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1 Inline slot perforation 2–3 Loctite Purbond 4–5 Technologies 6–7 Portrait
FACET
8 Interview
Trusted partner for excellent products As an independent manufacturing partner for the production of polymer specialties and high quality adhesives, Emerell relies on future-oriented technologies. This includes the manufacturing of slot-perforated blown films. The benefits for you are impressive.
Blown films are widely used in industry and form an integral part of it. They play key roles in buildings, vehicles, furniture, etc. They are used to join weight-bearing layers, separate different surfaces and simplify the use of adhesives in industrial processes. Besides their traditional use in the packaging industry, blown films are also increasingly used in high-tech areas. Emerell is the ideal production partner for challenging applications. The company has many
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years of experience in blown film extrusion. Specialities include complex, multilayer adhesive films and multilayer films with functional layers. The company has especially great expertise in the area of slot perforation. The slotting process produces a flexible film, which prevents folds and bulges. The air can escape through the slots and air pockets are prevented. Another advantage is that the slotting process does not impair the appearance of the material.
Extrusion and perforation are combined into a single stage of work (inline), saving time and money. Up to 65,000 slots per square metre and various film thicknesses and widths are possible. Thanks to our many years of experience, Emerell is also an expert in the processing of highly elastic and adhesive raw materials and the temperature control of challenging polymers. With multilayer films, the company is also accomplished in dealing with greatly different melt flow rates (MFR) in the individual layers. Our extensive plant also enables one-off small production runs as well as continuous production of small and large quantities. Potential customers From film manufacturer and raw material supplier to start-up, Emerell is a reliable production partner for companies in many different sectors. For example, Emerell helps film manufacturers switch from punched perforation and other techniques to slot perforation. The company also acts as a manufacturing partner for existing and new products. Manufacturers of textiles, non-woven materials and specialty papers are able to produce higher-quality products with specific properties thanks to Emerell’s expertise. You can find out more about Emerell’s other key technologies on pages 4 and 5.
Close partnership based on trust and flexibility Henkel is the global market leader in liquid single-component polyur ethane adhesive systems for structural wooden components in timber construction. Walter Stampfli, General Manager of Henkel brand Loctite Purbond, talks about the challenges in producing adhesive systems for timber construction and the many years of partnership with Emerell.
LOCTITE PURBOND
Loctite Purbond adhesive systems are in gaining momentum across the world. Thanks to them, timber construction is increasingly being used as opposed to traditional construction systems. How can wood compete with construction materials such as concrete and steel? Wood is a lighter, more stable material that can bear a great deal of weight and has many usage possibilities. By gluing wood with our adhesives, large components such as wall and ceiling sections or Duo and Trio beams can be made that have high dimensional stability and a low tendency to form cracks. The moisture-curing, liquid single-component polyurethane adhesive (1C-PUR) enables construction elements to be manufactured without the use of formaldehyde or liquid solvents, so it is an environmentally-friendly option. In addition, when processing glued cross-laminated timber, there is absolutely no drying time required, which reduces the construction time hugely compared to a concrete solution. It should not be forgotten that wood is stylistically very attractive and has become a popular design element among architects. 1C-PURs are the product of years of research and development work. What have been the challenges in developing them? The adhesive market is very strictly regulated. We need different solutions for users in the USA than for Europe, for example. Every market has its own standards that have to be met. This requires a high level of production flexibility and expertise. The products must guarantee 100 percent functional safety and at the same time adhere to the regional standards. Loctite Purbond adhesives are produced in your own factory in Bopfingen and in Sempach Station by Emerell. Why does Henkel use two sites for production? We have large and small customers. We principally handle large-scale productions at our factory in Bopfingen. The supplied units in Sempach Station are smaller. Specialties tend to be required there. Emerell is exactly the right production partner in this regard. The company has a flexible team that has years of experience and unique knowledge in the production of
«Thanks to Emerell’s flexibility, we can supply our customers in a very short time.» 2
Walter Stampfli, General Manager Henkel & Cie. AG
1C-PURs. Ultimately it was the company Collano that marketed the first Purbond adhesives and developed the brand. Flexibility is critical. Can you explain in more detail what you understand by that? Our customers expect to receive the freshest possible products. Our aim is not to manufacture for stock. With Emerell as our production partner, we are able to have goods on the collection ramp within five days of receiving the order. And, as stated, the products have to be flawless in quality. Producing customer-specific products within a very short time and with the desired quality requires all the cogs to mesh together correctly. This requires close collaboration. That is correct. The desired result cannot be achieved without flawless collaboration. Hence we are constantly optimising our processes. We meet up with the people from Emerell once a quarter and share information. When doing so we discuss what is working well and where there is still potential for optimisation. But it is not just a matter of making fine adjustments to the cogs. With its years of production expertise, Emerell is also a good adviser on questions of any type, such as on containers. We were also able to count on the support of Emerell when building the factory in Bopfingen. Isn’t it risky putting your own formulae into the hands of someone else? I can imagine that there are companies that struggle with this. But it is not an issue for us. For us, Emerell is a trustworthy and proven partner who knows how to deal with this. Polyurethane-glued high-tech wood can be fashioned into architectural masterpieces. Impressive examples of this are the Timber Tower in Hanover and the roof of the new elephant house in Zurich Zoo. What has Emerell contributed to the success of these flagship projects? Loctite Purbond solutions have many benefits. They are aesthetic, durable and environmentally sustainable. This is excellent news for architects and
The roof of the new elephant house in the zoological gardens in Zurich amazes the construction industry.
building contractors. A number of architectural masterpieces have been fashioned using our adhesives. The Forté Tower was built in Melbourne harbour in 2012. At the time it was the tallest timber residential building in the world. Then again, as already mentioned, there is the roof of the zoological garden in Zurich and the Timber Tower in Hanover. For the Timber Tower, which was built in stages, pinpoint delivery of the adhesive was critical. This required complete coordination among all of the parties involved, from the raw material supplier to the production partner Emerell. Everything worked perfectly and there were no delays. Then of course the product quality was also critical. Once again, we were able to count on our production partner Emerell, who supplied the product with no quality deviations.
Up to three layers were glued together. Photo: Henkel & Cie. AG
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Joining the layers of timber required the wood to be damp.
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1 Pressure 2 Wood with defined moisture 3 Single-component adhesive
1 Druck 2 Holz mit definierter Feuchtigkeit 3 1-Komponenten-Klebstoff
Photo: Henkel & Cie. AG
Emerell plays its part in flagship projects It has a surface area of over 6000 square metres, a width of more than 80 metres and looks like an enormous tortoise shell from afar. The roof of the new elephant house in the zoological gardens in Zurich amazes zoo visitors and the construction industry alike. The architectural masterpiece consists of a network of numerous overlaid, multilayer cross-laminated timber components. The sheets of coniferous timber, up to 4 metres wide and 15 metres long are fully- and cross-bonded and are held together with a single-component, solvent- and formaldehyde-free Loctite HB S Purbond adhesive. Almost 8 tonnes of adhesive were manufactured for this. The cross-lamin ated timber construction process was selected because the building material is easy to work with and can be bent into the desired shape. In addition, timber as a building material does not release any CO2 during production and, compared to a concrete solution, there is absolutely no need for a drying time when process-
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ing glued cross-laminated timber. ÂŤThis leads to shorter construction times, which has financial implications for the client,Âť says Walter Stampfli. Points that stand to reason. Consequently more and more substantial flagship projects are being constructed with timber - for example the first wind turbine made completely of wood, the Timber Tower in Hanover. The 100-metre high tower with a concrete foundation is made of 400m3 of cross-laminated timber that has been glued to an octagonal profile. All the approved adhesives were produced here in Sempach Station. The flagship project shows how versatile modern timber adhesives are, says Stampfli. Other projects worth mentioning are the self-supporting staircases at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and in the Murray Grove Tower in London. Here again, all structurally-relevant, load-bearing elements were realised with cross-laminated timber.
From Purbond to Loctite 2014 Following a restructuring of all of the products at Henkel, Purbond adhesives were relaunched under the Loctite brand name. 2011 Henkel takes over the Collano shares and becomes the sole owner of Purbond. 2008 Henkel takes over the National Starch shares. Purbond is 50 percent owned by Collano and 50 percent by Henkel. 2003 Founding of Purbond AG. The company focuses on the global marketing of adhesive systems for manufacturing load-bearing glulam elements.
1994 In Stuttgart Purbond HB 100 is the first single-component polyurethane adhesive to receive approval to DIN 1052 for the production of load-bearing timber elements. Subsequently the adhesive is used in Germany as a surface and finger-jointing adhesive. In the mid-1980s Collano produces the first glulam elements with Purbond adhesives for Schilliger Holz AG.
Polymerisation With its experienced team, Emerell is a reliable production partner for pressureless chemical reactions from 20 to 100°C and production volumes of over 100 kilogrammes. Specialties include aqueous emulsion polymerisations and the manufacture of dispersions based on vinyl esters of versatic acid (VeoVa).
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TECHNOLOGIES
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Emerell has been carrying out polymerisations with various monomers for many years. 1 Pre-emulsion 2 Reactor 3 Initiator 4 Monomers 5 Condenser 6 Pump
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Voremulsion Reaktor Initiator Monomere Kondensator Pumpe
Aqueous polymerisation Emerell is a specialist in aqueous polymerisation and can carry out polymerisations with various monomers. Here, the company can maintain a low residual monomer content in the product. Emerell has many years of experience in the polymerisation of methyl methacrylate (MMA), vinyl acetate (VA), butyl acrylate (BA), styrene, VeoVa monomers and other acrylate monomers. Emerell also offers a complete scaling
chain with corresponding process engineering. The production partner carries out dispersion polymerisation from small quantities of 100 kilogrammes and can also produce large volumes if required. In an additional process step on the mixing lines, the aqueous dispersion can be modified using various additives such as chalk, silicic acid, molten resin, etc. according to your requirements.
Pre-polymers When the manufacture of pre-polymers with specific application-related properties is required, Emerell is the right production partner. Emerell has well-founded knowledge in the processing of reactive polymers and carries out reactions of polyol with isocyanate compounds according to specific formulae. As a flexible partner, the company can produce both large and smaller quantities with its lines.
Customer-specific polymers are being produced in the Emerell mixing lines.
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VeoVa monomers Emerell processes VeoVa monomers according to the required formula. The hydrophobic properties caused by the vinyl esters of versatic acid are of particular interest in producing dispersions for construction applications. Thanks to our well-founded production expertise, Emerell can polymerise partially inert reactants and keep the residual monomer content in the product low. Emerell has many years’ experience in the polymerisation of VeoVa monomers with methyl methacrylate (MMA), vinyl acetate (VA), butyl acrylate (BA), styrene and other acrylate monomers. The company can also offer a complete scaling chain with the corresponding process technology.
Mixing technique Emerell manufactures water-based dispersions and reactive casting compounds, sealing compounds and adhesives. Specialties are 1- and 2-component adhesives based on polyurethane, silane-terminated polymers and epoxy resins.
Primacor dispersions
Hot melts
1C adhesives
Emerell is a specialist in the production of Primacor dispersions. Here the production partner brings the thermoplastic and adhesive Primacor properties into liquid form. The manufacture of Primacor dispersions is an established technology that requires a lot of experience and the necessary lines for processing. Thanks to Emerell’s production competence, the solutions remain stable and high-quality for long periods. Emerell is able to manufacture Primacor dispersions from 100 kilogrammes to 4 tonnes according to specific formulae.
Emerell’s range also includes the production of hot melts. The company has much production expertise in dealing with highly viscous, self-adhesive hot melts and moisture-reactive, formulated UV-curable hot melts. Emerell processes synthetic rubber (SBR), styrene block copolymers (SBS, SIS, SEPS, SEBS) and amorphous polyolefins (APO, APAO). The company can also colour hot melts or add solids such as filler materials, fibres, zinc oxide or cellulose.
As a production partner, Emerell helps companies produce self-formulated or modified standard pre-polymers and combine them according to the customer’s specific requirements. Unlike dispersion adhesives, polyurethanes do not have any moisture content; they are very economical to use and, after curing, are largely impervious to the effects of weathering. Thanks to its great production expertise, Emerell can produce 1C-PUR from small volumes upwards, according to specific formulae. Emerell is also able to admix various filler materials, silicic acid, catalysts and additives.
Extrusion Emerell is accomplished in dealing with extrusion technology and offers appropriate processes for a wide range of products. Complex composite materials are produced on the extrusion coating line.
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1 Raw materials 2 Extruder & die 3 Substrate I 4 Substrate II 5 Cooling roll 6 Corona treatment 7 Infrared irradiation 8 Winder
1 Rohsto e 2 Extruder & Düse 3 Substrat I 4 Substrat II 5 Kühlwalze 6 Koronabehandlung 7 Infrarotbestrahlung 8 Wickler
Extrusion coating
Cast film extrusion
Blown film extrusion
In the extrusion process, Emerell coats a vast range of substrates with challenging materials. Complex composite materials can be produced on our lines while feeding two substrates at the same time. Thanks to suitable predrying facilities, highly hygroscopic raw materials can also be processed. Surfaces with low adhesion tendency can be pretreated inline. For coating materials with high adhesiveness, a separating layer can be inserted.
Emerell offers high quality mono- and multilayer cast film extrusion. The company specialises in the processing of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) and extrusion coating. With its modern lines, Emerell can produce films of varying widths and thicknesses. In addition, Emerell has many years of experience in the extrusion of complex polymers, ranging from various polyolefins, co-polyesters and co-polyamides to TPUs and combinations of these.
Emerell is also an expert in the processing of material into ultra-thin mono- and multilayer films via blown film extrusion. The company specialises in multilayer adhesive films and multilayer films with functional coatings. With its modern lines, Emerell can produce films up to 3,100 mm wide. The company also offers extrusion of a wide range of polymers, from various polyolefins, co-polyamides, co-polyesters and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), through to halogenated polymers.
PORTRAIT International alignment with strong local roots At Emerell, over 200 employees at four locations in Switzerland and Germany ensure that our customers’ products stand out.
Outsourcing production and entrusting formulae to a manufacturer requires a high level of trust on the part of the client. So that Emerell can offer its customers the necessary reassurance, the company – a premier provider in the adhesives and polymer specialties sector – concentrates entirely on the process technology and production process, rather than developing and marketing its own products. Proven experience Emerell is an ambitious production partner for companies with hi-tech products. Thanks to our extensive expertise and comprehensive range of services, customers can launch new products faster, extend their portfolio beyond their own core competences and optimise their own production processes. The company has more than 60 years’ experience in the production of adhesives and polymer specialties (see Milestones to the right).
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High flexibility Emerell offers high flexibility in helping manufacturers, processors, suppliers, contract developers and start-ups create innovative product solutions, from initial testing to industrial production.
Comprehensive service The company offers a range of add-on services as an extension to process and manufacturing engineering. As a globally connected production partner, Emerell can on request take on the acquisition and storage of raw materials, for ongoing production runs or for strategic safeguarding of raw materials. In addition, customers can have their products filled, packaged and labelled according to their specifications. Likewise, the company supports its customers with logistics, customs declarations and other formalities such as clarifying the REACH relevance or marking up in accordance with the GHS Regulation (International Globally Harmonized System). Close partnership Collaboration with Emerell can take a wide range of forms, from a one-off contract to a long-term service agreement or strategic partnership (such as a joint venture), because Emerell always regards custom manufacturing as a close partnership with the customer. www.emerell.com
Milestones
2009 | Foundation of Collano Services AG.
2015 | Emerell makes its commitment to extensive investments in its key technologies at its locations in Switzerland and Germany.
2001 | Collano Ebnöther AG is rebranded as Collano AG (Switzerland).
2014 | Emerell reinforces its corporate social responsibility and is given a silver award by the independent agency Ecovadis.
2000 | Conversion from an adhesive manufacturer to an innovation company. The environmental management system is ISO 14001 certified. 1997 | 50-year anniversary and rebranding as Collano Ebnöther AG.
2013 | Collano Services appears under the Emerell brand.
1994 | Ebnöther AG is ISO 9001 certified.
2012 | Construction of the production hall for a second 5-layer blown film line in Schmitten.
1947 | Dr. Marcel Ebnöther founds adhesives company Ebnöther AG in Olten.
In Sursee, Emerell manufactures hot melts and other mixing technique products.
Emerell offers blown film extrusion including inline slot perforation at its modern 5-layer lines in Schmitten.
The head office in Sempach Station also houses the technologies for mixing techniques and polymerisation.
The location in Buxtehude is specialised in cast film extrusion and extrusion coating.
Personal consultancy Emerell is expanding into international sales and developing its partnerships. For this purpose, Emerell has created the Markets business area. Customers are supported by the following team:
Norbert Bazelli was working as a manager in our company for many years. After in-depth training in business management and marketing, he spent many years assisting international companies as an independent consultant and project manager. As head of the Markets division, he has global responsibility for building partnerships worldwide, for the ongoing development of our sales and for reinforcing the positioning of Emerell in the global market.
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Marco Montagner has years of experience in customer service in the technology industry. His in-depth knowledge of the technical textiles industry enables him to win and support new projects in a rapidly growing market sector. His extensive experience in distribution and sales in the specialty chemicals sector in particular makes him a competent contact for your polymer product applications.
Frank Hübel mainly supports our customers in the film extrusion sector. After his commercial training, he studied economic science at the VWA (Academy for Administration and Business) in Düsseldorf. He gained his experience in sales in various management positions in the chemical raw materials industry. In recent years he has been regional head of sales, responsible for the marketing of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) in the European polymer industry.
Günther Spaeth, due to his broad knowledge, is your contact when it comes to technically challenging products and solutions to problems. He received a doctorate in physical chemistry at the University of Dortmund, and since then has had various managerial functions in the packaging, adhesive tape and label industry. His responsibilities have included being head of development for applications technology with one of the world’s biggest adhesive manufacturers and also technical manager for major international producers of adhesive tapes and sealants.
INTERVIEW
ing engineers and contract manufacturers play an important role in these industries and are now indispensible. In the chemicals industry, the sense that one must do everything oneself persists on much more stubbornly. I am convinced that this will change in the future, as more can be gained from cooperations within networks than would be possible by going it alone. What role does Emerell play in cooperations? We offer the expertise and capacity for manufacturing technical chemical products. Product launches, bridging capacity bottlenecks, test production runs prior to major investment decisions and production line outages are all examples of situations where we come into play. However, cooperations are also useful for established products and processes. Production capacities in the traditional model are never ideal, as market changes inevitably lead to a fluctuating utilisation rate. We cushion such fluctuations. In this way we can provide our customers with the necessary flexibility in their market, paired with the optimum planning certainty for them in terms of the utilisation rate of their own production capacities. In addition, there are companies that want to keep products in their range for strategic reasons, but do not want to manufacture them themselves because of their nature or the required volume. We can help out here too.
Agile cooperation – the success factor for tomorrow On 1 February 2015, Adrian Leumann, the owner of Emerell, took control of the executive board of the company. In this interview, he explains why the chemicals industry needs new forms of cooperation. Why does the chemicals industry need to be more open to collaborations? One critical variable in our industry is time. Consumers are making decisions on ever shorter terms, product lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter. This affects the entire supply chain, as it restricts the planning certainty of everyone involved. Manufacturers must be able to bring out their products quickly and rapidly assess how their customers are responding to them, while already bringing the next generation to market maturity. This requires a high level of flexibility and leads to enormous background expense, especially in production. As a result, the difficulty of determining the correct decisions in advance increases, and with it the risk to investment projects in manufacturing capacities.
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So is there a primary need in manufacturing for new forms of cooperation? Not just that. We need to pull apart the traditional model for the entire chemicals industry of having
IMPRINT Facet – the magazine for Emerell's customers. Issue No. 1 of September 2015 Circulation 200 copies
PUBLISHER Emerell AG Eichenstrasse 12 6203 Sempach Station Switzerland www.emerell.com
development, production, processing and sales under one roof and to discuss future-oriented forms of cooperation. Short-term options for consumers emerged only through networking and new approaches
«More can be gained in networks than would be possible by going it alone.» such as open innovation. Why should we not also use the benefits of cooperation in the chemical industry supply chain too, to overcome the resulting challenges? Sectors of the mechanical industry are already one step ahead. Here outsourced development and production processes are more widely found. Consult-
EDITORIAL TEAM Andreas Renggli and Michael Suter, Polarstern GmbH
LAYOUT Erich Brechbühl, Mixer
But is Emerell not also subject to market fluctuations? Our advantage is our consistent orientation towards custom-made manufacturing. We do not have our own products on the market; we only manufacture for customers in various industries, with different target markets and application markets. Using a shrewd mix of long-term production contracts and spot transactions, we can counter fluctuations better than companies that are directly active in the market. Where do you see the greatest challenges for the pure custom manufacturing model? Outsourcing processes has much to do with trust. Our customers must be sure that the manufacturing of their products is in good hands in terms of quality and process reliability and is being faithfully handled using their knowledge, i.e. the formulae, specifications and production requirements. In this regard we are helped by the fact that we are an owner-led, independent company with no products of our own and so are not in competition with our potential customers. This business model is new in our industry sector, yet is attracting keen interest. Switzerland is not known as a low-wage country. Is pure custom manufacturing in Switzerland future-proof? I have been asked this question repeatedly, especially since the removal of the euro lower limit against the Swiss franc. Yes, I am convinced of this. Our goal is not so much large volumes as specialties, where expertise and quality more than compensate for a few cents less in manufacturing costs. Add to this that Switzerland offers numerous advantages as a production location. For example, well-trained employees and the free trade agreement between Switzerland and China, which makes production in Switzerland, with delivery direct to China, interesting for European companies. With our set-up, we consciously explore new avenues, because we feel that custom manufacturing will be more and more in demand.
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