Hosokawa Alpine Modernises its Test Centre for Blown Film Production

Hosokawa Alpine has thoroughly modernised its test centre for blown film applications at its Augsburg site. Using a 5-layer and a 9-layer blown film line equipped with the latest MDO and automation technology, customers can develop their ideal film formulation there, thereby gaining a sound basis for their investment decisions.

At the 9-layer blown film line in the modernised test centre in Augsburg, customers can work with Hosokawa Alpine to develop their ideal film formulation

At the test centre of the Augsburg-based engineering firm, which specialises in blown film extrusion lines, customers can carry out test series using their own materials and formulations or test their applications in collaboration with Hosokawa Alpine’s experts. “We support our customers in optimising the quality of their products and making their production processes more efficient. Particularly for new developments, trials at our test centre can significantly accelerate the development cycle. This helps to minimise investment risks,” says Michael Heinecker, who has been Senior Vice President of Blown Film Extrusion at Hosokawa Alpine since the beginning of May and is the successor to Martin Schorbach. Heinecker was previously Technical Director of the Blown Film business unit and has been with the company for 27 years.

State-of-the-art facilities for customer trials

At Hosokawa Alpine’s test centre, customers have access to the company’s most advanced 9-layer blown film line to date. It enables them to carry out demanding tests and drive innovation in the field of flexible packaging solutions. The 5-layer line at Alpine’s test centre is equipped with the new MDO (Machine Direction Orientation) film orientation line featuring 12 rollers, which is designed for maximum productivity and flexibility. An integrated quick-change system allows the stretching rollers to be replaced in just around 15 minutes, ensuring consistently high line availability and a rapid changeover between different film applications. In addition, an innovative cleaning concept boosts process efficiency: whilst integrated cleaning mechanisms reduce contamination during operation, an ultrasonic bath ensures thorough deep cleaning of the rollers. The 5-layer line is equipped with Hosokawa Alpine’s new, modular calibration basket, which stabilises and calibrates the film bubble above the frost zone.

Automation & digital features: Experience efficiency first-hand

At the test centre, visitors can experience Hosokawa Alpine’s various automation and digitalisation solutions under real production conditions. Live demonstrations show how intelligent assistance systems, monitoring tools and automated format changes stabilise and accelerate processes. This allows efficiency, process reliability and reproducibility to be directly understood – a decisive advantage for reliable and cost-effective series production.

Expansion of service and consulting expertise

With the modernised test centre, Hosokawa Alpine is taking an important step into the future. “Our test centre strengthens the partnership-based relationship with our customers, who actively collaborate with us to find the optimal solution for their film production. They have the opportunity to directly compare different settings and set-ups. At the same time, they experience first-hand what our systems are capable of,” says Michael Heinecker.