The New Uniloy Plans Numerous Machine Developments

 

 

 

 

Barely four months after its separation from Milacron, the “new” Uniloy came to the giant K 2019 fair to show off one piece of new technology and to discuss a large handful of others in the works. The new development on display was the company’s own barrier coinjection technology for injection-blow molding. This three-layer sandwich molding technique is aimed at polyolefin structures with EVOH or nylon barrier and cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) with nylon barrier. The latter, in particular, is said to be replacing glass in medical applications such as containers for vaccines and blood cultures.

Brian Marston, Uniloy CEO (pictured), says barrier coinjection is a harbinger of many things to come from a company he says is the only one supplying five different blow molding technologies—continuous-extrusion shuttle, accumulator-head, continuous-extrusion parison transfer, reciprocating-screw extrusion blow, and injection-blow. Developments in the pipeline include all-electric shuttle machines, reciprocating-screw machines with improved energy efficiency (also available as aftermarket upgrades), accumulator-head models with increased automation in part takeaway and improved control connectivity for remote support, and injection-blow enhancements for improved efficiency and lightweighting. Noting that Uniloy has machine production in Tecumseh, Mich., Italy and India, Marston also wants to “globalize” the parison-transfer technology used in Europe for accumulator-head and continuous-extrusion machines, as well as Uniloy’s U.S. reciprocating-screw technology.

Marston notes that Uniloy’s broad range of machine technologies, as well as its production of molds for reciprocating-screw, shuttle, and PET stretch-blow molding, offer unusual flexibility for customers. Uniloy also keeps close to its customers with a global footprint—machine building on three continents, as well as service locations in Mexico, Germany and the Czech Republic to support its more than 4500 machines in the field. Marston, who managed the extrusion and blow molding businesses for Milacron since 2015, has 35 years’ experience in plastics and packaging, including 20 years with Berry Plastics (now called Berry Global).