High-Utility, Multifunctional Purging Agents That Are 'Just-in-Time'

Summing up what his company has learned in its 35-yr history, Ken Shuman, president of Shuman Plastics—a pioneer of commercial purging compounds in North America and manufacturer of the well-known Dyna-Purge brand of mechanical purging compounds—says, “Ultimately, our conclusion is that customers want high-utility, multifunctional products, whereby they can stock fewer products and have one that works across a wider array of heat, resin and process type.”

Shuman points out that some in the industry have sought to come up with products that address a variety of niche markets. “A small indication of this trend has been a push to address purging of low-temperature, soft-touch polymers—the broad range of TPEs used in consumer goods, and another push to address purging of mid-to-high temperature (600 F) polymers that have increasingly been used to replace metals and ceramics, such as automotive underhood components.”

The two newest Dyna-Purge products—D2 and F2—are broader spectrum products that are efficient within the temperature range of 320-625 F vs. 350-600 F for earlier grades. “Years ago, we had 14 products. We now have six leading technology products, introduced within the last 5-8 years,” he says, noting that the company can still supply some of the older “legacy” products upon request.

Visitors to Booth W2762 can learn more about the latest products such as F2. This is a variation of the company’s top-producing product D2, which is based on a unique technology that scrubs, cleans, and removes contamination with very little residue. Says Shuman, “We had some customers asking if we could provide them with a version that has even less residue.” These were typically processors running high melt-flow products, like polyolefins, or companies with extrusion applications where there was an intricate die with thin-wall features or difficult geometry, Shuman says.

Meanwhile, Shuman Plastics has been aiming to address another key trend: processors wanting product ready-to-go with orders filled just-in-time (JIT) to avoid shutdowns. “We now have multiple warehouses across the country and one in Canada and can ship product within 24 hours, often with delivery to the client in 48 hours. Over the last 20 years or so, people have become increasingly lean in their inventories and work off JIT. In effect, they said, ‘Let’s put inventory back up the supply chain—so we had to respond to that challenge.’”

Meanwhile, Shuman notes the company experienced 2017 growth of more than 10%—about 9% domestic while its growing overseas business was 15%. By the third quarter, the company’s new packaging line will allow it to boost output by over 30%, he says, enabling the company to satisfy future demand.