (which should give a 22.5 degree from vertical angle over 1.5 to 2.0 feet), which would then free fall approximately 1.5 to 2 feet into the bend.

I cannot have any back-ups in this line, and management does not want to use any conveying lines - they want gravity feed only.

How can I test this flow or otherwise be reasonably certain I will not have powder back-up problems in this line? I can use vibration if needed (pneumatic vibrators are available).

One idea I've thought of is rigging up a "test pipe" of Jacob's tubing and some hose to mimic the drop and run of the new travel to see how it would flow, but I'm not sure how representative this would be. I am open to bringing in outside help to look at the issue and determine whether it would work or not. Please help!  (to post reply, click here)

Thank you,
George Odle
BP LLC
odle.mike@baerlocher.com

Mr. Khalifa needs a used shipunloader:

We are interested in buying at once used pneumatic and/or grab shipunloader suitable for discharging grains from 50,000 tons and more vessels, on tires.  Pneumatic shipunloaders are to be tower shipunloader on tires.

We will give priority to pneumatic shipunloaders, payment will be at once in cash, if good condition and suitable for our work on conditions mentioned above.

Please e-mail me. (to post reply, click here)

Regards,
Mohamed Khalifa
Amerya Metal Industries
mohammad_khalifa@link.net

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Seeking Mechanical Engineer with 5-10 years bulk handling experience to staff our office in Western Kentucky. Experience with belt conveyors, feeders, stockpiles, truck loading, rail car loading and barge loading a plus.

Contact Ed Barker at 270/395-4121 for more details.

Mr. Ed Barker
APEX Bulk Technologies
Email: ebarker@apexbulktech.com
Web: http://www.apexbulktech.com/

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