VICOTE Coatings Deliver Cost Savings and Reduced Maintenance Downtime on Compression Rollers
WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, USA - (September 17, 2009) - Downtime for maintenance in the food processing industry is devastating to productivity and costly, particularly when today's manufacturing plants tend to operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week. United Biscuits of West Yorkshire, England has recently specified VICOTE® Coatings to significantly reduce the downtime required for the re-coating of a compression roller and a doctor blade that are both deployed in its cake manufacturing facility.
The compression roller is used for pressing biscuit crumbs, an abrasive and sticky food compound. The doctor blade scrapes the excess compound off the roller. Traditionally, both the roller and the blade were coated with a stainless steel reinforced fluoropolymer based coating. The new coating, VICOTE F810Blk is based upon VICTREX® PEEK(TM) polymer.
Working closely with plant engineers at United Biscuits, the coater, Metalcraft Plastic Coatings Ltd., Lancashire, England, saw the potential for VICOTE Coatings to enhance the longevity of the roller and blade. Today United Biscuits uses the FDA compliant VICOTE F810Blk to coat the doctor blade and roller and is benefiting from enhanced wear resistance combined with good release properties.
"The roller, which is 1200mm (3.9 ft) long and 355mm (1.2ft) in diameter, and the doctor blade were both coated with VICOTE F810Blk and the results achieved were impressive," said Gary Hull, Managing Director of Metalcraft. "The previous coating was problematic and in line with new product developments an improved surface was required. When VICOTE F810Blk was applied a re-coat was not required for six months. The increased lifecycle and level of service has led to United Biscuits' engineers to consider VICOTE Coatings for other applications.
The VICOTE Coatings range of products consists of more than 30 different grades ranging from electrostatic powder grades to the aqueous based dispersion grades, many of which are enhanced by the addition of other additives in order to improve their wear resistance and release properties. A key benefit of VICOTE F810Blk coating in this application was that it is aqueous based and contains very low levels of solvents which is important for coaters looking to reduce VOC emissions.
Andrew Storm, Victrex Polymer Solutions Sales Director commented, "The unique value of Victrex's materials solutions lies in our ability to tailor high performance VICTREX PEEK-based polymers for customers' best advantage. By working with Metalcraft, we are able to provide United Biscuits with a practical, cost effective and time saving solution."
For more information, please call (800) VICTREX or visit the Victrex website at www.victrex.com.
About Metalcraft Plastic Coatings Ltd.
Metalcraft Plastic Coatings Ltd., based in Accrington, Lancashire in the UK has an extensive coating portfolio and provides 24 hours/day, 7 days/week technical back-up and services to major bakeries. For more information please visit: www.metalcraft.org.uk.
About United Biscuits
United Biscuits is the leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in the UK and second largest in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Ireland. United Biscuits is the leading manufacturer and marketer of packaged nuts and the second largest manufacturer and marketer of snacks. For more information please visit: www.unitedbiscuits.com.
Contact:
Kris Jommersbach
Gemini Communications
PH: + (1) 610-935-1633
krisj@geminiinc.com
