During a ceremony held earlier this year in Shanghai, Plastics Technology China awarded Automatik Plastics Machinery a prize for an “innovative, energy saving processing machine for the Chinese Plastics Industry”.This award recognizes the efforts of Automatik’s engineers in 2010 who, during development work, went to great lengths to turn the company’s SPHERO® underwater pelletizer into a highly energy-efficient cutting system, with particular attention being given to the following areas:
- By modifying both the cutting chamber and the knife hub geometries Automatik Plastics Machinery substantially reduced the energy consumption of the pelletizer;
- The company also developed a new, thermally insulating “SuperFlow” die plate that decreases melt pressure more than 20% compared to standard die plates. This positively impacts the energy consumption of previously installed machines such as an extruder;
- Further, Automatik Plastics Machinery provided other special devices that maximize energy efficiencies while enabling the recapture of consequent waste heat, which can then be used downstream for subsequent crystallization processes or to heat up office space and common areas
More than 150 SPHERO® underwater pelletizing systems are now in operation worldwide for various thermoplastics as well as for very specific niche products. Andreas Weidner, Maag’s China Sales Manager, accepted the award on behalf of Automatik Plastics Machinery, stating: ”Reaping such a valuable reward is tangible proof of the value of our development work. With the SPHERO®, Automatik provides an underwater pelletizer that is both unique and highly reliable and helps to reduce energy costs. This in turn translates to considerable saving opportunities for our customers. We are convinced that the SPHERO® delivers the best long-term return of all underwater pelletizing systems currently available on the market. We are also proud of the role we play relative to reducing our society’s environmental footprint, and given that optimizing energy use is a key contributor to reducing CO2 emissions we are happy that we can provide this common benefit.
